Figures and Grounds John Heward

About this book

The first monograph dedicated to the œuvre of expatriate Canadian painter Ross Heward. Working in a figurative style since 1964, Heward’s studies of the female nude are rendered on fabrics the artist acquires in flea markets and fabric shops near his home in the south of France. The use of brightly patterned articles of clothing, aprons and table cloths as backdrops for his portraits subverts the usual figure/ground dynamic and opens the work to a larger interpretation. Subtitled “With a Brief Sketch of the Life and Work of His Aunt Prudence Heward”, the publication’s essay makes connections between the work of Ross Heward with that of one of Canada’s most significant mid-20th century artists. Campbell provides a wealth of artistic, philosophical and historical information on the genesis and pertinence of the work of Ross Heward.