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These are the creations of an American original, southwestern
artist Virgil M. Walker. His celebrated feathered masks and
sculptures seem to be transported through time from mythical America,
pagan Greece, aboriginal Australia, tribal Africa, or ancient
Asia. Using a startlingly original palette of materials, Walker weaves the
supernatural with the natural, the original with the traditional, and the
unrepeatable with the universal.
You
have never seen anything like Virgil's art but will subconsciously seem to
remember it. While the primal rhythms, patterns and colors of its
forms effortlessly echo Masai, Minoan, Mayan or Malaysian art, these
works transcend any one source in a transcultural kaleidoscope. Evoking a
common, distant past, few works of art occupy their space in the
present with such living force. The artist offers his own poetic clues
in small commentaries for each of his creations to initiate the dialogue
between the viewer and the object. That relationship, however, will no
doubt be dynamic and ever shifting. Virgil's work lives and breathes with
the rhythms of day and night.
There is
no other Virgil Walker. While this website is a poor substitute for experiencing his works in person, it is a worthwhile
introduction to a truly original master.
Warren Fahy
Author
October 2006
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