A Closer Look Reveals an Extraordinary World
Artist Giles Ward turns his attention to some of nature’s most overlooked treasures in a striking new series of paintings celebrating the intricate beauty of the insect world. From jewel-like beetles to the mysterious, powder-soft wings of moths, his latest collection invites us to pause, look closer and reconsider the remarkable beauty hiding in plain sight.
A natural world artist renowned for his richly coloured, highly textured interpretations of fish and shellfish, Giles has built a reputation for revealing the unexpected details of the natural world. Now, he brings that same curiosity and artistic intensity to a much smaller, but no less fascinating, subject.
Beneath Our Feet
Giles works from a studio perched above a wooded valley on the Wales–England border. Here, inspiration is never far away: It lies beneath the beech-leaf litter, in between the fallen logs and within the crevices of tumbled stones just outside his studio door.
Look closely and an extraordinary world emerges. Beetles scurry through the undergrowth, their hard, iridescent shells catching the light in flashes of crimson, emerald, mauve and blue. In his paintings, Giles captures the intricate textures of their carapaces and their elusive, shifting colours.
Each work is individually conceived and created, celebrating the distinctive character of its subject. Presented in beautifully composed tableau-style frames, the paintings have an almost archival quality, inviting the viewer to examine these miniature marvels as objects of natural history.
“In their presentation I’m reaching for an echo of how a natural history museum might display an insect hunter’s collection in days gone by.” He reveals.
Each painting features a playful pseudo-Latin title reminiscent of natural history displays.
A Quiet Allure
Often overshadowed by its more celebrated relative, the butterfly, the moth has long suffered poor PR. Look beyond its nocturnal habits and understated appearance and another world reveals itself. Its delicate, softly layered wings, and extraordinary patterns possess a beauty of their own. Under close scrutiny, the moth becomes a subject of remarkable elegance, complexity and character.
For Giles, these are not merely insects to be observed. They are miniature works of natural art — intricate, unexpected and endlessly fascinating. With this new series, he invites us to see them differently.
