Walker Contemporary
450 Harrison St, Boston, MA
Stephanie thought she would change the world by working with youths at risk. Fresh from college, she had agreed to take a job in rural TN. Lucky for us art world types she realized the possible difficulties of dealing with large, hormonal eighteen year old boys.
This is one “can do” woman; when the local gallery guide set limitations on gallery listings, Walker came up with The Art Map Boston, a more complete and user friendly guide to Boston’s galleries.
While Walker’s first inspiration is working with at risk youth; she has always been intrigued by art, “I talked about art this and art that all the time.” Too timid to pursue an opening in a local gallery a friend of Walker’s quietly submitted her resume.
Much to her surprise Walker was invited to interview. While skeptical of her “no Rolodex, no pedigree” status, Walker’s sheer exuberance wowed the gallery owners and she landed the job.
This first gallery position proved to be fertile training ground and Walker moved on to work with Chase, a position she held for about ten years. Ironically, Chase has moved into the very building that houses Walker Contemporary.
For a short time, Walker ended up in Los Angeles where she decided to open her own business. “I got up every day and went into the 2nd bedroom of our house whose door bore the sign, ‘WC’.” She began to explore and discover the new work from artists previously unknown to her.
Walker is drawn to work that is expertly rendered, complex, repetitious and generally speaks to an environmental component. Frequently the work is bittersweet, ironic and process oriented. Moved by artists who push their materials, Walker best relates to artists who seek to bend their medium as far as possible.
“I admire an artist who will continue on even if the idea is not yet working out. The artist who will face nothing to create something.” When one of her artists is stuck and dissatisfied she encourages by suggesting they, “keep at it, even if the result is horrid, just have the guts to keep showing up.”
For community involvement and local outreach, Walker suggests ICA, The Institute of Contemporary Art, as making contemporary art accessible and intellectually challenging. I couldn’t agree more, The ICA is one of Boston’s jewels with its amazing view of Boston Harbor, cafe, and easy parking, it is a delightful destination.
When asked how she thought galleries were faring in Boston, Walker responded, “While there have been come closing most were not closed for economic reason, it’s a situation of the time has come. A few gallery owners were ready to retire and others were ready for a change of focus. This freed several Boston art dealers to push away their boundaries and try a fresh, new approach to their business partnerships and to present new artists.
Clay Scot Artworks
I’ll be showing this September at Clay Scot Artworks, the show will open on
September 3, 2010 in Birmingham AL. Please accept my invitation to stop by and see me and /or the show as I will be at the opening.
Some of you might not know that I actually have Alabama roots, my family lives near Birmingham and I attended the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing at Samford University. Ok, I actually graduated from the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing and I continue to faint at the sight of blood. Clearly, art is my calling.
A portion of my sales will benefit the very hard working organization, Triumph Services. I know first hand how valuable their work is and I want to support their good works. We would welcome your support as well.
In the mean time, give a shout to Darrell and get of preview of what I'll be showing in September.
Mary’s Teaching Schedule
July 17, 18 , 19 Asheville NC this class is full
Aug 2,3,4 Charleston SC, Redux Studios
Dec 9,10,11 Fairhope AL, Eastern Shore Art Center
Grace
My recent show in Atlanta at Kai Lin Art, GRACE, received a wonderful review:
Grace Review .
It was a fantasticshow and I'm so honored to have shown with two other fine women, Anne Davnes-Elser and Sun Hong.Lobbying in Raleigh, NC
While I’ve only been in Asheville for two years, I’ve certainly learned a whole bunch about creative economy. I am so happy to be in a state that understands the importance of its creative workers. You might be surprised, I was, to know that the creative industries in North Carolina contribute $41,000,000,000 to the state economy (yes, that’s billion with a B) and we are responsible for almost 300,000 jobs.
Now, let me clear here, $41 billion dollars to the NC economy, seems we are due a bailout similar to the one received by Ford and Goldman Sachs. Artists pay mortgages, employ many other workers and pay taxes on the income generated by art sales. We are mighty economic engines and hardworking small business folk.
Here's a link to a study done by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources on creative economy. Now you know just how important art is to you and to your community.
