BIO
Fine artist Warren Heard (b.1950 - Venice, CA) is a master of post-modern figurative oil paintings, and has been recognized for his talent with the 2022 Oregon Fine Arts Career Enhancement Grant. From a young age, Heard eagerly absorbed the techniques of the masters under the tutelage of a close family friend and prominent English artist, Gordon “Ghort” Ellis (1920-1978), and has since dedicated over sixty years to relentlessly honing his skills and crafting his unique style.
Upon graduating from Venice High in 1968, armed with an art scholarship, Heard set out to further develop his skills in the field of fine arts. He accomplished this by studying at the highly-regarded Kansas City Art Institute and later at the Arts Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where his talents were acknowledged and rewarded through various awards and recognitions, solidifying his reputation as a skilled and accomplished artist from the early stages of his career.
In addition to his fine art career, Heard worked as a creative director and cartoonist for the Hollywood Free Press during the 1970s and 1980s and then transitioned to a successful career as an executive chef at some of the finest restaurants in Southern California for over 30 years, before retiring in 2001. However, he never abandoned his passion for art and continues to spend 10-12 hours every day in the studio perfecting his craft.
His latest solo show, “Not For the Faint of HeART”, was held at Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River in Fall of 2022, where he showcased over 30 large oil paintings, a series of gouache works, and limited edition prints which were all received with critical acclaim.
Warren is having an exciting 2023, his work was selected among 500+ artists for Surreal Salon 15, the premier exhibition for American Surrealists hosted by The Baton Rouge Center for Contemporary Arts and Juxtapoz Art Magazine. He's also the featured artist at The Ford Gallery (Portland, OR) and working on a new series that is taking his practice to the next level, which will be publicly shown later in the year.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Warren Heard's large-scale paintings reveal the raw inner workings of the mind, through his dynamic and evolving multidisciplinary approach. He has masterfully modified traditional mediums and methodologies to expose the inner conflicts that burden humanity. The breadth of Heard's career explores various mediums, his choice of material always driven by his own curiosity. Each phase of his career has led him to a desire to master a classic medium, including gouache, watercolor, and oil painting, as well as materials such as ink and pastels.
His early years as an illustrator gave him insight into detailing objects of a figurative nature. However, his love for the Abstract Expressionists and Surrealism movements inspired him to explore notions of abstraction. His textured approach to paint application, the chaotic layers of subjects, and the meticulous choice of color illuminate a visceral sense of struggle. The choice to present these subjects in such large scale works immerses the viewer in the madness presented, throwing them into the intricate mechanisms of the human psyche.
The work has been a journey filled with delight, alongside anguish. Personal hardships have pulled him away and pushed him back into his artistic career, but the work has remained constant, a passion that has become an outlet for a life filled with trials and tribulations. As each viewer glimpses into these isolated moments within the human mind, moments shrouded in loneliness reveal themselves to be recognizable experiences amongst us all.
CONTACT:
Email: Info@warrenheardart.com
Social: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter