Eric Walker
2012
plywood, tar paper, brad nails, found objects, on plywood
21 X 21 in.
Provenance: Directly from the artist's studio, owned by the gallery.
This painting of a shattered house comes from a photograph of the day after the infamous Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917 when two ships collided in the city's harbour, one of them a munitions ship loaded with explosives. After the disaster the city was covered in a thick blanket of snow (as depicted here in this painting).
Eric Walkers constructed pieces involve the viewer in the larger question, what is painting? There is a strong collage element to his paintings that challenge the viewer to ponder whether the image represented justifies the genre of painting. But if Eric uses his material as paint -- then what is it, but a painting?
Eric Walker’s work has been shown across Canada and internationally, including a solo show at the Canadian Embassy Art Gallery, Tokyo in 2004. Many of his works have been purchased by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2006 and are on display at embassies and consulates in Europe and the United States.
