| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
March Issue 2009
Corrigan Gallery
in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Mary Walker
Corrigan Gallery in Charleston, SC, will
present the exhibit, On The Stage of Life, featuring works
by Mary Walker, on view from Mar. 4 - 31, 2009.
Walker's new series
of paintings explores the emotional life of humans by presenting
vignettes with bits and pieces of life coming into and out of
the paintings. This is Walker's first solo show since the Griffith
Lowcountry Artist Award show in 2007. Walker is featured in the
March 2009 issue of Charleston Magazine.
These new paintings began as a continuation of a series of works
inspired by ballads. The music chosen consists of Strange
Fruit, Norma and La Voix Humain, the last two being
operas rather than ballads. The idea of a square format drew Walker's
attention as the square seemed like a stage or a circus where
different players could interact. She has begun pieces with a
subject inspiring the work such as the ballads and operas but
she does not emphasize the imposed themes instead letting the
work develop on its own. The narratives presented in paint show
threads of communications that might include heartbreak or joy
all emotions are fair game with indifference being anathema
to the artist. The gloomy theme of Strange Fruit led to
leaving the ballad theme behind yet a struggle began immediately
and the artist felt a failing for losing the original themes.
Letting the paintings evolve and to take on an energy of their
own, the artist's philosophy of life emerged. A philosophy appears
indicating that despite sorrows and hardships, life is a rich
tapestry.
Many think that artists start with an image then draw the image
on the canvas and then paint. Walker does not follow these steps.
She may start with one central figure, add two during the process
and end up with four. One of the most fascinating things about
the stages of her paintings is seeing how they will turnout. Walker
has often started with no fixed narrative, adding figures and
a story develops. She likens it to being inviting several people
to a gathering never quite sure who will show up or when
or what might develop. The ballads are portraits of a character,
a single figure. Yet even in those, there is frequently a reference
to another character included in a symbolic manner.
James Innes, the recently deceased artist, speaking in 2005 to Mary Walker said, "You're a problem solver in your paintings. I don't mean in the sense of composition, although maybe that too, but in the sense of content."
Walker says, "I'm
working in a space between abstraction and figuration. I work
from ideas rather than from reality. I'm not looking at a scene
or an image, just using ideas, sketches, and looking at the painting
as it develops. I love working with a narrative. Though I'm not
a writer, I borrow a writer's narrative and try to express it
with paint, figures and symbols. I enjoy having several characters
together in a painting. Going from one to two characters sets
up a tension and a dynamism, which I find interesting and very
lifelike."
Walker was born in New York and grew up in North Carolina. She
started painting in 1975, while living in New York and studied
at the Art Students' League with Isaac Soyer. After moving to
Charleston, she continued to study painting and printmaking for
several years at the College of Charleston. She often travels
to Italy to work and vacation. Walker accepted a Margo-Gelb Dune
Shack residency in New York in 2007 and was the 2006 winner of
the Griffith Lowcountry Artist's Award. The resulting solo show
at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, led to her
being chosen as the poster artist for the Piccolo Spoleto program
"Opera is for Everyone." She has received several
grants from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Lowcountry
Quarterly Arts Grant Program. In 2004 she organized "The
Scrolls," an anti-war project involving both national and
international artists that has been exhibited in Charleston, Cincinnati
and Washington, DC. As a narrative painter and printmaker, her
main interest is with the figure or that of birds, horses and
cats.
The Corrigan Gallery presents art with a future instilled with
intellect. Varied, thoughtful, provoking works are presented in
an intimate space for the viewing pleasure of all. Bringing 21
years of Charleston art experience to collectors and presenting
artists with up to fifty years of creating as well as those in
the early years of their careers, the gallery provides a fresh
alternative to the traditional southern art scene. Located in
the heart of the historic district, the gallery combines the charm
of the old city of Charleston with a look to the future.
Paintings, drawings, fine art prints, photography and sculpture are readily available for the discriminating collector. Artists represented include Manning Williams, Gordon Nicholson, Mary Walker, Kevin Bruce Parent, John Moore, Kristi Ryba, Sue Simons Wallace, Paul Mardikian, Daryl Knox, Richard Hartnett, Tim Fensch, Lynne Riding, Richard (Duke) Hagerty, Lese Corrigan and John Hull.
For further information
check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at
843/722-9868 or visit (www.corrigangallery.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.