Jack Walls
Drawings 2019–2023
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 11th, 6 – 8pm
Whaam!
15 Elizabeth St.
New York NY, 10013
Whaam! Presents Drawings 2019–2023 a series of works on paper by artist Jack Walls.
Jack Walls (b. 1957) grew up in Chicago with a love for poetry and art. A precocious child he learned to read and write at an early age. He spent time as a juvenile delinquent growing up in the Pilsen area of Chicago. A part of the city rife with gangs and drugs, during the 1970s. After dropping out of high school he joined the navy, swept up in a romance of the sea.
After military service he moved to New York where he met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who taught him about art and photography. Upon Mapplethorpe’s death in 1989 Jack struck out to become an artist in his own right. During this time, he became an unwitting role model for a disparate group of young artists in the late 1990s and early 2000’s.
Drawings in this exhibition, done between 2019-2023 are the results of Jack Walls’s labors during the time of the COVID pandemic. These drawings, initially, were not meant for public consumption. Since they are from his personal collection.
