In The Bottle, I subvert still life beyond its traditional role as a static study of objects. The bottles, though familiar as everyday domestic forms, become figures with human qualities. They slump, stand tall, lean, and twist, embodying bodily presence, vulnerability, and gesture. This anthropomorphism invites viewers to see them as surrogates for people or states of being,
Complementing the bottles are hand-sculpted ceramic frames that act as organic architectural forms. These structures draw inspiration from the architectural towers of my childhood, particularly those built by my father. The irregularity of the frames stretch and distort the imagery within, creating a continuous dialogue between painting, surface, and form.
The work refuses to remain politely on the wall. Instead, it reaches into the gallery space, demanding physical engagement from viewers. The irregular frames force you to move, to find different angles of viewing, to participate in the work's spatial ambitions.
Jake Walker, May 2025
Jake Walker’s artistic practice is characterised by sustained experimentation and a dynamic creative impetus that informs the development of each work. His signature ceramic frames, playful, tactile, and irregular in form, provide a deliberate counterpoint to the smooth, often abstract canvases they surround. This juxtaposition serves to foreground the expressive and material possibilities of clay, positioning it simultaneously as both medium and structural support.
Architectural references are integral to Walker’s oeuvre. Many of his ceramic constructions incorporate elements such as lateral piping, diminutive steeples, and sculptural forms that recall aspects of the built environment. These works frequently retain visible traces of their making; surface textures and structural idiosyncrasies reflect the artist’s manual processes and underscore the handcrafted nature of the practice. Mark-making is also central to Walker’s visual lexicon, with inscriptions appearing along frame edges and across painted surfaces. His works are commonly inscribed with initials and completion dates, subtle acknowledgements of temporal and labour-intensive processes.
Since 2009, Walker has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand. He received a High Commendation in the RBS Emerging Artist Award in 2010 and was the inaugural recipient of the Arkley Award at NOTFAIR, Melbourne. In 2012, he undertook a studio residency at Gertrude Contemporary. His work is represented in major public and private collections, including Artbank, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Chartwell Collection (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki), the Wallace Arts Trust, the Bowman Collection, and the Joyce Nissan Collection, as well as in numerous private collections across Australasia and internationally.
Jake Walker
Born 1971, New Zealand
Lives and works in Hobart, Australia
EDUCATION
1991
Otago School of Fine Art, Dunedin, New Zealand
1989
Whitirea Art School, Wellington, New Zealand
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
'Pottery UFC', STATION, Sydney
2022
'GROG', Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart
2021
'Pipes', STATION, Melbourne
2020
'I am in Hobart', Gallery 9, Sydney
2019
'LIFE LIKE', STATION, Melbourne
'American Music', Hamish McKay, Wellington, New Zealand
2017
'The Turps', Hamish McKay, Wellington, New Zealand
'NO NUKES', STATION, Melbourne
'Time Frame', Gallery 9, Sydney
2016
'GEYSERLAND', Dutton, New York, USA
'The Suggest Things', Hamish McKay, Wellington, New Zealand
'UNEMPLOYMENT WORKS', STATION, Melbourne
2015
'Jake Walker', Sydney Contemporary, Gallery 9, Sydney
'Going Over The Young', Wellington, New Zealand
2014
'The Town Belt', City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
'Art Basel' Hong Kong, with Utopian Slumps, Hong Kong
2013
'Painting Questions', Gallery 9, Sydney
2012
'Paintings And Relief', Utopian Slumps, Melbourne
'Painting And Relief', Studio 12, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne
2011
'Owner Builder', Utopian Slumps, Melbourne Paintings, Gallery 9, Sydney
2009
'Have a Go', Gallery 9, Sydney
2008
'New Past Painting Group', James Dorahy Project Space, Sydney
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
'The World Around Us', Gallery 9, Sydney
2021
'Group Show', Gallery 9, Sydney
'Sydney Contemporary', with Gallery 9, Sydney
2020
'Ten year show', STATION, Melbourne
2019
'Sydney Contemporary Art Fair', with Gallery 9, Sydney
'MODEL', Murray White Room, Melbourne
2018
'Support Structure', La Trobe Gallery, Bendigo
'Shantih, Shantih, Shantih', STATION, Melbourne
'NADA' New York, with Dutton, New York, USA
'Swab Barcelona', with Dutton, Barcelona, Spain
2017
'Spring 1883' Art Fair, with Dutton, Sydney
'Sydney Contemporary Art Fair', with Gallery 9, Sydney
'Game', Bowerbank Ninow, Auckland
2016
'The Young Ones', The Young Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2015
'Spring 1883' Art Fair, with STATION, Sydney
'Sweet Relief', Gallery 9, Sydney
2014
'5 Perspectives', The Young, Wellington, New Zealand
'Never-Never Land', Roslyn Oxley9, Sydney
'Assembly', Margaret Lawrence Gallery Victorian College of Art, Melbourne
'Utopian Slumps Suite', Spring 1883 Fair, Melbourne
'9 Paintings Presentation', Incidents Above The Bar, The Alderman, Melbourne
2013
'Melbourne Now', National Gallery of Victoria
2012
'Ode To Form', Westspace, Melbourne
'The Lie Of The Land', Australian Embassy Gallery, Washington DC, USA
'Gertrude Studio Artists Show', Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne
'Place Of Assembly', Schoolhouse Studios, Melbourne
2011
'Reason and Rhyme', Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne
'Reason and Rhyme Part 2', St Paul St Gallery, Auckland
