Ken Herren
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BIO
Herren’s creative spirit was awakened at an early age in a most remarkable way. After a semitrailer carrying several hundred gallons of paint lost its load and spilled a life-sized abstract painting across his neighborhood street; the city dispatched trucks full of sand to the site, and with great efficiency, irreverently concealed the brilliant mess of color. With time, Herren’s creative musings were overshadowed by adult influence, and a pursuit of practical sciences was agreed upon for his future. Discontent eventually led to chemical dependency and a 13-year addiction ensued.
Now 34 years sober, Herren looks with wonder at the “long game” his creative spirit was willing to play in order to fully manifest, including a multi decade career path of nursing, firefighting and, the opening of an art gallery and custom frame studio with his wife. Today, Herren’s expressionist work holds their presence within the community as unapologetically as his soul’s mission to express.




Artist Statement
Inspired by a vivid childhood experience, Ken Herren’s collection of colorful abstractions employs an intentionally playful process, using bold color and course texture to elicit a visceral experience. But it is the delicately balanced tension between what is seen and what is hidden that invites the viewer into an exploration of the complexity of self-identity and human relations; where outer veneers both reveal and conceal the true souls and “messy beauty” within us all.