Walton Ford, "Nila,” 1999–2000, watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 144 by 216 inches; courtesy Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York City.
:The Provincetown Art Association and Museum and Norman Mailer Writers Colony announce two special events featuring the internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Walton Ford; both events are open to the public and proceeds will benefit both nonprofit groups.
First is a gathering and intimate dinner with the artist at the historic Norman Mailer Home on Saturday, August 15, at 7:30 pm. Only 40 tickets will be sold. At $325, tickets for the elegant dinner include a signed copy of Ford's book,
Pancha Tantra
, published by Taschen Books.
The second event is a public presentation at the museum on Sunday, August 16, from 11 am to 1 pm, during which this former Guggenheim Fellow will discuss his creative journey and his artworks in an open forum. Attendees will have the opportunity to converse with the artist, ask questions and view original artworks. Tickets are $25.
At first glance, Ford's large-scale, highly detailed watercolors of animals may recall the prints of Nineteenth Century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear. But a closer look reveals a complex and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes and allusions to the "operatic" nature of traditional natural history themes.
The beasts and birds populating Ford's works are dynamic actors in allegorical struggles. Each painting is as much a tutorial in flora and fauna as it is as a scathing indictment of the wrongs committed by Nineteenth Century industrialists or contemporary American consumer society.
Ford is the recipient of several national awards and honors, including a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His work is represented by the Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York City, and has been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion and the Forum for Contemporary Art in St Louis.
The Norman Mailer Writer's Colony is at 627 Commercial Street and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum is at 460 Commercial Street.
For tickets or more information: PAAM, 508-487-1750 or
cmccarthy@paam.org
; or NMWC,
gwolf@nmwcolony.org,
800-835-7853 or 508-413-3288.
