Walton Ford’s paintings of wild animals combine the austere mastery of New England-style naturalism with a dark sexuality and satirical humor.
Ford’s latest project is Pancha Tantra, a signed and numbered edition from Taschen; its title is a reference to the Sanskrit tradition of animal fables as sociopolitical commentary. The artist’s exotic birds of prey, equine species, and their surreal orgies, tea parties, and surroundings act as metaphorical indictments of the insatiability and violence of his own species’ appetites.
Preview Pancha Tantra in full, buy a limited-edition copy, check out original paintings, read interviews from Ford’s Art 21 appearance, and see a slide show of the artist at work.
Walton Ford: from Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford: Nila, from Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford: The Prodigy, from Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford: Le Jardin, from Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford: from Pancha Tantra
Walton Ford, courtesy of Art21