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Glitch Paintings at Fountain Street Art

A few months back I sent one of the Private Message paintings over to Fountain Street for their summer show which was juried by Juniper Rag. That painting was selected best in show, so they invited me back for another exhibition. I am assuming that they expected me to show up with some more tight realism but, after some gentle persuasion they agreed to host some of the Glitch paintings instead. (Is this why nobody invites me to show anymore?) The show will include a selection of paintings that take range approaches to translating corrupted video stills. Alongside the work of Delany Conner and Robert Sullivan. I’m looking forward toContinue Reading

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Blue at Cambridge Art Association

The Cambridge Art Association puts on a big juried show each year, open to artists from the New England states, centered around a color – RED or BLUE. This year (Blue) the juror was the owner of Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, whose taste I have complete confidence in, so I decided to submit. Blue 2023 On view at Cambridge Art Association from November 7 2023 through January 3 2024 Opening Reception Thursday November 9th from 6-8p I feel like I have been neglecting everyone who is interested in more traditional looking realist paintings while I have been experimenting with the Glitch paintings so, I’m happy to have one of the DandelionContinue Reading

Portrait After Data Loss

Two Panels, 24″ x 40″ – oil on panel

Dandelions #4

24″ x 50″ – oil on panel

Portrait Glitch

24?” x 36″ – oil on panel

Degrading Outcomes Glitch

Two panels, each 36″ x 60″ – oil on panel

A Glitch Caused By The Word No

Glitch Caused By The Word No

59″ x 39″ – oil on panel

Dissapointment Glitch, Painting by Nick Ward

Disappointment Glitch

36″ x 22″ – oil on panel

Neighbors

54″ x 24″ – oil on panel  

Nick Ward Who?

Nick Ward is figurative painter and printmaker who creates portrait based works that explore timeless stories through the internet obsessed eyes of today. Originally from a small town outside Portland Oregon, Nick currently resides in the outskirts of Boston, MA with his wife, daughter, and their scrappy dog. His work has twice earned him Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grants for painting.

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Statement

Interpreting faces and figures is a very fundamental part of being human. We all spend countless hours studying the people around us and because of this, anyone who looks at a portrait, no matter what their education or background, has an instinctual understanding of what small changes in expression and proportion might signify. Because of these primal reactions, I believe portraits have a unique power as an art form. My paintings use simple compositions, often over multiple panels with repeated elements, that allow the familiar form of the human face and body to take center stage. I try to combine traditional techniques and labor intensive processes, with pixelated imagery and saturated colors. The paintings celebrate quirks of our current aesthetics; which future generations will look back on with the kind of nostalgia we currently feel for film grain and crackling records. In many cases, each color within the subject's skin tones is pulled to the surface and allowed to create chaotic patterns within the boundaries of the subject's body. From there, small distortions and slightly exaggerated characteristics invite the viewer to allow their own anxieties and desires to define the piece.

For more on each individual series, click here.

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Interesting in modeling for a piece? Have questions about my work? Want to give me a piece of your mind? Email me.