Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art is pleased to announce a solo exhibition by Michael Walker.

Michael Walker’s still life and figure paintings are created with a representational painting technique that reveals itself to the viewer. The paintings often include reflections using mirrors and windows that are used as foils to juxtapose ideas rather than a fidelity to optics or copying photographs. The compositions of his paintings are collages of disparate fragments that are gleaned from his own theoretical reflections which he then manipulates and shuffles into a unified and seamless composition. The objects and figures in the paintings symbolize a multitude of meanings that are accrued by these objects over time. In addition, the many layers are further developed by incorporating a lead white image as an underpainting on the gessoed canvas. This underlying image is revealed only by an x-radiograph, a routine method of examining paintings by museums and conservators. The resulting conceptual juxtaposition of images not only challenges the traditional notion of viewing paintings solely with the naked eye, but also redefines the boundaries of painting in a way that reflects the increasing complexities and technologies involved in contemporary viewing and understanding of our time.

Michael Walker has an M.A. in Art History from Queens University and studied painting at the Art Student’s League in New York City. His work is in public and private collections across North America and Europe.

For more information please contact Tamar Zenith or Helen Zenith at (403) 266-1972.