This year marks twenty years since artist John R Walker, moved to Braidwood in rural New South Wales. It’s also the thirty-fifth anniversary of Utopia Art Sydney, the gallery that has represented Walker since it opened in 1988. Born and raised in Sydney, Walker has always preferred being in the bush to city dwelling. For many years, he was a part-time bushwalking guide. A favourite place was the Budawangs, in the South Coast, near where he now lives. A sense of connectedness led to a passionate interest in geology, deep time, and the emerging discipline of environmental history.
The term “landscape” proves problematic for Walker. Acknowledged as one of Australia’s leading painters, he says “I prefer to use ‘country’: ‘landscape’ is too
