Robyn Ward is an Irish contemporary artist. He uses

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

on canvas and combines abstract and realist approaches. He is based in Mexico City.

Early life and education

Ward was born on 3 October 1982 in Dublin, where he lived for five years before moving to Belfast. In 2019, Ward claimed that Campbell College expelled him aged fifteen and that he spent his teenage years skateboarding and painting graffiti on derelict buildings before adopting a nomadic lifestyle. He worked in studios in Bangkok, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Mexico City.

Career

Ward paints on canvas, using a multi-layered style. He uses a mixed media of acrylics,

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thi ...

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

Oil paint Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varn ...

and

spray paint Aerosol paint (commonly spray paint) is paint that comes in a sealed, pressurized container and is released in an aerosol spray when a valve button is depressed. Aerosol painting is one form of spray painting; it leaves a smooth, even coat, unlike ...

. Ward cites Jackson Pollock, Banksy, and Hieronymus Bosch as inspiration for his work. His subject matter comprises personal reflections and

socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

commentary. This has included messages about sustainability, racism and bigotry, and the conflict in Ireland. In 2018, the Art Attack Exhibition at the Royal Monceau Gallery in Paris featured Ward's work. In the same year, Ward displayed his artwork in six other exhibitions and solo shows. His solo exhibition 'Once Upon a Time', held in May 2018 at the House of Fine Art in London, combined images of popular children's cartoon characters with reflections on racism and bigotry. For example, one piece depicted

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

with a picket sign reading 'no Blacks, no dogs, and no Irish'. In 2019, Ward exhibited a series of artworks entitled 'Plastic Nation' that aimed to draw attention to the global environmental crisis. The pieces focused on the impact of the world's consumption of single-use plastics. Ward auctioned some of the artworks from 'Plastic Nation' to raise funds for a non-profit animal welfare charity. Ward's 2021 exhibition 'Fucked at Birth' depicted destruction, violence, and societal breakdown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Robyn Living people People educated at Campbell College Irish contemporary artists Year of birth missing (living people)