Mark Ward has two feet outstretched; one remains in England, while the other is firmly planted in Africa. With amazing invention and a product designer’s sense for construction, Ward paints a fascinating and surreal world for our delight. His paintings are bright and clean with an unusual cast of characters. Insects, birds, and even elephants are rendered with a plastic sheen that is illustrative yet sculptural. Ward has a dazzling sense of rendering environments, we find ourselves in a jungle or forest, plains or mangrove, with all the trappings of an industrial origin. One may recognize the familiar flora within Ward’s environment, plastic tubing, pipe cleaners and cardboard sprout and arch toward the edges of the picture. He will often complement sketchbook studies by building sculptures out of real materials and found objects, lighting them like a stage.

This approach allows a completely dreamlike world to have an air of reality. “Painting is my way of dreaming myself elsewhere,” he states. “All the life of the forest, swamp, and savannah is played out by creatures made of paper, plastic and string, as consciously posed and lit as any actor.” In this artifice, there is no room for strife or violence, his is a world of peace and perfection, and we are all invited. Ward lives and works in Suffolk, England.

www.markwardart.co.uk

www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Mark_Ward.aspx