Darwin's Dinner Party

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Darwin's Dinner Party, 2009. (8"x8")

During the week I intern at Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea, and they have introduced me a number of stellar artists, including my new favorite artist: Walton Ford. His paintings are so exquisitely beautiful, and demonstrate such skill and mastery, that they seem to come from a bygone century. I am absolutely obsessed with the large watercolors of parrots, lions, and monkeys which recall the look of an Audobon print. Luckily for me, Paul Kasmin represents Walton Ford, and has a pile of Walton Ford promotional day planners left over from his last show. I dismembered the day planner and combined three of Walton Ford's images into this collage.

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Oftentimes when I am people-watching I am amused by how ape-like humans truly are. At rush hour it really does look, and sound, like a bunch of monkeys are riding the subway. I was drawn to the Ford vignettes involving monkeys, especially where they are engaged in ostensibly "human" activities, because it was such an amusing play on that concept. The expressions on the monkey's faces are instantly legible, and eerily familiar.

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This wise ape with his glass of wine, peering around the edge of the canvas, is one of my favorite details of the piece.

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