Terry Ward

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA

Artist statement

Statement, Influences, Prospective Gallerists Note Info When modern art history calls a painter important or great, almost always the artist has somehow changed how painting may be done. Cubists like Picasso revolutionized how the subject matter may be depicted; Jackson Pollock (“Jack The Dripper”) freed artists from needing to apply paintbrushes to canvas; Cy Twombly made handwriting and scribbles acceptable as subject matter; Andy Warhol popularized multiple-screenprints; et cetera. Such innovative “greats” are uncommon. Artist Terry Ward (AKA GrumpyVisualArtist) changes what a painting even is. For a summary in animated GIF form, see: http://grumpyvisualartist.blogspot.com/2015/02/animated-gif-of-grumpyvisualartist.html Because Ward paints on same-sized panels in series groups, one Ward panel is a painting (of course), but also, (declares the artist) two panels hung together are a painting. If hung together, four or six or fifteen or thirty are “a painting.” Mixing panels from different series can change the painting’s meaning –and Ward actually encourages such “Mash-Up” display. This changes how painting may be done. Patrons, gallerists, and (venues willing) even gallery visitors could be among those who decide how to intermix Ward panels and generate new meanings from the art. While Relational Aesthetics performance artists encourage third-party participation in their art creation, painters almost never do –let alone third-party changes or perhaps even reversals of a...

Artwork