words
CONTACT
gwarnart@gmail.com
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I paint and I construct.
Both my paintings and assemblages use the metaphor of excavation.
My formal education in landscape architecture and classical archaeology provides structure to
artistic flights of fancy that always seem to revolve around some form of revelation:
The attempt to unearth an object or solve a mystery.
Uncovering/Covering.
Leaving aTrace,
a Vestige,
a Palimpsest.
I paint and I construct.
Both my paintings and assemblages use the metaphor of excavation.
My formal education in landscape architecture and classical archaeology provides structure to
artistic flights of fancy that always seem to revolve around some form of revelation:
The attempt to unearth an object or solve a mystery.
Uncovering/Covering.
Leaving aTrace,
a Vestige,
a Palimpsest.
Click on image to enlarge it
ABOUT INSPIRATION...
Inspiration
It’s everywhere.
It’s a wall, or a word. It’s in books. It’s the entire city of Rome. It’s remembering a morning row on the Huron River. It's an element. It's the name of an element. It's the atomic number of an element.
Inspiration is whatever I am obsessed with at any given time. A subject I return to again and again is science, especially as it relates to space.
I am a child of the 60’s and the absolute wonder and awe of space exploration has never left me.
I am also inspired by architecture and archaeology and these frequently drive the look of my paintings.
I love the look and mythology associated with broken down buildings, abandoned factories, forgotten places.
Inspiration to Physical Form
I most often begin with a word, phrase or a scientific or mathematical concept in my head. I have lists of these things on my studio wall or in sketchbooks.
I am constantly listening and reading, looking for the spark from my engagement with a word or two. I imagine what this word, etc. “looks like” , what mood it evokes for me,
and begin by laying down color onto a substrate to start the painting process. Frequently the painting takes shape as I work it.
It is rare that I know exactly what a piece will look like before I begin therefore it’s a very active, conscious process that evolves over the time I am working.
It’s everywhere.
It’s a wall, or a word. It’s in books. It’s the entire city of Rome. It’s remembering a morning row on the Huron River. It's an element. It's the name of an element. It's the atomic number of an element.
Inspiration is whatever I am obsessed with at any given time. A subject I return to again and again is science, especially as it relates to space.
I am a child of the 60’s and the absolute wonder and awe of space exploration has never left me.
I am also inspired by architecture and archaeology and these frequently drive the look of my paintings.
I love the look and mythology associated with broken down buildings, abandoned factories, forgotten places.
Inspiration to Physical Form
I most often begin with a word, phrase or a scientific or mathematical concept in my head. I have lists of these things on my studio wall or in sketchbooks.
I am constantly listening and reading, looking for the spark from my engagement with a word or two. I imagine what this word, etc. “looks like” , what mood it evokes for me,
and begin by laying down color onto a substrate to start the painting process. Frequently the painting takes shape as I work it.
It is rare that I know exactly what a piece will look like before I begin therefore it’s a very active, conscious process that evolves over the time I am working.
REPRESENTATION
Bennett Galleries, Knoxville and Nashville, TN
Calloway Fine Arts, Washington, DC
Left Bank Gallery, Wellfleet, MA
MADoran Gallery, Tulsa, OK
Modern Arts Midtown, Omaha, NE
Next Step Studio, Ferndale, MI
SmithKlein Gallery, Boulder, CO
Tvedten Fine Art , Harbor Springs, MI
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI
MY FAVORITE STATEMENT BY A REAL WRITER :-)
Graceann Warn is in love with “terra incognita”, a seeker of an elusive “there” whose identity can only be glimpsed in fragments:
a word, a shape, the barest hint of a phrase whose meaning dissolves the instant you think you’ve grasped it.
In a world glutted with noise, Graceann Warn’s quiet and complex works remind us that time and history and place are porous-
that beneath the thrum of email and text messages and the flickering screens with which we are lately so besotted lies something as ancient and enduring
as the human voice. No wonder she is drawn to scarred walls in faraway cities, to blackboards etched with remnants of thought, to palimpsests.
One is reminded of Emily Dickinson’s spasmodic poems, with their unsettling dashes and gaps.
“The thought behind, I strove to join/ Unto the thought before-/ But Sequence ravelled out of Sound/ Like Balls-upon a Floor.”
