By Land, Air, Home, and Sea: The World of Frank Walter

Introduction by Hilton Als. Texts by Barbara Paca, Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, and Charlie Porter

Explore Frank Walter’s relationship to Antigua and Dominica through a range of works and writings that express his intimate connection to Caribbean nature, landscape, and place.

“Nothing seems to be reworked—it is as if each piece drew or painted itself without being adjusted, revised, or fussed over.” —Hyperallergic 
 
“One gets the sense,” writes Hilton Als on Frank Walter, “in looking at [his] rivers and sky, that his perspectives were hard-won: he doesn’t just look at a bank and water, he pulls back, rather like a cinematographer . . . to get at the poetic essence of a scene.” Walter’s visionary encounter with the visual and natural world around him is the focus of the selection of paintings in this volume. Tender, quiet, and lush, the works were inspired by his thoughts, knowledge, journeys, and surroundings. Depicting vistas from Antigua to the rugged Scottish Highlands—painted, in some cases, years later from memory—Walter’s work offers a transporting visual journey and a meditation on the act of engaged observation. 
 
Published on the occasion of the 2022 exhibition at David Zwirner, this catalogue includes an introduction by the show’s curator, Hilton Als. Barbara Paca, the leading expert on Walter, writes a text detailing her personal experience meeting Walter. An essay by Charlie Porter takes readers on a walk through Walter’s London as he muses about the artist’s life and art. Joshua Jelly-Schapiro travels to Antigua and Dominica to explore the history of the islands and Walter’s lasting impact there.