Stuart Arends

Stuart Arends resides and creates his art in Willard, New Mexico, working from a bright, sunlit studio set against the expansive backdrop of the southwestern landscape. His artistic approach is rooted in minimalism, emphasizing the tangible qualities of his pieces and selecting materials that stand out on their own, rather than merely serving as vessels for an image. Arends uses a variety of unconventional supports, including reclaimed wood, sake boxes, and aluminum cubes, while applying wax, paint, and lacquer to give his works a rich, luminous finish. Though his pieces are small in scale, they possess an intimate, personal quality that invites viewers into a deeply engaging experience.

Arends’ artwork has been showcased extensively across the U.S. and Europe and is part of several prestigious permanent collections, such as The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., The Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza in Varese, MAIS (Museum d’Arte) in Lugano, MART (Museum of Art Rovereto and Trento) in Rovereto, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in Vaduz, among others. His work has been featured in numerous exhibition catalogues and publications, including Temma Celesta, FMR, Interni, Art in America, Vogue Italia, Forbes Korea, Flash Art International, and The Brooklyn Rail, among many others.

Arends earned his MFA from the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles in 1981. He has been awarded two Pollock/Krasner Foundation Grants in 2013 and 2019, as well as two National Endowment for the Arts Grants in 1990 and 1991. Raised in the rural farming town of Grundy Center, Iowa, his roots continue to influence his artistic perspective.