Nell Warren
Images:
Exhibitions:
Statement
My work is based on the delicate balance of serendipity and intention: being moved by the paint as I, in turn, learn to cull from mischance a provocative assembly of color forms. I am fascinated by the nature of printed paint and the graphic, delicate quality of the mark. Each new painting is an investigation into a discovery of form or process that occurred in a previous work. It is like a foreign language that I am learning without a textbook, the guidelines defined by the character of the marks, and my ability to create and utilize them. Into these scapes of pod-like forms I apply my own sense of order. I refine and edit, enhance and embellish; I create a habitat for them to breathe so they can be seen by the uninitiated eye. My personal aesthetic derives from a love of symbols, motifs, and illuminations, Tibetan Tanka painting and Japanese and Chinese artistry. I like preciousness and detail, antiquity and mystery. I am also inspired by the true abstractness of nature on a microcosmic scale. A perfect design on a rock, the grain of wood, rusted metal, a view taken out of context, the rightness of an aged concrete wall, or a flaking, pealing painted one. I live in the Columbia River gorge, and am awed daily by the raw beauty and dramatic play of light on the water. It has found its way into my imagery, and the result has been an interesting fusion between landscape and pods. In this arena they are taking on the guise of trees and rocks and bizarre plants. They have a sort of totemic energy that makes me think of monuments to stories that are long forgotten. The learning of this language seems infinite. Though I impose my will on it, I am drawn away on the flood tide of possibility with every mark.
Bio
NELL WARREN
BORN
1977
North Carolina - Raised in the Pacific NW
EDUCATION
2000
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design
1999
SACI, semester in Florence
1998
Independent studies in Europe and Mexico
EXHIBITIONS
2016
A Stand of Pine in a Tilled Field: 21 Years at PDX, PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, Portland, OR
Artists Select, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN
2014
Manifest, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2012
Black Dove/Sky Form, dual show, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Remnant, Pendleton Center of the Arts, Pendleton, OR
2011
Interior Margins, The Lumber Room, Portland, OR
The New American Landscape, Kahnaway Art & Ecology, Portland, OR
2010
Solo Installation, Aqua Art Miami, Miami Beach, FL
relative picnic, group show, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2009
Storied, solo show, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2008
Quandaries, solo show, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
2007
true bearing, group show, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Warren Family Art Salon, Portland, OR
2006
Urban Folk Designs summer show, Portland, OR
Portland through my Eyes, American Express show, Design Within Reach, Portland OR.
Gardens to Go, spring benefit, Portland Garden Club, Portland OR
2000
Woods Gerry Senior Invitational, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
Woods Gerry Senior Thesis Show, Woods Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
COLLECTIONS
Paige Powell
Nell Newman
Ernest Swigert
Wendy Burden
Dorothy Lemelson
James and Susan Winkler
Travers Hill Polak
The Nines, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland, OR
Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
Meyer Memorial Trust, Portland, OR
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2010
Speer, Richard. “Spotlight: Portland.” art ltd, Nov/Dec 2010 [photo credit].
2009
Lorenz, Rachael. “Nell Warren Has A Dream.” Portland Contemporary Art Examiner, September 24, 2009.
Risse, Alanna. “Nell Warren at PDX Contemporary Art.” Alanna Risse Blog, September 7, 2009.
2008
Peterson, Vernon. “Nell Warren: late night thoughts.” Art Scatter, May 19, 2008.
Motley, John. “Nell Warren: Quandaries.” The Portland Mercury, May 8, 2008.