Press Release - "We Matter" by Adrian Octavius Walker
Adrian Octavius Walker
”Covered in Crowns”
Framed Archival Pigment Print.
40 x 27 Inches.
Edition of 5.
Wood Frame.
2018.
info@part2gallery.com
pt.2
”We Matter”
Adrian Octavius Walker
The Greens
16 N 9th St.
Columbia, MO
Opening Reception: Friday, August 30, 2019
Showing Through: October, 2019
To learn more about works contact:
info@part2gallery.com
pt.2 Gallery is excited to announce the representation of Oakland based artist Adrian Octavius Walker, whom’s latest body of work “We Matter” opens Friday, August 30th at The Greens in Columbia, Missouri. Adrian will also be exhibiting work in a group exhibition at the Smithsonian this October and is scheduled to have a solo exhibition at pt.2 in March of 2020. Adrian O. Walker’s new body of work explores Black American beauty traditions among Black men. The intimacy that Walker depicts in each photograph erases the possibility of threat often assigned to black men and instead pushes the viewer to see the power of kinship within the Black community. We Matter seeks to expand notions of blackness by challenging the American socialization of black men.
Adrian Octavius Walker
”Rest”
Framed Archival Pigment Print.
13.5 x 20 Inches.
Edition of 5.
Wood Frame.
2018.
info@part2gallery.com
Inspired by his investigations of the black body, dynamics of the black family and archival work related to the African American experience. Working in both film and digital-format photography, Walker creates intimate portraits based on his studies of human interactions based in urban settings that share untold stories. His photography and installations encourage viewers to address and appreciate the culture of one's surrounding.
Adrian Octavius Walker is a mixed-media artist currently based in Oakland, CA.
Adrian Octavius Walker
”Power of Kinship”
Framed Archival Pigment Print.
13.5 x 20 Inches.
Edition of 5.
Wood Frame.
2018.
info@part2gallery.com
Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Adrian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. In 2015, Walker self-published the book My Lens, Our Ferguson, a documentation of protests against police brutality after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson MO. The book was shortlisted for a Paris Photo-Aperture First PhotoBook award and selected images were featured in a solo exhibition at the University of Alabama and five group exhibitions internationally. His work has been included in a variety of solo and group exhibitions including Black On Film (2016), Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style (2016), Brighton Photo Biennial (2016), Street Beautification (2014), and Imagery of Chess at the World Chess Hall of Fame (2016), among others. Walker has also been featured on an episode of Vice’s “Abandoned,” where he discussed his upbringing in North Saint Louis.
Adrian Octavius Walker
”Breathe”
Framed Archival Pigment Print.
30 x 20 Inches.
Edition of 5.
Wood Frame.
2018.
info@part2gallery.com