Photo by Aaron Han

I’m obsessed with
Nature’s rebellion,

I have been so since I was a child, running along undeveloped hillsides on the edge of suburbia. And this tension persists, between my raw and modern worlds; it seems to be always the grid vs. a wild serendipity, an adulthood trying to find its lost child. 

Modern life painstakingly omits Nature, and replaces it with rules to follow: for what to need, who to be, and how to see. 

Nature’s rebellion has been my redemption from these expectations. My work embraces the joyful geometry of animals and plants, encouraging the world to stop and take a look outside the window.

“If you only realized what it takes, what a person has to go through to reach the point of disobedience.” —Jean Genet

Artist Biography

Christopher Grant Ward is an award-winning furniture artist based in Glendale, CA, known for aesthetic pieces that joyfully disrupt interior spaces. With a background in scientific illustration, Ward infuses his work with a deep appreciation for flora and fauna, creating handmade pieces using traditional methods and sustainable materials.

In 2024, Ward won Best in Category at the Beverly Hills Art Show and the Redlands Festival of Art. As well, he received the Distinguished Visual Art Honorarium from the Fine Arts Club of Pasadena. Ward's work has also garnered recognition from prestigious outlets such as Architectural Digest, ABC7 News, NPR, and Pasadena Magazine. Additionally, he is a published academic author and recipient of the 2008 Fast Company Entrepreneurs Award for non-profit technology innovation.

Originally from Northern California, Ward studied Theatrical Stagecraft at Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo and holds an MA in Semiotics and Visual Language from Carnegie Mellon University. He furthered his education with post-graduate study in the Graduate Media Design Program at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

PAST SHOWS

1st PLACE, Best IN CaTEGORY
Beverly Hills Art Show
Beverly Hills, CA. May 2024

1ST PLACE, BEST IN CATEGORY
Redlands Festival of Art,
Redlands, CA. MAY 2024

Featured DESIGNER
“The Artist’s Wunderkammer”
Pasadena Showcase House 2023, Pasadena, CA. MAY 2023

2024 Distinguished Visual ArtIST
FINE ARTS CLUB OF PASADENA
Cal Tech Athenaeum, Pasadena, Ca. FEB 2024

True Beauty 2024
Group Exhibition
JUNE-AUG 2024

UPCOMING SHOWS

June 23, 2024
Featured Artist
Carlsbad Art in The Village
Carlsbad, CA

SEPT 28 & 29, 2024
Featured Artist
La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
LA JOLLA, CA

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

Pasadena Magazine, April 2023
Architectural Digest, May 2023
ABC7 News, June 2023
NPR, July 2023
Montrose Journal, Jan 2024
DESIGN NEWS NOW, JULY 2024

EDUCATION

2008 Postgraduate Study
Graduate Media Design Program,
Art Center College of Design

2007 MFA, Semiotics and Visual Language
Department of English
Carnegie Mellon University

2001 BS, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Minor in Theatrical Stagecraft
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo

Upcoming Events

La Jolla Art and Wine Festival 2024
Sept 28-29 10-5pm
Village of La Jolla, La Jolla, CA