Biography

Artist Talia Ward at her studio. Photo by Jo Kemp.

I was born in Madrid in June of 1978. My mother is American and my father is Spanish. Ever since I can remember I’ve had a passion for drawing, sculpture, and thanks to the encouragement of my grandmother Ruth Ward, painting. I studied classical drawing and painting at the Academia Artium Peña and Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, creative writing at Escuela de Letras of Madrid, and Photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I completed my first BA in Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid, my second BA in Psychology at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

In college, I was involved in feminist activism and research (having co-written two books) and was also painting anonymous graffiti. After college, I spent two years living in New York, then a few months travelling around Southeast Asia before moving to Barcelona. In Barcelona, I set up a photography and painting studio, where I maintained my daily practice of exploring techniques and themes freely. I was also able to integrate art-therapy into my counselling work with patients for over 10 years.

At age 40 I moved to the countryside, where I have a larger studio and continue to explore the integration of painting, photography, and collage.