Warren Irwin
Artist Statement
2020
It is drawing that has put art at the center of my life, and so I have been faced with a predicament. Most artists can draw, and many have a skill level that is vastly superior to mine. Should I make art simply by drawing because that’s what I do best, even if others can outperform me? Should I find something else to do with my artistic inclination that’s hopefully more difficult to judge in terms of skill level? Whatever I do, I want it to be relevant above all else, and I feel like a solid but unspectacular draftsman like myself cannot be relevant if all I do is draw. What I decided to do is make art from my drawings. The drawings themselves are the raw material, and once I deconstruct them, I can produce my work by rebuilding them as something else. Ironically, the collage ends up looking very much like a drawing, but all of the overlapping pieces provide a greater sense of my own struggle to make all of the parts add up to a new whole. I want my viewers to look a little bit longer to grasp what I went through to complete a piece. That little bit of extra time and attention standing in front of my work is the highest form of flattery.
Vitae-
Exhibitions:
2023, River Oaks Square Art Center, Alexandria, LA solo exhibition
2017- Metairie Park Country Day School Georges Art Gallery
Alumni and Faculty Exhibition
2016- Mimi’s in the Marigny, New Orleans
2009- GSL Art Projects, New Orleans
2007- The Bean Gallery, New Orleans
2004- Big Top Gallery
2004- Metairie Park Country Day School Georges Art Gallery Alumni Exhibition
2001- Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
2000- Cummer Museum of Art, Jacksonville, FL
Competitions:
Competitions-
2023, Ink Only IV National Printmaking Competition, Birmingham, AL
2023, New Orleans Art Association National Painting Competition
2021, River Oaks Square Art Center, Alexandria, LA 5 x 5 x 5 national- Best in Show
2009- Acadiana Center for the Arts Southern Open, Lafayette, LA
2009- Shaw Center for the Arts Art Melt, Baton Rouge, LA
2009- Satchmo Summer Fest Art Competition, New Orleans
Education:
1998- Bachelor of Arts, Art, Trinity University (TX)
2000- Master of Arts in Teaching, Art, Jacksonville University (FL)