Ann Binlot
October 26, 2009
John W. Codling is not your average artist. When Wall Street began its tumble in spring of 2008 with the collapse of Bear Stearns, some financial honchos coped through yoga or a psychiatrist. Codling, who works in equities at Tellet Prebon, turned to Christopher Walken. Overworked and stressed out, Codling bought three canvases and started painting portraits of Walken every Sunday (see full gallery). The pieces range from "Walken This Way," a painting of Run DMC with Walken's face as Run's head to "I Follow Nobody," a painting of Walken with a collage of words incorporated in it. The series culminated into "Sundays with Chris," which is on display at the DVF Gallery until November 1. All proceeds from the sales will go to Team Continuum, a charity that assists cancer patients. I sat down with Codling at The Standard the evening before the opening.

