my advice would be to let go and experiment. Don't think about what you are doing as being representational or abstract but think about the marks you are making and how they relate to one another. Try and work to a point of losing yourself in the work and responding instinctively. HENRY WARD
ABOUT ABSTRACTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH HENRY WARD
With our #abstractadvent challenge in mind, some painterly inspiration seemed timely. Rather than delving into established histories I thought I'd make contact with Henry Ward, an artist and teacher who experiments with abstraction on a daily basis. Or at least most nights, it seems, if his rich Instagram feed is anything to go by. So I messaged a 'hello' to Henry - a metaphorical knock upon his garden shed door. Thankfully, as rumour had it, Henry was very receptive and more than happy to answer a few questions...
Molineux I, 2019
Our daily-practice challenge, #abstractadvent, is to encourage students (and anyone else that wants to join in) to find some space to make art each day throughout December. Can you share some insights into your 'Shed' - what goes on in there, what comes out of it, and why?
The 'Shed' is one site of practice for me, with the others being the studio and the kitchen table. As a painter that spends most of my time working in other fields, either with the Freelands Foundation (where I am Creative Director) or teaching, it is often difficult to get to the studio and consequently attempting to maintain a daily practice is challenging. Working in the shed was born out of a compulsion to try and paint, if not every day then, most days. It is not a comfortable space, or particularly designed for making work in: It is cold, it's crowded (currently it has become the dumping ground for everything we can't find room for elsewhere in the house), there's no where to sit. But this environment forces a certain kind of behaviour that is proving extremely fruitful. Whilst, when I do get to the studio, I find myself spending as much time thinking about and looking at my paintings as I do actually painting, the shed offers no such space for reflection or contemplation. So the paintings I make in the shed are made rapidly, instinctively and without pressure. I rarely start with much idea of what I am going to do, and often begin by painting over something that is already there. I work on paper (which I feel less precious about) and I am happy for the paintings to be destroyed and remade over and over again.
The 'Shed' is one site of practice for me, with the others being the studio and the kitchen table. As a painter that spends most of my time working in other fields, either with the Freelands Foundation (where I am Creative Director) or teaching, it is often difficult to get to the studio and consequently attempting to maintain a daily practice is challenging. Working in the shed was born out of a compulsion to try and paint, if not every day then, most days. It is not a comfortable space, or particularly designed for making work in: It is cold, it's crowded (currently it has become the dumping ground for everything we can't find room for elsewhere in the house), there's no where to sit. But this environment forces a certain kind of behaviour that is proving extremely fruitful. Whilst, when I do get to the studio, I find myself spending as much time thinking about and looking at my paintings as I do actually painting, the shed offers no such space for reflection or contemplation. So the paintings I make in the shed are made rapidly, instinctively and without pressure. I rarely start with much idea of what I am going to do, and often begin by painting over something that is already there. I work on paper (which I feel less precious about) and I am happy for the paintings to be destroyed and remade over and over again.
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Busy teachers - and busy students - can often find it difficult to find the time to make art. There can also be conflicts between expectations - expectations of how an artist/teacher/student might act, think and be productive. What are your thoughts on this and how have they been shaped by your experiences?
I have spent the vast majority of my career balancing the role of teaching with that of practising as an artist and it is a challenge. When I was teaching full time my work developed and evolved to include a broader understanding of what practice might mean. I worked collaboratively and, for a period, without a studio, instead focusing on how teaching itself might be part of an artistic practice. I think there is something interesting and vital about turning the circumstances in which you find yourself into your art, and not resisting this. In some ways that is where the shed and kitchen table have come from now. I think that one of the things that keeps everything afloat is setting yourself routines and tasks. Deciding to do something everyday, even if it is just taking a photograph, making a drawing or writing a list helps to build your confidence and shape your thinking. In my role at Freelands Foundation we are actively seeking ways of supporting teachers to engage with and maintain their artistic practice, opening up the debate about how teaching might be part of an expanded art practice. We recently set up a network, ARTISTEACHER, that meets regularly at our base in London and are planning to develop more opportunities in the future.
