Jason Walker’s two solo exhibitions are on view in Bellingham, Wash., and Pittsburgh, featuring recent constructions and selected individual sculptures from private collections. Walker is known for his use of painting on sculptural ceramic forms that explore the relationship between man and nature. Walker will discuss his work at both locations with gallery talks and workshops in the coming weeks.
“Jason Walker: On the River, Down the Road” at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash., uses site-constructed installations to transform the gallery into an enveloping, fantasy-driven world. Through richly detailed narratives and surrealist, apocalyptic imagery, Walker offers an incisive comment on the indelible impact of humanity upon the natural landscape.
“For more than a decade, Jason Walker has been delighting our sense of beauty with exquisite ceramic works that offer a seamless combination of sculpture and painting, form and decoration… Treading a fine line between clever storytelling and sociological critique, Walker’s sculptures play with a psychological state of uneasiness that draws us in to observe and question our relation to nature in the present day.” — Stefano Catalani, Director of Art, Craft, & Design, Bellevue Arts Museum
Walker and gallerist Leslie Ferrin of Ferrin Contemporary will present a gallery talk and slide show titled “Made in China: Jason Walker in Conversation with Leslie Ferrin” on Friday, Feb. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Bellevue Arts Museum. In addition to a discussion of the stories behind Walker’s work, the two will focus on how he has used porcelain tile produced in China as a starting point for works in the show and how he fits into this new movement of Western artists working in China. Space is limited to 25. RSVP online at www.bellevuearts.org/calendar/event/02_27_made_in_china.html
The show opened in October 2014 and remains on view through March 1, 2015.
At the Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, Walker is one of three artists with solo exhibitions in “Bridge 13,” which opened Jan. 24. On view through Aug. 22, Walker’s show features painted porcelain sculptures that depict the intersecting world where nature and technology meet. Painting on sculptures of woodland animals, Walker focuses on the landscape at the point where industrial elements impose on and merge into shared environments.
“A growing number of artists tread warily along the boundaries of culture and nature as the human footprint becomes increasingly obvious and inescapable, and the ironies multiply. … Walker’s work is a form of public prayer for our safety and preservation. How fortunate and useful it is that the sculptures are also beautiful.” — William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nev
Walker will present an artist talk on Thursday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum of Art theater in Pittsburgh. He will discuss the way technology has changed our perceptions of nature and how he combines animal imagery with industrial elements to convey these ideas.
On Saturday, April 18, from 1 to 4 p.m., at his exhibition at SCC, Walker will discuss the works in the show followed by a hands-on workshop in SCC’s studio, giving participants a chance to try making ceramic objects.
Both Pittsburgh events are co-sponsored by Society of Contemporary Craft and the Carnegie Museum of Arts. See www.contemporarycraft.org/SCC/Current_Exhibitions_2.html for more information.
Both the Pittsburgh events are part of a “Weekend with Jason Walker,” which runs Thursday through Saturday, April 16 to 18 in Pittsburgh. Other events include a studio visit with ceramic artist Edward Eberle, a tour of the ceramic collection at Carnegie Museum of Art with Rachel Delphia, Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the museum, and a guided house tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Details about the weekend and accommodations can be found at https://ferrincontemporary.com/portfolio-items/bridge13-jason-walker-scc/
Walker has long used his exquisite drawing skills and ability to manipulate clay to push his ceramic forms past the decorative into clear and striking social commentary. Treading a fine line between storytelling and social criticism, Walker’s work explores the human experience as reflected in Nature. His painted porcelain works, often taking the form of wild animals domesticated by industry, are simultaneously thought-provoking and unsettling.
Catalogs for both exhibitions are available from Ferrin Contemporary at https://ferrincontemporary.com/shop/
Jason Walker is represented by Ferrin Contemporary, which specializes in ceramic art circa 1950 to the present. For more than thirty years, Ferrin Contemporary has been the preferred source for artwork by established and emerging artists and designers whose primary medium is clay, for private collectors, institutions, and the media. www.FerrinContemporary.com
CONTACTS
Ferrin Contemporary
Leslie Ferrin, Director
413-446-0641, info@ferrincontemporary.com
Bellevue Arts Museum
http://www.bellevuearts.org/
Stefano Catalani, Director of Art, Craft, & Design
425.519.0756, stefanoc@@bellevuearts.org
Society for Contemporary Craft
http://www.contemporarycraft.org/SCC/Contemporary_Craft_%7C_Home.html
Kate Lydon, Director of Exhibitions
412-261-7003 ext. 15, exhibitions@contemporarycraft.org
High-resolution photos of the exhibitions and individual works are available on request.
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