Painter John Walker will speak at Sheldon Museum of Art March 5 at 6 p.m. He will be joined on stage by writer Jennifer Samet, who first met the artist in 2013 when she interviewed him for her ongoing column “Beer with a Painter.”
Sheldon galleries currently feature “John Walker: Moments of Observation,” an exhibition of energetic paintings made by the Maine-based artist in response to the relationships of land and sea.
“This exhibition offers us the opportunity to broaden our understanding of the rich tradition of painting by examining the achievement of such an innovative artist,” said Wally Mason, Sheldon’s director and chief curator. “John Walker continues the collective legacy of artists depicting the cold light, diverse terrain, and imposing coastline of Maine.”
His significant contribution this artistic lineage is emphasized by a selection of Sheldon-held works by Maine artists Marsden Hartley, Rockwell Kent, and John Marin, installed in a gallery adjacent to “Moments of Observation.” Both exhibitions are on view through July 14.
About John Walker
Born 1939, in Birmingham, England, Walker studied at Birmingham College of Art (1956–60) and continued his studies at the British School in Rome (1960–61) and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris (1961–63).
Walker was a Gregory Fellow at Leeds University (1967–69). He was awarded a Harkness Fellowship to the United States (1969–70), and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981. He has been an artist-in-residence at Oxford University (1977–78) and at Monash University, Melbourne (1980).
Walker represented England at the 1972 Venice Biennale.
The artist has taught at the Royal College in London and at Yale University. In the 1980s he was Dean of Victoria College of Art in Melbourne. From 1993 to 2015, he headed the graduate program in painting and taught at Boston University from where he retired as professor emeritus of art.
He has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art; Phillips Collection; Tate Gallery; Kunstverein, Hamburg; and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; among others.
His work can be found in major museum collections including the Art Institute of Chicago; Guggenheim Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; MoMA; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; National Gallery of Australia; Phillips Collection; Sheldon Museum of Art; Tate Gallery London; Whitney Museum of American Art; and Yale Center for British Art; among many others.
Walker lives and works in South Bristol, Maine.
About Jennifer Samet
Samet is a New York–based art historian, curator, and writer. She is the director of research at Eric Firestone Gallery. She also lectures at the New York Studio School. Samet first met and interviewed Walker in 2013 for her ongoing column in Hyperallergic “Beer with a Painter.”
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/fpeb