Much of Richard Walker's 2004 show at the Curwen was rooted in the Romantic tradition, both European and American, old country and new world. Having absorbed the language of space and perspective in his cityscapes and architectural work, these paintings are landscapes, often making reference to 19th century art and the Renaissance. The images are overlaid and fragmented with elements of dreams, cinema, history, media and a personal iconography.Texts, ranging from Shakespeare's sonnets to media headlines are also woven into the surface. Producing many of these paintings, (which range from small works on paper to large canvases), during a period of loss and re-discovery, these pictures, although sober and melancholy in mood, are often dramatic and intense in nature.

'Hungry Ocean Gain' (and it's small cousin, 'Black Sun') make reference to both Walter Sickert's and Richard Hamilton's 'Bathers', but the tranquility is disturbed here by a mysterious, dark globe. The two canvases, 'Glory to the Sober West' and 'Ambush of Young Days' blend a Thomas Hardy vision of Dorset, a dramatic scene from the Iraq War and a meditation on Shakespeare's sonnets. The two small wood pieces, 'Volterra' and 'Antonioni' , in turn, refer to the hill town in Italy and the 60's film 'Blow Up'. Both use a photo transfer technique, enabling the rough surface to absorb the flat image. Other titles include 'False Heart's History', 'Hard Times of Old England', 'Blues Garden', 'Suspended States' and 'Great American Novel'.

The 'Lost and Found' series of 6 canvases, show glimpses of an English countryside, both geographical and emotional, superimposed with elements of industry, conflict, memory and past lives. In 'Transfiguration' , a soft and distant landscape is inhabited by a lone Christ-like figure, creating a symbolism, communicating both hope and despair. This theme is carried into a series entitled 'American Skies', which are inspired by the great 19th century American landscapes paintings, but use imagery of vapour trails, storm systems, desert warfare and the disintergration of the Space Shuttle (see Links page for these images).

In the 'Dream Reel' series, the images form a bank of TV screens, arranged in a grid, and depict scenes of fleeting romance and pastoral calm, but are interrupted by a flicker of interference or a field of static. The screenprints combine different elements - in 'Pre-History', a beach scene is superimposed with a colour barcode, and in 'Map of Dreams', a derelict Thames warehouse reveals, from its past - an old clipper ship. These works marked a new point of departure for Richard Walker, not only dealing with more personal and universal themes, but also embracing new techniques and ongoing experimentation.