Corban Walker

Art | Architecture | Scale

Corban Walker

Art | Architecture | Scale

As Far As I Can See - Crawford Art Gallery, Cork 15.10.22 - 15.1.23

Photography by Aisling McCoy

Introduction to my curated response to the Crawford Art Collection in the context of As Far As I Can See, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork 15.10.22 – 15.1.23. I was invited to respond to Crawford Art Gallery’s Collection and with the head curator create a mini survey of new and recent work, mostly made while I was based in New York, from 2004 – 2016. 

My response to the Crawford Art Gallery’s collection was primarily based on orientation: where my orientation in the galleries was guiding the viewer or reorientating the viewer to my perception of scale. There were noticeable examples of this in my relationship to the collection, such as the work of Cecil King, Fergus Martin, John Burke and Dorothy Cross amongst others. Even the portraits I chose, articulated insightful compositions that triggered a strong correlation between the viewer and the sitter, whether it be a bust or framed representation, emphasized when positioned low in the Long Room. The installation of stanchions in the centre of the room, Short Minute Matter was recognized by my orientation (Corbanscale) and how I envisaged the viewer in the room, very much conscious of their own presence, surrounded by the artworks. It was a means for the viewers to find and navigate a path in the gallery. The selection of works added to the quantifiable and directional axis of the whole exhibition, As Far As I Can See by defining the scope of the intervention and spanned from the stairwell to the Gibson galleries and the Long Room. In context, the selection and the body of my work spanned over more than a century of artworks, in an open dialogue and that of a grand and intimate scale. I was responding to the collection, the building and ultimately, I envisaged I was responding to the viewers.

Selected works from 2008 - 2022

Slide 1. TV Man 2010 – 2023 65” Monitor and video file, plywood frame, Edition of 3+1 AP, Dimensions variable Slide 2. Installation view (L – R) Untitled (10 x 4 Mitre) 2009 Low Iron Float Glass, 40 elements 120 x 58 x 74 cm; Observation 2012 Amber acrylic, screw posts 183 x 183 x 183 cm; Beyond the Rail I – IX 2022, Silvered Glass, Plywood, Steel, Multiple components, Dimensions variable Slide 3. Reverse Installation View. Slide 4. Beyond The Rail I – IX (detail), Observation (detail) Slide 5. Untitled (10 x 4 Mitre) 2009 Low Iron Float Glass, 40 elements 120 x 58 x 74 cm Slide 6. Beyond the Rail I – IX 2022, Silvered Glass, Plywood, Steel, Multiple components, Dimensions variable Slide 7. Cubed, Drawn, Halved 2012 Amber acrylic, screw posts 64.5 x 64.5 x 64.5 cm with mirrored plinth Slide 8. Observation (detail) Slide 9. Untitled (10 x 4 Mitre) (detail) Slide 10. Beyond the Rail (detail) Slide 11. 129 – 40 (detail) Slide 12. Observation (detail) Slide 13. 129 – 40 2012, Amber acrylic, screw posts 40 x 129 x 129 cm Slide 14. Beyond the rail (detail) Slide 15. Installation view Beyond the Rail I – IX  (detail) Slide 16. Installation View, Observation 2012, Beyond the rail 2022 (detail)