Shootin' the breeze (detail)
by Ellen Johansen and M G Walker
Acrylic, mixed media, brush and ink on reclaimed wood
Commentary from Carl DeVere on Reclaim to Fame Exhibition 2016 Auckland:
'The work is executed on a wooden piece of some sailing wreckage...perhaps a spar, found on a beach and somewhat, although not greatly aged. The title also suggests that it seems to be a relic of some sailing mishap. Johansen and Walker have arranged their painting vertically beginning (or ending) at the bottom with a kind of sea-green color on which Walker has drawn his classic brand of an indefinable or mythical Neptune-like creature. From the bottom of the sea the work then has a kind of ascendant feel beginning with the beach immediately above and progressing through various again indefinable levels to the sky blue at the top of the piece. This work is a must-see in person and conveys the signature mystery, playfulness, and incomparable nature of the work of Ellen Johansen and Michael Walker.'
