Whether scrawled on the side of a building or on a massive canvas, the work of London-born, Berlin-based artist David Walker makes one pause for closer study. His medium is exclusively spray paint and his masterpieces are made without the aid of stencils, brushes or a projector, creating hyper-realistic, multi-layered portraits in a rainbow of dripping spray paint colors. Women are almost always his subjects, and it’s the juxtaposition between classical and modern, beauty and ugliness where he finds an “odd poetry” in his art.
On May 10, he will present his first United States solo show “Swapping Souls With Strangers” at the Robert Fontaine Gallery in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District during the monthly Art Walk. He’ll debut 12 new large scale portraits, as well as his first foray into word art using his “wet painting” technique. The show will run until the end of the month. I caught up with Walker in Berlin last week to talk to him about his work and his upcoming Miami show.
WC: How did you develop your technique of creating portraits using spray paint freehand?
DW: It was sort of an accident. I had some of my illustration and print work in a group show in L.A. in 2008. A chunk of my work went missing in transit, so I had to compensate by working on the wall. I used spray paint to get the job done quick and something just clicked. I got back to London and feverishly started painting. Portraits seemed to be the best place to start and something I was always drawn to exploring in other work. The style has developed over time, but I want the idea to stay simple, just one medium, no stencils or projectors, a traditional subject in a contemporary medium.
The large-scale portraits are very realistic and you use a rainbow of colors to depict them. Who are your muses or models?
For the last two years, the subjects of the work have all been people I have met along the way, through friends, travel or complete strangers that I approached and had to convince I wasn’t a crazy person.
Are they always women?
I paint men occasionally, but I find painting women far more interesting and it works alongside the masculinity of graffiti and vandal-like marks I make.
What inspires the juxtaposition of realism with street art?
I am drawn to the idea of creating a beautiful portrait out of components that are associated with ugliness. There is some odd poetry in that.
Do you have a preference working outside on the street versus on a medium that can be hung in a gallery? How is the approach different?
I make the work in exactly the same way both inside and outside. I didn’t want to differentiate between the two. All that changes is what they are painted on. I think my preference depends on my mood. Both come with their own challenges. I like painting outside because you have to make quick decisions, you have time constraints, people are watching and photographing you and such. It makes you work in a more spontaneous way. I’m always surprised that I can paint a huge wall in two days, but it may take me two weeks to finish a canvas. In the studio you can take your time, experiment and really think about what you are doing. You go through it all putting a show together! It’s never easy. It’s love and hate, but it’s always rewarding in one way or another.
You’re from London and travel extensively for your art. You’re based in Berlin now. How do these different cities affect your work?
You pick things up from different cities, colors, textures, faces. It all has a push on the work in some way, big or small. I have noticed a definite change in the work since I have been in Berlin. It took a while, but the influence has creeped in. There is more space in Berlin. It’s more relaxed than London. I feel like I am out of the race. I can concentrate on the work, which is a great. As a result, some of the new work also has space in it and the colour palettes nod to the darkness of the winter and the intense hues of the graffiti which climbs the walls everywhere here.
What can we expect at your May show at the Robert Fontaine Gallery?
Lots of beautiful mess, large scale works, some new paths ventured and a few surprises.
Your show is called “Swapping Souls with Strangers.” What does that mean?
It came from something I wrote years ago. It just made perfect sense as the title for the show. All the people in the paintings were strangers to me not so long ago. I wanted the images to have a connection to each other and myself, rather than a collection of random faces.
When you paint someone I feel it’s an equal exchange. My subjects give me everything just by letting me paint them, so I try and give everything back in the creation the work. Inevitably you become part of their story. Their family and friends instantly know about you. The image, good or bad, becomes part of their life. It can feel like a strange intrusion sometimes, but when you are new to a city it can help ground you. You quickly become part of that place and linked to the people who live there.
Tell me about your new word art pieces. What’s the inspiration and why the absence of color here?
I’m actually really excited about them. I have been writing for many years now. I come up with sentences and phrases and they stick in my mind and I never know what to do with them. I wanted to include something in the show that would counteract the colorful portraits, so black and white text was the perfect choice.
Tell me about the “wet painting” technique you use in these works.
I happened upon this wet painting technique when I was experimenting with spray paint some years ago and had forgotten about it. When I started to think about how to make the text pieces, it suddenly came back to me and was the right solution for creating the work. Oh, but I’m not telling you how it’s done!
Have you spent much time in Miami? How do you like it? What do you do when you’re here?
I was there in 1999. I don’t remember much. It was a crazy week. I came back last December over Basel week. I had a great time. I love coming to the U.S. I was mostly up a ladder or searching for a good whisky bar. I think I started to scratch the surface, but as with most cities it’s not until you get to know the underbelly that they get really interesting, so looking forward to this trip.
