Wildlife Art

PATRICK WALSH – BIOGRAPHY

Even though Patrick Walsh uses a camera for his artwork, he doesn’t think of himself as a photographer, nor would he call the resulting pieces “photography.” Instead, Walsh approaches his work as a painter might, and paints with the camera itself. The camera is the paintbrush and the photographs are the brushstrokes of his Photomosaics: large-scale ruminations on people, places and things that he filters through the camera lens, then pieces together. The end results — flattened out images that show us what we only perceive in our peripheral vision — are rendered much deeper and broader than the sum of their original parts.

Walsh, who studied graphic design and advertising at the Parsons School of Design in his native New York City, and who painted as a hobby, created his first piece over thirty years ago when he was location-scouting for a feature film. He discovered a location that could not be captured in a single image. So, he shot many, using a Kodak instant camera, and stapled the photographs together. The result intrigued him and Walsh soon found himself making deliberate forays into the Southwestern desert and along windswept Pacific coastlines to find subjects for his art.

Each time Walsh pieces together countless photographs that he has shot to create a single image, he tells a new story. His subjects are as varied as Dennis Connor fronting his sailboat, an empty baseball stadium, the desert or a verdant rain forest. And while the end result may feel spontaneous, the process is anything but, says Walsh. Each location is carefully considered, revisited, and the work is thoroughly thought out before Walsh opens his aperture to gather the images.

For instance, for a piece commissioned by the Los Angeles Dodgers – a photomosaic of the empty stadium – Walsh shot 26 rolls of film for a piece that turned out to be 11 feet long. That commission led to another, by the Baltimore Orioles. The resulting 7 foot long photomosaic of the new Camden Yards was featured at the ball club’s reception for the All Star game. Both works now hang in the stadiums’ private clubs.

Once the film is shot, Walsh shapes the experience with the photographs. “I’m creating a composition with multiple photographs and yet within those photographs there will be a beautiful one all by itself. I’ll put it into the mix. The overall impression is what matters to me,” says Walsh. “I want you to step into that picture, it’s like a window. I want you to feel you’re there.”

In addition to his Photomosaics, Walsh has a distinguished career as a director and producer in the advertising industry. He has won eight “Clios,” four “Cannes Lions,” an Emmy nomination and over 300 additional industry honors including two films in MOMA’s Permanent collection.

Walsh is a director member of The Director’s Guild of America
and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, (The Emmys).

Walsh’s work has appeared in museums, galleries and private collections
internationally.

Born: New York City
Education: High School of Music & Art, Major: Art, New York City
Parsons School of Design, Major: Graphic Design, New York City

PAINTING WITH THE CAMERA®

COLLECTIONS:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Hot Springs, AR
Los Angeles Dodger Baseball Organization, Los Angeles, California
Baltimore Orioles Baseball Organization, Baltimore, Maryland
New Orleans Museum of Modern Art
Mother Road US 66 Museum, Barstow, California
Palazzo Exhibitione Museum, Rome, Italy
Western America Railroad Museum, Barstow, California
Embassy of Brazil, Rome, Italy
The Oppenheimer Fund, New York City
US State Department Art in Embassies, Collection of the Ambassador

ONE MAN SHOWS and EXHIBITIONS:
Desert Art Collection Gallery, Palm Desert, CA May 2009
SoHo Studios Gallery, New York, NY June/September 2008
Desert Art Collection Gallery, Palm Desert, CA March/April 2007
Art Rome Photography Competition, First Prize Worldwide, 25,000 entries 2007
Art of Photography Show, Juried selection, San Diego, California, April-June 2006
9517 entries, only 104 selected for “Art of Photography Show” honor
Agora Gallery, New York City, NY, March-April 2006
Juried selection, Alternative Media Exhibition, October-December 2005
Galerie Gora, Montreal, QC, Canada, March 2005
Milford Crossing Gallery, Milford, CT, September 2004-January 2005
Landmark Gallery, Tarrytown, NY, June-September 2004
Turning Point Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC, 2003
Masters of Light Gallery, Durham, NC, 2003
Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, CT, December-March 2003 as Featured Artist
Masters of light Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC, 2002
Morales Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC, 2002
Nathanson’s Fine Art Photo Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2000 – 2001
JazCaf Gallery, Rome, Italy, June 2000
Invisible Dog Gallery, New York City, 1998
BBDO Corporate Gallery, New York City, 1991
DMB&B Corporate Gallery, New York City, 1989
Marylou’s Exhibit Gallery, New York City, 1987
Hammerquist Gallery, New York City, 1983

EXHIBITED AT ArtExpoNY, NY 2003, 2004, 2007 • Jackson Hole Art Fair, July, 2006
EXHIBITED AT: ArtExpoAtlanta 2005 • Palm Springs International Art Fair 2004

His art can be seen at The Art Project

By: John Lowry