Acclaimed painter and sculptor Avril Ward is holding her first solo exhibition since 2007 on Friday, 26 October. Titled the Art of Creation, the exhibition takes place at Grand Old House and will feature a collection of paintings and sculptures all inspired by nature.
Avril was raised in South Africa and has lived in Cayman for the past 11 years. Largely self-taught, she has been an artist in one form or another her whole life.
“I was a jazz and contemporary dancer and teacher; I got training as a graphic designer; I have had my own range of hand painted fabrics; I worked as a faux-finish artist and tromp l’oeil muralist for many years and I’ve been working as a fine artist for the past 15 years,” she says.
Avril has exhibited and sold her work in the USA, UK, South Africa, Trinidad and the Cayman Islands. She recently sold two works to President Bill Clinton and was also selected this year to have work displayed on huge screens in New York’s Times Square, for Art Takes Times Square.
She generally creates collections based on themes, she says, and her style and medium changes with each collection.
The Art of Creation is inspired by the patterns, repetition and designs she observes in nature: both in the sand and ocean around her and in the images that modern technology reveals: from the microscopic and beautiful structure of individual cells to images of outer space captured by the Hubble Telescope.
It is, she says, her “very humble attempt to express and highlight the magnificence of design in our world.”
The paintings she will be exhibiting are largely abstract pieces based on the patterns and compositions she sees in the universe. She also has a couple of large realistic pieces and some three dimensional works, including small relief wall plaques in ceramic and some free standing abstract sculptures, also in ceramic.
This “Celebration of the Mastery of Creation” is open to all and a complimentary glass of champagne and canape will be provided to all who attend, plus a cash bar, from 6pm to 9pm.
The Art of Creation is inspired by the patterns, repetition and designs she observes in nature