Walton Ford, It makes me think of that awful day (2011). All images via Paul Kasmin Gallery.

Walton Ford has been likened to 19th century naturalist John James Audubon for his realistic old-master style watercolors, but while the nine works on view now at Paul Kasmin may resemble Audubon in style, they go much further in content. I Don’t Like to Look at Him, Jack. It Makes Me Think of That Awful Day on the Island, includes two series of paintings: the first consists of three large-scale (9 x 12 feet) portraits of King Kong, while the second features various monkeys in the process of decapitating exotic birds. While each piece maintains a close attention to detail that is characteristic of Ford, the work also evokes the complex, wild, and occasionally emotional nature of nature itself.

Walton Ford, Unnatural Composure (2011). (more…)