Charleston, S.C. painter and printmaker Mary Walker will be returning to her former home of Tryon, N.C. to exhibit “Scenes from Alice in Wonderland” at Upstairs Artspace. Her show runs March 30 - May 24, 2024, with a reception for the artist on April 6, from 5-7 pm.
Walker will also hold a book signing for “Scenes from Alice in Wonderland: Images by Mary Walker” at the Book Shelf, 17 S. Trade St., at 2:30 pm on April 6.
Walker’s black and white prints in this show and in her book depict the many characters and settings from Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s novel “Adventures of Alice in Wonderland.”
Her interest in the characters was born from a “magical childhood moment” of discovery and wonder. At age 5, she was living in servants quarters of an old house, and one day her mother led her through the door that connected to the main house. In a magnificent dining room with a gleaming mahogany table, she saw Alice in Wonderland. Or rather, a neighborhood girl dressed up as Alice for Halloween.
“She was a vision that stepped out of my story book,” Walker says, “and it has tumbled around in my mind for years looking for a creative outlet through my work as an artist.”
Visitors to the show are invited down the rabbit hole, to drink the potion, to shrink in size and grow too big, and to join the tea party. Meet the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the March Hare and many more familiar characters.
Born in New York and raised in Tryon, Walker began her work life in 1975 teaching high school math in New York. While there, she studied at the Art Students' League with Isaac Soyer, and decided to devote her life to her art. After moving to the Charleston area, she studied painting and printmaking at the College of Charleston.
Since 1981, she has lived on John’s Island in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, and has exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally. Walker has worked in various American and international print studios including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (New York, N.Y.), Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (Venice, Italy), Santa Reparta (Florence, Italy), the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, Mass.), Provincetown Art Association and Museum (Provincetown, Mass.), Limerick Printmakers (Limerick, Ireland), Studio Due (John’s Island, S.C.), Print Studio South (Charleston, S.C.), Spirit Square (Charlotte, N.C.), Castle Hill (Truro, Mass.), and New Grounds Print Studio (Albuquerque, N.M.)
More information about her work is available on her website, marywalkerart.com.
Comentarios