Heather Greenway has experimented with several styles during her time as an artist. The Elberton, Ga., native explored realism in undergrad but abandoned it by graduation. Her graduate studies were spent artfully contorting the human form in her paintings, but that ran its course as well. By the end of her academic career, she had begun to produce completely non-representational works of art, worlds away from where she began as an artist.
Her work continues to evolve, and her abstract pieces are composed of purposeful brush strokes that pop through thick marks of vibrant color, resulting in an impressive amount of movement. While her talent and work ethic could easily take her around the world, Greenway prefers to keep her roots in Georgia—with an artistic community like Atlanta’s, she believes she isn’t missing out on much by sticking close to home.
CommonCreativ: What drew you to Atlanta?
Heather Greenway: I moved to Atlanta in 2010 to attend grad school at the SCAD-Atlanta campus. I didn’t really know that much about Atlanta, but I knew that I wanted to stay in the South and closer to home because that’s important to me. I never really thought you had to be in a certain city to accomplish a specific goal in the arts, so why not Atlanta? I love this city so much now.
CC: When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
HG: There are a couple of memories as a child where I can remember always being curious about my grandmother’s crafting supplies and wanting to make things. The scientific illustrations in her collection of encyclopedias were so fascinating, especially the ones that had different layers of acetate, where it shows the circulatory system and then the organs and then the bones of the human body. I was interested in the imagery and how things worked and I taught myself how to draw. I think that’s when it all began.
CC: What is your process like for creating a piece? Do you have a vision of the finished product before you begin?
HG: It’s not so much of having a specific painting in mind that I want to accomplish, rather it’s the need to paint certain lines or make a certain composition. I like to make marks and then react from them intuitively but very consciously. I spend a lot of time thinking about colors and what would be right and wrong traditionally and sort of reacting from what I’ve made while reflecting on the history of formalism and sort of warping those rules. It’s about creating this sort of tension and communication between each element in the painting.
Heather Greenway
CC: Your work is certainly identifiable and uniquely your own. How did you develop your style?
HG: I think that it’s the kind of thing that is always evolving. I left any kind of realism behind in undergrad after my foundation classes because I was more interested in color and movement and making a different sort of painting or space through abstraction. So then I started distorting and abstracting the human figure, and once I got to grad school I abandoned that as well. That’s when my paintings became completely non-representational. [Artists play with] the idea of how they want to see things and how they can create things to be seen a certain way. For me it’s with color, line, and space. The basic components of what you have before you have a representational [quality], but these basic building blocks are so powerful on their own.
CC: You had a Swan Coach House Gallery exhibition this past summer—do you have any other exhibitions on the books?
HG: That was a really great opportunity because I got to show alongside another female painter from Atlanta, Stacie Rose. I think her work is great and she is doing some exciting stuff, so that was just fun being a part of something with someone who shares a similar practice and way of thinking about painting. I just moved into a new studio so I’m laying out the bones for a new body of work. That’s what I’m focusing on right now, just painting and making work.
CC: Where do you feel the most inspired?
HG: It’s difficult to say, because that can be pretty much anywhere. It’s more about the moments where you completely zone out from what you’re doing and you have a realization of that moment outside of it. I get a high off of really good animation. I think illustration and animation have it figured out so well. Chuck Jones will forever be my favorite illustrator. His line work makes you itchy and want to move around.
CC: How do you feel the art community in Atlanta sets itself apart from other places in Georgia?
HG: I think there are more scenes in Atlanta; more things to be a part of—but I don’t want to dismiss the fact there’s also so many things to be a part of in Athens as well.
Atlanta is a really special place right now. I know there is a lot of flux in the success of our community as for certain galleries opening or certain galleries closing, but I think things are certainly on the [rise] for artists here. Unfortunately we can’t always have everything the way we want it, but I think that’s true for most all cities. The way we show and share art is changing as well, and has been for a long time now.
CC: Do you have a favorite local arts organization?
HG: I have so much respect for all the organizations here in Atlanta, so I certainly cannot choose a favorite. However, I’ll mention three that I have watched grow and expand and stay true to their mission statements: Dashboard Co-Op, WonderRoot and Deer Bear Wolf. These organizations not only support visual artists but also writers, dancers, and musicians. I have worked with all three, each providing a different experience and different opportunities within the art community here and outside of the city of Atlanta.
You can view more of Heather Greenway’s work on her portfolio site and via her Instagram.
