Exhibition view: Jake Walker, IN ON IT, STATION, Melbourne (24 June–29 July 2023). Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Exhibition view: Jake Walker, IN ON IT, STATION, Melbourne (24 June–29 July 2023). Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Exhibition view: Jake Walker, IN ON IT, STATION, Melbourne (24 June–29 July 2023). Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Exhibition view: Jake Walker, IN ON IT, STATION, Melbourne (24 June–29 July 2023). Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Jake Walker, #201 (Park Mews) (2023). Oil paint, linen, glaze, ceramic, epoxy. 47 x 52.5 cm. Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Jake Walker, Better Days (2021–2023). Oil on polycotton, ceramic. 35.0 x 47.5 cm. Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
Jake Walker is preoccupied with notions of process, preservation, and transformation.
The New Zealand artist’s fifth solo exhibition with STATION in Melbourne, IN ON IT (24 June–29 July 2023), comprises ceramic-framed works and works on canvas and board that consider the different traces and stages of the artistic process.
Since recently practising as a drawing instructor, Walker applies a refreshed perspective to art-making. His paintings set forth an array of organic shapes and rugged forms that allude to what he refers to as the ‘first state’ of painting.
In works like Better Days (2021–2023) and #201 (Blue moon for McCahon) (2022–2023), Walker illustrates landscapes that recall the artist’s new surroundings in Tasmania with thick strokes of oil paint and wax.
In monochrome works such as #202 (10.4.23) (2023), he embraces the tactility of a surface laden with craggy layers of oil and wax. Deep contours outline abstract shapes that are reminiscent of porthole windows.
Main image: Jake Walker, Better Days (2021–2023). Oil on polycotton, ceramic. 35.0 x 47.5 cm. Courtesy STATION, Melbourne.
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