Robin F. Williams in ‘Xenia: Crossroads in Portrait Painting’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Enormous, reptilian eyes and rough-hewn features give Robin F. Williams’ female characters – named Siri and Alexa – a memorable boldness that runs contrary to the perky helpfulness of their digital namesakes.  Titled ‘Siri Defends Her Honor,’ this painting casts Apple’s assistant into the role of a mob boss’s wife as played by Uma Thurman in an iconic scene from ‘Pulp Fiction,’ examining constructed AI personalities via female roles in cinema.  (In ‘Xenia:  Crossroads in Portrait Painting’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea, on view through Feb 15th).

Robin F. Williams, Siri Defends Her Honor, oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 60 inches, 2019.

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Merrily Kerr

Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education. For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine. Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)