Graceann Warn’s paintings speak with a similar urgency. They are invitations-sumptuous, tactile, provocative invitations
to a mysterious, subterranean land where words connect and fractured histories are again made whole.
Leslie Stainton
Ann Arbor, Michigan
BIOGRAPHY
Graceann Warn, American, was born and raised in New Jersey. From Michigan State University she graduated with a degree in landscape architecture.
Later, while pursuing a Master's in Landscape Architecture at the University of Michigan and working as a landscape architect,
she visited an exhibition of the last paintings of Mark Rothko. The emotional impact of that exhibition was the catalyst for great change.
Within a year she made the decision to devote her life to making art.
She has been a full time studio artist since 1985 with work exhibited and collected nationally and internationally.
She lives in in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband Geoff.
MEDIA
deKuster, Peter, Heroine's Journey with Graceann Warn, June 2017
Ebert, Michael, Interview with Graceann Warn, Prog Zombie, May 2016
Natale, Nancy, Pro Wax Journal, What Powers Abstract Painting?, Interview with Cheryl McClure and Graceann Warn, May 2015
Sefton, Barbara, Interview with Graceann Warn, Slice Ann Arbor, , May 2014
Stainton, Leslie, Reflection, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Armstron, Don, Material Practices, Interview with Graceann Warn, November, 2013
Day, Mary,Review of Trace Elements, The Reader, July, 2012
Krainak, Michael, Preview of Trace Elements: Graceann Warn, Omaha Reader, July, 2012
The Briar Cliff Review, Vol. 24 2012, pg. 69.
Cover art for Sailing through Cassiopeia, poetry by Dan Gerber, Copper Canyon Press, November 2012
Moriarty, Laura, Artist of the Month, R+F Blog, , Oct. 2011
Cover art for Measuring The Dark, poetry by Kate Gleason, Zone 3 Press, 2009
The Briar Cliff Review, Vol. 23 2011, pg. 24
Bigner, Melissa "Natural Instincts " Charleston Home, Summer 2011, pg 59.
Clark, Philip F., The Artist Project: New Art for New Perspectives, Featured, The Artpoint, Feb 2011
Carey, Peter, Artist Project Launches in New York, Featured, Office Insight, Feb 2011
del Valle, Robert, In An Undertone, Stage and Canvas, Real Detroit Weekly, Nov 2010
Shaw, Keith, Review for Hoadley Gallery show, Berkshires Week, August 2010
Eberbach, JenniferTrusting the Senses: The Art of Graceann Warn Ann Arbor News, Nov 2009
del Valle, Robert Stage and Canvas Real Detroit Weekly, Nov 2009
del Valle, Robert Graceann Warn at Next Step Studios Metromix, Nov 2009
Dansicker, Jennifer "Canal Street Malt House" Chesapeake Home, Aug 2008
Shapiro, Stephanie, Scrap Art, Baltimore Sun, Feb 2005
Owen, Carol The Art and Craft of Making Shrines, Lark Books, 2004
Provenzano, Frank, Detroit Free Press, Wave of Inspiration Led to Art Career, July 2003
Damron, Gina, Ann Arbor News, Warn's Leap of Faith Leads to Career, 2003
HGTV Interview and studio tour, Spring 2002
Opera News, review for Orfeo ed Euridice, 2002
Dance Magazine, review for Orfeo ed Euridice, 2002
Nisbett, Susan, Ann Arbor News Ann Arbor's Finest Create a Magnificent Orfeo, 2001
Toledo Blade, "Downtown Gallery Show is Simply Elemental", December 2000
Rueter, Anne, Ann Arbor News, A Passion for Art, 1999
American Craft Portfolio, April 1998
Ann Arbor News "Area Artist to Exhibit at Smithsonian", April 1996
Roukes, Nicholas " Sculpture in Paper", Davis Pub., 1993
Frenkel, Cindy "Art in Found Objects", Creative Ideas for Living, Fall 1990
Ramljak, Suzanne, Ann Arbor News review, 1987
RESUME
EDUCATION
2001-2002 University of Michigan, Theater Design, coursework
1990-1993 University of Michigan, Classical Art and Archaeology, coursework
1983-1984 University of Michigan, Landscape Architecture, graduate studies
