Barbara Walker

The Great Women Artists

Katy Hessel

Arts

4.8 • 877 Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I am so excited to say that my guest on the GWA Podcast today is the renowned British artist, Barbara Walker. Born in Birmingham, where she lives and works today, Walker is hailed for her intimate paintings of everyday life, and intricate drawings that not only show power dynamics in Old Master Paintings, but give voice to histories that are all too often erased. From works on paper to paintings on canvas, and large-scale charcoal wall drawings, Walker’s work, no matter their scale, is full of empathy, depth, and emotion. Some tell us stories about the state of affairs in Britain, whereas others are much more personal – in the early 2000s, she made her son the subject of her work – which get to the heart of the brokenness in our society, and look at situations from both an artistic and motherly gaze. Research is at the heart of Walker’s work, and she frequently goes into public archives, such as for her incredible series, Shock and Awe, which highlighted the contribution of Caribbean servicemen and women serving in the British Army from 1914 to the present day. As well as “Vanishing Point”, which so movingly – and powerfully – explores the visibility and invisibility of Black subjects in Western European collections in our museum collections. Drawing in the Black figures while obscuring the dominant white subjects, Walker encourages the viewer to consider other perspectives beyond the ones that have become the so-called ‘default’ in these institutions. But she is also interested in the unknown – as she says: As she says, “I'll go into archives looking for the backstories behind events, individuals or paintings, but I never know what I'm going to find. Making art is about curiosity and it's the same in the archive – I love playing in the unknown.” Very excitingly, a major survey of her work is currently on view at the Whitworth Museum in Manchester, in including her Turner Prize nominated group of portraits, Burden of Proof, a poignant response to the Windrush Scandal – and a newly commissioned printed wallpaper inspired by the Whitworth’s collection, that continues her representation of the Windrush generation. -- THIS EPISODE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE LEVETT COLLECTION: https://www.famm.com/en/ https://www.instagram.com/famm_mougins // https://www.merrellpublishers.com/9781858947037 Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Nada Smiljanic Music by Ben Wetherfield

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome back to the Great Women Artists podcast.
0:05.0	Just before we get to today's episode, I am so excited to say that this series is again supported by the Levitt Collection,
0:12.0	a vast and varied art collection of which a major and ever-increasing portion is dedicated to works by women artists.
0:19.0	Today, there are over 600 works by women artists in the
0:23.1	collection. After publishing the must-have book, Abstract Expressionists, the women in 2023,
0:29.2	Christian Levitt went on to open on the 21st of June this year, FAMM, the first private museum in Europe,
0:36.3	entirely dedicated to women artists.
0:39.3	Located in Mujan, Nican in the south of France, this newly transformed space
0:44.4	features a stunning collection of over 100 masterpieces by many of the leading female artists
0:50.4	from impressionism to contemporary.
0:52.5	The impressive exhibition of paintings, sculptures,
0:56.3	photographs and more from the Levec Collection highlights the creative brilliance of women who have
1:01.3	played pivotal roles in shaping some of the major artistic movements of the modern period.
1:06.6	It's only 30 minutes from Nice Airport, FAMM, which stands for female artists of the Mujan Museum, is open every day and for further information and bookings, please visit www.fam.com.
1:20.4	I hope you enjoy this episode.
1:26.4	Hello everyone and welcome to the Great Women Artist podcast with me, Katie Hessel.
1:32.5	Some of you might know me from The Great Women Artists, an Instagram account I set up in October 2015,
1:38.3	which celebrates female artists on a daily basis, ranging from young graduates to old masters.
1:46.2	Well, in a similar fashion to the Instagram, this podcast is all about celebrating female artists from a variety of backgrounds and
1:51.9	histories. And I am so excited to be interviewing artists on their career or artists, writers,
1:57.8	curators or general art lovers on the women artist who means most of them.
2:02.4	What I want this podcast to do is celebrate female artists in all different capacities so you,
	...

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