Thornton Walker has embraced a diversity of subject matter and technique in his practice over the past three decades but what has remained consistent is an interest in the dynamics of perspective in the creation of space.  Thornton’s still life and interior paintings have a rich meditative quality emphasised by the serenity of the picture plane and the sometimes striking ordinariness of the depicted subjects that are frequently unrelated motifs which have long fascinated Thornton.  By infusing ordinary objects with Zen notions of emptiness, he challenges this traditional genre with each work venturing far beyond describing physicality.  In recent works, Thornton has been intrigued by the scenarios that arise from dreams and, using the picture plane as a thoughtspace, he maps out often disparate images placed in either close association or isolation against an ambiguous background.  It is this unresolved space created with layers of washes, drips, stains, grids, and collage that affords the works such a dreamlike quality.  Demonstrating a masterful but sensitive handling of surfaces, Thornton’s works enchant us with their earthy spirituality.

Thornton Walker began his art education in printmaking at Prahran College of Advanced Education, which was followed by further studies at the Victorian College of the Arts.  After graduating in 1977, he spent the next eight years travelling extensively in Europe and the United States and later undertook studio residencies in Spain and Malaysia.  In 2007, Thornton was awarded a Printmaking Fellowship with the Australian Print Workshop in Melbourne.  With over thirty-five solo exhibitions to his name, Thornton's work has been acquired by numerous collections including those of the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of WA, Artbank, Queensland University of Technology, Deakin University and Parliament House.