1978 Michigan State University, Bachelor of Landscape Architecture,
Recipient ‘Certificate of Honor’, American Society of Landscape Architects
Various professional workshops in bookbinding, papermaking, metalwork, prop building
SELECTED SHOWS and EXHIBITIONS
Culture Verse, Ann Arbor, MI 'Root' December 2022
Calloway Fine Arts, Washington, DC Two person Show October 2022
Next Step Gallery, Ferndale, MI: Spring Happening, June 2022
Left Bank Gallery, Wellfleet, MA, August 2020
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI, June 2020
Architectural Digest, March 2020
Modern Arts Midtown, Omaha, NE, 'Origins' January 2020
SOFA Chicago, November 2019
Bennett Galleries, Knoxville, TN: New Work, October 2019
Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, MI, Plaster and Wax: Painting Beyond the Canvas
Modern Arts Midtown, Omaha, NE, Inquiry
Scarab Club, Group show curated by Jack Summers, Detroit, Michigan, WAX
Left Bank Gallery, Odysseys
Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery , Chicago, IL
Modern Arts Midtown, Omaha, NE, Mysterium
Snyderman Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, Special Exhibitions:Judd, Larrimore, Warn
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI
Modern Arts Midtown, Group show, Omaha, NE, The Abstract Show
Left Bank Gallery, Points of Departure
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery , Chicago, IL
Art Hamptons/Next Step Gallery
Affordable Art Fair/Havoc Gallery, New York, NY
Modern Arts Midtown, Omaha, NE, solo exhibit
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Acoustic Abstractions
Modern Arts Midtown, Group show, Omaha, NE, The Abstract Show
University Of Michigan Hospital, Gifts of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, Proof
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Drawn to Scale
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery , Chicago, IL
Art Palm Beach, Exhibiting with Next Step Gallery
Snyderman Works Gallery Philadelphia, PA: Design Perspectives
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: Lines of Position
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Group show
Modern Arts Midtown, Cool Abstractions , Omaha, NE
Bennett Gallery, Knoxville, TN: Three person show
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery , Chicago, IL
Art Palm Beach, Exhibiting with Next Step Gallery
Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, British Columbia: 3 person show
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: The Way In, group show
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Group show
Modern Arts Midtown, Of Common Ground, Omaha, NE
Hoadley Gallery Lenox, MA: Thomas Hoadley + Graceann Warn
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: Proof
Snyderman Works Gallery Philadelphia, PA: Solo show
River Gallery Chelsea, MI: Solo show, Finding True
Art Palm Beach, Exhibiting with Next Step Gallery
Altered Space Gallery, Venice, CA
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Group show
Next Step Gallery, Ferndale, MI: Spring Happening
Modern Arts Midtown, Trace Elements, Omaha, NE
MA Doran Gallery New Paintings, Tulsa, OK
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: So Far
Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, British Columbia: 4 person show
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery , Chicago, IL
Philadelphia Craft Show Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Artist Project, New York, NY
SOFA/New York, New York, NY
Next Step Gallery, Ferndale, MI: Spring Happening
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Objects of Desire
Side Street Gallery, Gloucester, MA: Peterson + Warn
Hoadley Gallery Lenox, MA: Abstraction: Two Views
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: Jump!
Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH: 2 person show
Sopa Fine Arts, Kelowna, British Columbia
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery, Chicago, IL
Philadelphia Craft Show Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Architectural Digest Show, New York, NY
Modern Arts Midwest, Lincoln, NE: Summer Abstraction
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Lost and Found
Detroit Artist’s Market, Detroit, MI: Wordage
Next Step Gallery, Ferndale, MI: Spring Happening
Hoadley Gallery Lenox, MA
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA:New Paintings
River Gallery Chelsea, MI: Sotto Voce
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery, Chicago, Ill
Altered Space Gallery, Venice, CA
Water Street Gallery, Douglas, MI: Group show
Next Step Gallery, Ferndale, MI: Spring Happening
Left Bank Gallery Wellfleet, MA: Two person show
Hoadley Gallery Lenox, MA: Two person show
SOFA Chicago/Next Step Gallery, Chicago, IL
TEACHING and PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Snow Farm, Williamsburg, MA September 2022
Bellissima Art Escapes, Bainbridge Is, WA, March 2022
Bellissima Art Escapes, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, October 2018
Penland School, Asheville, NC, August 2018
Bellissima Art Escapes, Oaxaca, Mexico, October 2017
Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, Maine, August 2014
Presenter, Panel 'Raising the Bar' Seventh International Encaustic Conference,
Provincetown, MA, June 2013
Toscana Americana, Santorini, Greece, October 2007
Toscana Americana, Cortona, Italy, May 2007
Haystack Mountain School, June 2007
Jackson Hole Art Association, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, March 2007
Toscana Americana, Cortona, Italy, October 2006
Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, Maine, July 2004
Haystack Mountain School, Deer Isle, Maine, Fall 2003
Hollander’s School of Book and Paper Arts, various times 1995-2005
University of Michigan Cancer Center, Art Therapy Program, Workshop instructor
Ann Arbor Art Center, Various times 1990-1995
Artist in Residence, Artpark, Lewiston, NY 1989
COLLECTIONS and COMMISSIONS
Texas Tech University, Health Services Center, El Paso, TX
US Embassy, Kathmandu, 'Arts in Embassies Program’
Bank of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
MNP LLC, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Yale-New Haven Hospitals, New Haven, CT
Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
US Embassy, Sarajevo'Arts in Embassies Program’
Peter Sparling Dance Company/University Musical Society, Set designer Orfeo ed Euridice
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN
US Embassy, Nairobi, Kenya
Royal Carribean Cruiselines
Rand McNally, Chicago, IL
Pew Charitable Trust, Philadelphia, PA
Bell-Atlantic Headquarters, Philadelphia, PA
Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, VA
General Motors, Detroit, MI
University of Michigan School of Business, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
Meijer Corporation Headquarters, Grand Rapids, MI
Wheels, Inc, Des Plaines, IL
Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, MI
US Comptroller of the Currency, Chicago, IL
Alberto Culver Corporation, St. Louis, MO
Delta Airlines, Pittsburgh, PA, Salt Lake City, UT and Orlando, FL
St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
Sprint Corporation, St. Louis, MO
J. Walter Thompson, New York, NY
Numerous private commission
PUBLICATIONS
Rooney, E. Ashley, Artist's Homes and Studios, Schiffer Pub., 2014
Day, Mary,Review of Trace Elements, The Reader, July, 2012
Krainak, Michael, Trace Elements: Graceann Warn, Omaha Reader, July, 2012
The Briar Cliff Review, Vol. 24 2012, pg. 69.
Cover art for Sailing through Cassiopeia, poetry by Dan Gerber, Copper Canyon Press, November 2012
Rooney, E. Ashley,100 Artists of the Midwest, Schiffer Pub., 2012, pg 82-83.
Moriarty, Laura, R+F Blog, Artist of the Month, Oct. 2011
Cover art for Measuring The Dark, poetry by Kate Gleason, Zone 3 Press, 2009
The Briar Cliff Review, Vol. 23 2011, pg. 24
Bigner, Melissa "Natural Instincts " Charleston Home, Summer 2011, pg 59.
Clark, Philip F., The Artist Project: New Art for New Perspectives, Featured, The Artpoint, Feb 2011
Eberbach, Jennifer, Trust the Senses: The Art of Graceann Warn, Ann Arbor News, Nov 2009
Del Valle, Robert, Graceann Warn at Next Step Studios, Metromix, Nov 2009
Del Valle, Robert, Graceann Warn, Detroit Weekly, Nov 2009
Perrella, Lynne Art-Making , Collections & Obsessions, 2007
Owen, Carol The Art and Craft of Making Shrines, Lark Books, 2004
Detroit Free Press, feature article, July 2003
Ann Arbor News, feature article, July 2003
HGTV Interview and studio tour, Spring 2002
Opera News, Review for Orfeo ed Euridice
Dance Magazine, Review for Orfeo ed Euridice
Ann Arbor News ‘A Passion for Art’ 2000
American Craft ‘Portfolio’ April/May 1998
American Style ‘Art With Words’ Fall 1996, pp. 22-26.
Roukes, Nicholas Sculpture in Paper Worcester, MA: Davis Pub., 1993, p. 143.
Creative Ideas For Living ‘A Life in Crafts’, Sept/Oct 1990, pp. 70-77.