Courtesy of David Zwirner
Hong Kong, October 19, 2023 - David Zwirner Gallery in Hong Kong is currently showcasing the Pastorale exhibition featuring works by the Antiguan artist and polymath, Frank Walter. Curated by art historian Barbara Paca, this marks the gallery's third exhibition of Walter's work and the first time his art is being presented in Asia. The exhibition coincides with the upcoming Frank Walter: Artist, Gardener, Radical exhibition, set to open in October at the Garden Museum in London.
The exhibition comprises paintings and works on paper that showcase the wide range of Walter's artistic endeavors. These works encompass various media, styles, and formats, including creations on unconventional surfaces like Polaroid film cartridge boxes, mosquito coil boxes, and fragments of sketchpad covers. Visitors can expect to see Caribbean landscape paintings alongside small-scale depictions of Scottish meadows, crafted from memory to commemorate his time there in 1960.
Frank Walter's six-decade career produced a diverse body of work, from vividly colored landscapes reminiscent of William Blake and Caspar David Friedrich's Romantic spirit to inventive portraits and abstract compositions. According to Barbara Paca, the curator, "Pastorale presents a new dimension of the vast oeuvre of universal artist Frank Walter. As a recluse, Walter was more at ease in a world where he dwelt as the solitary inhabitant, and he captured every nuance with immediacy and honesty."
Walter's landscape paintings highlight his keen eye for color and texture, with even the smallest works exuding a profound sense of light and calm. Born and raised in Antigua, Walter spent time in England and other parts of Europe from 1954 to 1961. During his travels, especially through Scotland and Germany, he often walked on foot. These journeys provided Walter with the freedom to explore his artistic pursuits, resulting in an emotive collection of landscapes depicting the colorful meadows of wildflowers and rolling hills in the Scottish countryside. His Caribbean landscapes depict skies aglow in lavender, pink, and red, often adorned with vibrant flowers and foliage, brought to life through his skillful brushwork. Some scenes feature pastoral elements, such as grazing sheep or goats, while others are framed by trees or branches, creating a portal through which we see Walter's vision of the horizon.
Frank Walter's work offers a unique perspective on his homeland, which, for personal reasons, includes Great Britain and Europe as a sacred idyll. Through these paintings, Walter chronicles the harmony of his solitude with a skilled and sensitive paintbrush, providing viewers with an intimate glimpse into his world.
The Pastorale exhibition is a testament to the depth and diversity of Frank Walter's artistic legacy, and it represents a significant cultural event in Hong Kong's art scene.
Frank Walter (1926-2009) was born as Francis Archibald Wentworth Walter in 1926, on Horsford Hill, Antigua. He was highly regarded for his intellect from a young age and was well-respected within his community. Walter's early education was marked by a deep connection to his homeland, and he pursued studies in agriculture and the sugar industry, the foundation of Antigua's economy. At the age of twenty-two, he achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first person of color to work as a manager in the Antiguan Sugar Syndicate. His contributions included modernizing harvesting and production techniques and advocating for improved labor conditions for workers.
During the 1950s, Walter embarked on extensive travels, seeking advanced agricultural and industrial knowledge in England, Scotland, and West Germany. These journeys exposed him to racial bias and discrimination, often necessitating his employment as a day laborer. In Europe, he explored various creative outlets, including drawing, painting, and writing prose, philosophical texts, and poetry.
In 1961, Frank Walter returned to the Caribbean, where he expanded his creative repertoire to include sculpture, photography, and sound recordings. During the early 1990s, he designed and built his home and studio on Bailey Hill in Antigua, spending the remaining years in relative isolation. Here, he reflected, wrote, and created art inspired by his experiences, knowledge, and surroundings.
Walter's artistic contributions have been recognized through retrospectives at the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt in 2020 and the Pavilion of Antigua and Barbuda at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin in 2013, and Harewood House in Leeds, UK, in 2017. His art was featured at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019 as part of the group exhibition "Find Yourself: Carnival and Resistance," curated by Barbara Paca and Nina Khrushcheva. His work was also included in the group exhibition "Get Lifted!" curated by Hilton Als for Karma Gallery, New York, in 2021. In late June 2024, a solo exhibition of Walter's work is scheduled to be presented at The Drawing Center in New York.
Sayart.net
Blue YIM, yimyoungseo1010@naver.com