I have spent the vast majority of my career balancing the role of teaching with that of practising as an artist and it is a challenge. When I was teaching full time my work developed and evolved to include a broader understanding of what practice might mean. I worked collaboratively and, for a period, without a studio, instead focusing on how teaching itself might be part of an artistic practice. I think there is something interesting and vital about turning the circumstances in which you find yourself into your art, and not resisting this. In some ways that is where the shed and kitchen table have come from now. I think that one of the things that keeps everything afloat is setting yourself routines and tasks. Deciding to do something everyday, even if it is just taking a photograph, making a drawing or writing a list helps to build your confidence and shape your thinking. In my role at Freelands Foundation we are actively seeking ways of supporting teachers to engage with and maintain their artistic practice, opening up the debate about how teaching might be part of an expanded art practice. We recently set up a network, ARTISTEACHER, that meets regularly at our base in London and are planning to develop more opportunities in the future.
Kitchen Table Sculptures by Henry Ward, constructed using only material found on walks around the urban environment.
I'd describe your paintings as 'abstract' - would you? And would you describe the 'Kitchen Table Sculptures' in a similar way?
Yes I do describe them as abstract and I consider myself an abstract painter, but I am also very interested in 'things'. A lot of my drawings are observational and based on things in the real world and I think what interests me in painting (well one of the things) is how I might describe something that looks like something the viewer is familiar with but can't name. The Kitchen Table Sculptures are a bit different in that they are made from real things and they are also, as a sculpture, a real thing in their own right. They started out because I was looking for something to paint and I initially thought I would make an object then paint it. That didn't work out but the way I make them has informed the way I make the paintings formally. So the balancing, wrapping, wedging, splicing etc that happens in the object making, is happening in the paintings too.
Lean, 2019
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Scaffold, 2019
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In just a sentence or two, how might you explain abstraction to a class of students?
I would describe it as a way of making new forms based on existing ones.
Which artists have influenced your work most and why?
Lots of painters...Philip Guston is the big hero, along with Roy Oxlade. Then de Kooning, Bomberg, Peter Lanyon, Roger HIlton, Grace Hartigan. I love Phyllida Barlow's work and am interested in Jessica Stockholder and Gary Komarin too.
Which artists working today enrich your own work, your thinking or even your Instagram feed?
The above mentioned Komarin (very prolific), but there are so many interesting painters on Instagram and it feels like there's a fascinating painting sub-culture going on so...Karl Bielik, Max Wade, Nicky Hirst, Gabriele Herzog, Scott McCracken, Vincent Hawkins...
What advice would you give to a student (or teacher) embarking on our #abstractadvent challenge - especially one who usually works in a more figurative or representational way?
I think that in lots of ways it's all the same thing so my advice would be to let go and experiment. Don't think about what you are doing as being representational or abstract but think about the marks you are making and how they relate to one another. Try and work to a point of losing yourself in the work and responding instinctively.
I would describe it as a way of making new forms based on existing ones.
Which artists have influenced your work most and why?
Lots of painters...Philip Guston is the big hero, along with Roy Oxlade. Then de Kooning, Bomberg, Peter Lanyon, Roger HIlton, Grace Hartigan. I love Phyllida Barlow's work and am interested in Jessica Stockholder and Gary Komarin too.
Which artists working today enrich your own work, your thinking or even your Instagram feed?
The above mentioned Komarin (very prolific), but there are so many interesting painters on Instagram and it feels like there's a fascinating painting sub-culture going on so...Karl Bielik, Max Wade, Nicky Hirst, Gabriele Herzog, Scott McCracken, Vincent Hawkins...
What advice would you give to a student (or teacher) embarking on our #abstractadvent challenge - especially one who usually works in a more figurative or representational way?
I think that in lots of ways it's all the same thing so my advice would be to let go and experiment. Don't think about what you are doing as being representational or abstract but think about the marks you are making and how they relate to one another. Try and work to a point of losing yourself in the work and responding instinctively.
Shed Works by Henry Ward, various works on paper
With many thanks to Henry Ward for sharing his work, time and thoughtful insights. Chris Francis