Phillipe Walker, a painter living and working in Montreal, Quebec with his incredibly talented craftsmanship of details and composition in the style of Old Masters but with an obviously modern vocabulary far greater than was available to them.
For me the tension between the religious Christian narrative and the eroticism, the essence of eroticism, he explores is fascinating, in the way I imagine the hypnotic stare of a snake fascinates its prey. I want to study these surfaces deeply and I am somewhat afraid of what I might find in myself as I gaze.They take me into territory that seems familiar but is utterly new, like a sharp edged dream. They surprise me. I am surprised by myself in front of them. One of his paintings in my house would force me and my visitors into conversations about the most important subjects of our life and death, destroying any tendency we might have to waste time in small talk .
Words from his web site:
Philippe Walker is a scientist and molecular biologist, and now artist, by profession. In his quest to rediscover and recreate the approach of the Old Masters, he has adopted their techniques, using traditional methods to prepare canvases and wood panels and using natural pigments mixed with black oil to ensure that his colours convey the brilliance and translucence that characterized old masterpieces.
Drawing his inspirations from the works of Old Masters of European paintings, Philippe Walker brings an unexpected modern twist to some of the most classic art scenes.
The artist transforms the vision of his predecessors to a distinctly hedonistic or provocative perspective, creating works of art that skillfully combine occidental artistic representation with symbolism, classical rules of perspective, composition and proportion and advanced expert technique.
