The K11 Foundation in Shanghai presents "Women Observed", a major solo exhibition of over 40 paintings of Caroline Walker, celebrating her intimate snapshots of the everyday female experience. Artworks from various series made since 2016 are exhibited, including five new paintings that have not been shown before.
Through her paintings of women, Caroline Walker challenges, with respect and contemplation, the complicated boundaries between public and private spheres. She explores the space between being an observer – that is preserving the “objective” eye of an outsider – and magnifying the experience of a place which has become part of the fabric of her life. A lens into the everyday experiences of women largely living and working in the UK, Walker’s painting practice honors the aspects of women’s daily lives that are often taken for granted or unseen: that of housekeeping, maternity, service work, healthcare, sanitation practice, and familial relations.
As viewers, we look into Walker’s paintings as observers, not intruders. Her figures are caught in moments of their own quiet intimacies and become characters familiar to us and our own lives despite their anonymity. This method has a powerful way of highlighting the nuances that form between person-hood and the spaces we inhabit. The portrait is inseparable from its context, and the quotidian is inseparable from the remarkable. Both are given great attention and depth.
"Women Observed" is on display from 8 November, 2022 - 12 February, 2023.
