Josh Smith and Frank Walter at The Drawing Center

Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul, the first solo museum exhibition in the United States to focus on the Antiguan artist, considers Walter through his drawings, featuring works on paper, cardboard, and wood, as well as the artist’s notebooks and musical, genealogical, and poetic compositions.

Josh Smith: Life Drawing features approximately thirty highly focused drawings that reflect Smith’s sensitivity to the medium and his skill as a draftsman, with Smith describing his show as an homage to Walter.

Over the course of six decades, Walter created a rich body of work that spans various media, formats, and subject matter, each reflecting his profound connection to his heritage and surroundings.

Smith worked with curator Claire Gilman to select works in tribute to Walter, during which time he also traveled to Antigua to experience the late artist’s environment and inspirations firsthand.

Born and raised in Horsford Hill, Antigua, Walter had a deep connection to his native land. The artist created landscapes and seascapes throughout his life, vividly depicting Antigua as well as Scotland, where he traveled, mostly on foot, in the 1950s. Making use of the materials at hand, he created works on cardboard boxes, paper, Polaroid film cartridge boxes, mosquito coil boxes, and the backs of photographs.

Drawing, while not necessarily Walter’s primary medium, was a consistent practice for the artist and central to his creative process. Friends from Antigua remember him as always having a pencil in hand.

While Smith’s paintings are notable for their often high-tone palettes and consistent application of paint across the entire surface, his drawings tend to be more focused and restrained, a reflection of the artist’s sensitivity to the nuances of the medium.