Walter Francis Elling
Painted USA Flag VIII, 2021
USA flag and spray paint
40" x 30"

Artist Statement

This painting is the eighth in a series of ten, each using actual flags as the canvas. The inspiration struck one morning when I envisioned creating a portrait of George Floyd on a U.S. flag. However, unsure about tackling the portrait, I turned to calligraphy as an expressive medium instead. The piece is rendered in Pan-African colors, with both Chinese and Korean calligraphy intricately woven throughout, expressing a powerful call for "liberty and justice for all." The 10th painting in the series features a portrait of George Floyd on a Bicentennial flag, discovered discarded in Philadelphia's Brewery Town, adding a poignant layer of meaning to the work.

Artist Bio

Walter Francis Elling is an American artist who works in a variety of mediums, including assemblage, photomontage, and painting. His early work in ceramics grew out of a fascination with organic forms, using both thrown and hand built techniques, and developed into works with political, racial, and queer commentary.

His recent work is a commentary on cultural norms and political justice. Using spray paint, found objects and photo-montage, Elling references religious iconography, political messaging and graffiti to create a tension between the real and the ideal.

His latest series is titled "Redefining Democracy in Red, White, Black, and Blue." With homage to Jasper Johns, Elling uses actual flags as canvases to provoke a response to issues of race and queer liberation. Spray-painted messages interweave with a color-altered geometric landscape of the flags themselves, transforming the geometry of the stars and stripes into visual symbols that have lost their potency.

In "St. George of Minneapolis" George Floyd's portrait is painted in red, white, black, and blue on a trash-picked bi-centennial flag, with the stars and gesso appearing as a halo.

www.WalterFranciselling.com

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