Once again, a fire in the far off African skyline seems to ignite the flight of both human and creature. The glorious cat mauling a faceless dandy in A Cabin Boy to Barbary is the now extinct Barbary Lion. The victim is Eugene Delacroix, for whom these lions were a favorite artistic subject. The formidable feline's voluptuous stretch counterpoints the almost regretful gaze of his eyes, an eloquent testament to Ford's quirky romanticism. What these four paintings share is an enigmatic code, replete with political and social narrative.
Astute viewers can interpret the cryptic metaphors, or simply enjoy the opulent draftsmanship.
From the time of cave painting's Paleolithic iconography, humans have attempted to portray nature. Given the current plethora of conceptual work flooding the art world, there is something heroic about Ford's precise and researched interpretations. Fact and detail give a psychedelic edge to his highly modeled, anatomical, somewhat 19th-century analysis of exotic fauna. These paintings, with their faux antiqued appearance, seem supremely modern. With a naturalist's dispassionate view and a master's sure hand, Walton Ford has created vibrantly original and magnificent work.