James Anthony Bearden, American, b.1964

James Bearden is an abstract *artist, creating sculpture full time since 2007. His studio is located in Des Moines, Iowa. His work is based on the figure. He works in series named Terrain, Cathedral, Assemblage, Contour, Animals and Botanicals.

Bearden was born in the Southern region of the United States and raised in the Midwest. He earned a BA in Fine Art and a BA in Visual Communications from Grandview College in Des Moines, Iowa. Upon graduation, he worked in graphic design* for twenty years. Seventeen of those years, he was Art Director for a large advertising agency based out of Des Moines. He received 52 Addy Awards*.

After the economic fallout of 9/11, Bearden found he could no longer sustain a full-time living in the graphics art career. While working freelance in a reduced market of graphics design, he began to learn how to work with metal and create sculptural art. His graphics background, which sharpened his artistic eye and overall compositional skills, aided him in adapting to a new medium in steel.

His work is in many prominent corporate and private collections. In 2012, he began creating public work and was involved with The City of Clive, Lowe Art and Environment Center, Blank Park Zoo and The City of Coralville, all located in Iowa have his work in their permanent collections. The City of Plymouth, Minnesota commissioned a work for their City Hall in 2013, and also having been involved in the temporary exhibition of Sculpture on the Promenade, 2012, plans to submit work to the same exhibition in 2013. He has had temporary installations for Edina, Minnesota's public art program.

Written and submitted January 2013 by Paul Monska, whose source is Stephanie O'Neal, associate of the artist.

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx