In 1975 Wayne Ensrud was invited to be the first American painter to exhibit at the French Institute Gallery, N.YC., where he exhibited watercolors of the Bordeaux chateaux and wineyards. His renown in the wine world has led to his designing wine menus and posters for some of New York's finest French Restaurants, including Lutece, Chez Pascal and Residence. In the New York area Ensrud has received commissions to design seven life sized etched mirrors and three seven-foot canvases for the elegant restaurant Le Premier and also an engraved lucite wall for the famous restaurant Nanni II Valletto. Wayne Ensrud was born in Minnesota where he received his BFA from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. As a student he met Oskar Kokoschka, the artist-in-residence at the Institute, who profoundly influenced Ensrud's work and has remained his friend and mentor ever since. When Pablo Casals conducted his Master Class Series at Berkeley. Wayne Ensrud had the honor ot being invited to execute drawings of the great cellist during those sessions. and this year when the New York Chamber Society celebrated its 10th anniversary.Ensrud was asked to sit in on rehearsals and sketch the world famous violinists ltzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. Actress Jayne Mansfield, novelist Alex Waugh, wine connoisseur Alexis Lichine are among others who have been portrayed by Ensrud. Mr. Ensrud has been a free-lance art director and animator for ABC, CBS, and IRM IBM contracted him to he the series, "Computer and the Mind of Man", which has been translated into 18 languages and won several international awards. For ABC he created the film animations for the Gemini Space Programs. He taught film animation at Pratt Institute for tour years. Ensrud was Art Director at the University of California at Berkeley for the Department of Motion Pictures and Television and he was Executive Art Director of Channel 13-TV, New York City. Mr. Ensrud has art directed over 30 films and lust completed a film for television starring Richard Basehart. He has illustrated the writings of Odgen Nash, John O'Hara, and John Fowles for Holiday magazine and also illustrates for other magazines such as Venture, Vintage and Gourmet. Mr. Ensrud was artist-in-residence at Simon's Rock Early College in the Berkshires this past year and has been invited to be a guest teacher of Landscape Painting at that college for the past three summers. He is presently teaching at the Cumberland School, Great Neck, New York. Ensrud's individuality is positive, refreshing and clearly definitive. His subject matter is as varied as his moods whether he is doing landscape, seascape, or portraiture, an impression of a place he has seen or someth,ing he feels. Combined in his work is an explosive, versatile, extremely skillful use of color, varied emotional tensions and an uninhibited creative imagination. His best work is quite free, happy and not labored or overworked. He creates a moving, beautiful, sometimes violent impression. Ensrud's painting are distinguished by his luminous use of color and intensity. They are life affirmative, a celebration of being. Ensrud continues to believe that it is the artistic responsibility to reveal through color the truth and spirit in every form.
-Recently completed wall mural of Paris for the New York restaurant Larre
|
