Sean Christopher Ward is an interdisciplinary artist focusing his efforts of painting in the style of op art with multiple mixtures of medias, including acrylics, alcohol-based paints and oil paints.  Through his journey in the arts, he has found his major influences from Masters of the Op Art movement, including Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely, who utilize flat design to create depth and kinetic movement through strict hard edges and the utilization of masterfully placed colors side by side or next to negative space in order to keep the works constantly moving within the optics of the viewer.  Now extending past the singular flat plane, he has expanded to multi-plane artworks, which the series is entitled “Psychotropic Gradation” in which each level is hand painted or left without paint and it allows the perception of the paint coming off the canvas to envelop the viewer within the work itself with the high-gloss nature of resin.  The process sounds traditional, but it begins in the digital realm of Adobe Digital Suite to create the reference design of the work first and foremost to ensure uniform designed effects of achieving ultra-crisp and planned results, then transitioning into the traditional realm of hand painting all the fields of colors onto the individual layers of the painting.  This process sounds overwhelming, but it has become common practice for Sean’s works and you can see the commitment to excellence, with time being no factor, to spend weeks to months on an individual work of art until the final painting is achieved perfectly in the eyes of the artist. 

 

Sean has works in over 325 permanent and private collections spanning 8 countries, including France, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the US Virgin Islands, the works are expanding into more countries as each year progresses.  Notable works in private collections include The Center for Women’s Wellness, Universal Studios Japan and the ICT Pop-Up Park.  Future exhibitions of 2018 and 2019 include Superfine! Los Angeles and an installation-based collaboration in Wichita with Shamona Stokes from Jersey City, New Jersey.  Then, in 2018, he is curating three exhibitions at HUE Gallery of Contemporary Art showcasing over 70 artists from across the world focusing on Pop Art’s influence on Street Art, the LGBTQ+ Identity struggled based upon current societal norms and an exhibition on the correlation between low brow and macabre artworks.