Walton Ford: Watercolor Studies : Online

On the occasion of Walton Ford’s concurrent solo exhibitions Lion of God in Venice, Italy and Birds and Beasts of the Studio in New York, this presentation offers an intimate look at the artist’s rarely-seen watercolor studies, uncovering Ford's working process, particularly the way he determines the color schemes and compositions of his monumental watercolor paintings. Staged exclusively online, Walton Ford: Watercolor Studies spotlights the preparatory sketches Ford made for his ongoing major site-specific exhibition Lion of God at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice.

“These studies are gestural, loose and expressive. That’s where the animal lives. What I’m doing much later in the process is attempting to retain as much of that freshness as possible.”
—Walton Ford

“I can’t find my way into a giant watercolor until I’ve done something like this.”
—Walton Ford

“Walton both has connection to that tradition, but he also brings a completely modern sensibility and individual approach to this, because he’s looking at the complex role of climate change, of colonialism, and often brings satire and irony to bear on his subject matter.”
—Jennifer Tonkovich, Curator of Drawings and Prints at The Morgan Library & Museum

“Ford consistently questions a diverse range of expectations and established rules in contemporary aesthetics, creating a narrative about the arrogance of human nature—yesterday, today, and tomorrow…”
—Udo Kittelmann, Curator of Walton Ford: Lion of God