Henry Ward works primarily as a painter, but also makes drawings and small sculptures. He is interested in exploring the language of paint by investigating the threshold between abstraction and representation. He maintains three specific sites of practice; his kitchen table, where he makes small objects, his shed, where he paints on paper, and the studio. These three spaces create an ongoing dialogue between different ways of working and different paces.
Henry was shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize in 2018 and 2019, and longlisted for the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2021. He is included in the inaugural “The Football Art Prize” in 2022. The first substantial publication about his work, “Shed Paintings – Henry Ward”, was published in February 2021 by Hato Press and features 101 works on paper and a new essay by Ben Street.
He is the Director for Freelands Foundation (www.freelandsfoundation.co.uk) and was Head of Education at Southbank Centre. Prior to this he worked in a variety of roles at Welling School, a Specialist Visual Arts College, where he led on the school’s specialism. In 2002 he established the alTURNERtive Prize, an annual award celebrating outstanding student practice. In 2011 he founded the biannual arts and education periodical, æ (www.wellingvisualarts.org). He is a visiting lecturer at UK art schools including Bath Spa University, University of Brighton, Manchester School of Art, Plymouth College of Art, Wimbledon College of Art and Wolverhampton School of Art, and a mentor on the Turps Art School Correspondence and off-site courses.
Henry has written and lectured widely on the arts and education. His work has been included in numerous exhibitions. He is an advisor for Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin and curated a two day event, “Assembly”, investigating approaches to public engagement in 2018 and a follow up, “Assembly II” in 2021. He is a trustee of Bolton Contemporary and an advisor for Iniva.