Another exhuberant exhibition at Felix & Spear.
Critics have commented on the lyricism and exuberant colour of James Faure Walker’s
paintings. They have mentioned his independent stand, using photos of pedestrians,
birds, shops, at the same time as having developed an ‘abstract’ language. As Stuart
Morgan wrote in 1985, “His doubt may lead to one of those careers which bridges older
and newer practice, and which opens more doors than it closes”.
Writing recently of watercolour, James Faure Walker said: “I want my pictures to look
fresh, luminous, caught in the moment, but also off guard and unexplained. I admire
Turner’s ambition, the expertise, the freedom – also Cezanne and Sam Francis. They
were not watercolour specialists, but I cannot imagine their paintings without that watery
touch. Nor can I imagine how I could work now without using digital paint alongside
other media.
James Faure Walker is represented in London by Felix & Spear
Biography
James Faure Walker studied at St Martins (1966-70) and the Royal College of Art (1970-
1972). Solo exhibitions include Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery (1985), Colville Place
Gallery (1998, 2000), Galerie Wolf Lieser, Berlin (2003), ARB Cambridge (2015).
Group exhibitions include the Hayward Annual (1979), John Moores (1982, 2002),
Serpentine Summer Show (1983), and regular appearances at SIGGRAPH, USA, since
1995, and DAM Gallery Berlin. He began developing computer graphics alongside his
painting in 1988. He won the ‘Golden Plotter’ prize at Computerkunst, Gladbeck,
Germany in 1998. He has eleven works in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where his
work was featured in ‘Digital Pioneers’ in 2009. His book, ‘Painting the Digital River:
How an Artist Learned to Love the Computer’, was published by Prentice Hall (USA)
in 2006 and awarded a New England Book Show Award. He was a founder of Artscribe
magazine in 1976, editing it for eight years. Until 2014 he was Reader in Painting and
the Computer at Chelsea, University of the Arts. In 2013 he won the Royal Watercolour
Society Award. Currently he is the Honorary Curator of the RWS.
Felix & Spear, 71 St Mary’s Road, London W5 5RG
Opening reception: Friday, 17 May 2019, 6-8pm (rsvp)
18 May – 15 Jun 2019
