Walton Ford
-
-
Paul Kasmin Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of Walton Ford’s recent watercolors. This is Ford’s first exhibition with the gallery since his traveling retrospective, Tigers of Wrath, and the publication of Pancha Tantra, a comprehensive monograph of his work.
With meticulous detail, Ford’s work depicts animals embodying degrees of personification in the context of isolated historical events. Transient moments recalled in Ford’s work comment on, in his words, “the cultural history of our relationship with animals.” Ford is especially interested in the perceptions of animals by humans as evidenced by documentation. After researching specific stories, Ford offers his interpretation—sometimes exaggerating the animal’s supposed humanness and in other instances, stripping the animal of imposed metaphors, and thereby restoring the candor of the animal’s bestial state. The anthropomorphic nature of Ford’s animals is often compared to the work of artist John J. Audubon, one of Ford’s many influences.
-
Loss of the Lisbon Rhinoceros, shown above, references the story of a rhinoceros that was illustrated by Dürer in 1515. After the rhinoceros died in a ship wreck en route from Lisbon to Pope Leo X, Dürer produced a woodcut of the animal based on an unknown draftsman’s brief description and sketch. Ironically, subsequent illustrations of rhinoceroses bore resemblance to Dürer’s fanciful print for nearly three centuries. In Loss of the Lisbon Rhinoceros Ford shows us the doomed rhinoceros that Dürer never saw at the moment it passed from a living animal into a mythic, art-historical image. This piece is on view alongside several other recent paintings by Ford.
Walton Ford’s work may be found in a number of collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
-
Works
-
Join our Newsletter
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.
-
Explore
-
Alexis Ralaivao: Éloge de l’ombre (In Praise of Shadows)
May 15 – July 25, 2025 509 West 27th Street, New YorkFor Éloge de l’ombre (In Praise of Shadows), Ralaivao unveils a suite of new paintings rendered entirely in black and white. Working within the self-imposed parameters of a reduced palette,... -
Theodora Allen: Oak
May 7 – July 25, 2025 297 Tenth Avenue, New YorkAllen’s atmospheric oil paintings on linen depict natural phenomena and symbols chosen for their enduring presence in human history and culture, often drawing from mythology and medieval imagery. From hearts... -
Alma Allen on Park Avenue
May 2 – September 30, 2025In Alma Allen's largest outdoor installation to date, ten unique bronze and onyx sculptures including examples reaching over 10 feet tall and realized especially for the exhibition, are on view...
-
-
Explore
- Diana Al-Hadid
- Alma Allen
- Theodora Allen
- Sara Anstis
- Ali Banisadr
- Tina Barney
- Judith Bernstein
- JB Blunk
- Mattia Bonetti
- William N. Copley
- Cynthia Daignault
- Ian Davenport
- Max Ernst
- Liam Everett
- Leonor Fini
- Barry Flanagan
- Walton Ford
- Jane Freilicher
- vanessa german
- Daniel Gordon
- Alexander Harrison
- Elliott Hundley
- Robert Indiana
- Lee Krasner
- Les Lalanne
- Matvey Levenstein
- Lyn Liu
- Robert Motherwell
- Jamie Nares
- Nengi Omuku
- Robert Polidori
- Jackson Pollock
- Elliott Puckette
- Alexis Ralaivao
- George Rickey
- James Rosenquist
- Mark Ryden
- Jan-Ole Schiemann
- Joel Shapiro
- Bosco Sodi
- Dorothea Tanning
- Naama Tsabar
- Bernar Venet