Barbara Walker (artist) explained

Barbara Walker
Birth Name:Barbara Walker
Birth Place:Birmingham, England
Nationality:British

Barbara Walker is a British artist who lives and works in Birmingham.[1] The art historian Eddie Chambers calls her "one of the most talented, productive and committed artists of her generation".[2] She is known for colossal figurative drawings and paintings, often drawn directly onto the walls of the gallery, that frequently explore themes of documentation and recording, and erasure.[3] [4] Walker describes her work as social reflective practice intended to address misunderstandings and stereotypes about the African-Caribbean community in Britain.[5]

Walker grew in Birmingham and graduated from the University of Central England, Birmingham in 1996.[6] Her work is part of private and public collections including the Arts Council Collection and the Usher Gallery.[7] She was selected to be included in the first Diaspora Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale 2017.

In 2017 Walker was awarded the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award, part of the Jerwood Drawing Prize.[8] Walker was awarded the 2020 Bridget Riley Fellowship at The British School at Rome.[9] She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to British Art.

Walker was nominated for the 2023 Turner Prize for her work Burden of Proof.[10] [11]

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barbara Walker. Diaspora Artists. en-UK. 19 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320054003/http://new.diaspora-artists.net/display_item.php?id=496&table=artists. 20 March 2017.
  2. Book: Chambers, Eddie. Black Artists in British Art: A History since the 1950s. I.B.Tauris. 2014. 9780857736086. en.
  3. Web site: Barbara Walker's large scale drawings remember Britain's Black servicemen and women Arts Council England. www.artscouncil.org.uk. en. 2017-03-19.
  4. News: Birmingham artist is challenging stereotypes. Young. Graham. 21 March 2014. birminghampost. 2017-03-19. en.
  5. Web site: Boundary I Arts Council Collection. www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk. en. 2017-03-19.
  6. News: Barbara Walker. 15 February 2017. ICF International Curators Forum. 2017-03-19. en-US.
  7. News: UK's biggest loan collection of British art buys work by West Midlands artists. Barnfield. Stacey. 6 May 2014. birminghampost. 19 March 2017. en.
  8. News: Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017 - Jerwood Visual Arts. Jerwood Visual Arts. 2017-10-31. en-GB. 7 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107015558/http://www.jerwoodvisualarts.org/projects/jerwood-drawing-prize-2017/. dead.
  9. Web site: Place, Space and Who. 27 July 2019 .
  10. News: Rutherford . Nichola . 2023-04-27 . Turner Prize 2023: Windrush and Covid pandemic inspires nominees . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-05-25.
  11. News: Marshall . Alex . 2023-04-27 . Artist of Black Portraiture Leads Turner Prize Shortlist . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-25 .
  12. Web site: Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s-Now . 2024-02-28 . Art Gallery of Ontario . en.