Check Out Oliver Warden’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Warden.

Hi Oliver, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Being born in Cleveland was not my fault. I made the best of it by running to art classes every weekend at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art. As I grew taller, I was hungry to head to the Big Apple and test my mettle with other talented folk. My guidance counselor convinced my parents NYC was no place for a 17-year-old, so I begged and pleaded and ended up at Otis Parsons Art Institute across from MacArthur Park in the early ’90s, which was a place for survivors only. After dodging bullets, I finally made my way out of LA to NYC, where I landed at the School of Visual Arts and then later NYU for grad school in new media. It was off and running from there.

Now, after many years practicing contemporary art in NY, showing nationally, and performing in front of thousands of art lovers, I’ve returned to my beloved Los Angeles to dodge terrible dating and another sound bath. Fortunately, LA does have art and movies in abundance, and I love them both equally. The food here is also amazing, and I’m not even being sarcastic – which no one would understand anyway.

You can find me most days downtown making experimental, gamified, interactive art or in my office making an AI film inspired by Wim Wenders, Kubrick, and Coppola. Bobbling between both fills my soul, stimulates my mind, and remains gluten-free.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is always winding, but I find perseverance a greater virtue than patience. “Get it work” is sort of my motto. So yes, art – especially that which sits on the frontier – is always difficult, but there’s a dark pleasure in the process. I’ve been doing it for so long it all seems par for the course. It’s ironic to be making an AI film and yet rely so heavily on my most human characteristics to push me through the work: messiness, imperfection, exhaustion, mystery, curiosity, and honesty – scars I wear with honor.

Specifically, it’s always been money, timing, and gatekeepers. AI does away with the latter and most of the former, but timing isn’t something you can predict. I just try my best, continue to think a lot, and get to work.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For many years I’ve been working as an artist who tries to explore new mediums and push art in new directions. From topographical paintings that takes years to make, to video game landscape photography and even a social network made out of wood (GLOBALL), I’ve worked as a generalist, not bound by mediums but ideas. Now, I’ve created a studio called Forward Projects that will be an umbrella over my current art endeavors and films. First up, is an artwork that’s origins date back to art school but is returning with a huge leap into the future.

Entitled QUANTUM, I am creating an interactive sculpture that requires participation to both battle (or join) the performer in a gamified performance. Exploring superposition, entanglement and even the multiverse, viewers have to leave the passive observation that so much art asks of them and step into something where they choose their own adventure, battle a boss, and create meaning from their own narrative. Based on Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, participants, or ‘agents’, will see how long they can last against me (Prime Agent). Like Frodo Baggins and Luke Skywalker, the agents will have an adventure that is created to expand consciousness and cast them as the main character.

In conjunction with QUANTUM, I am directing a generative film called WALLS. Based off a short story by Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Stephanskyi, WALLS is a film about connection, vulnerability, and the invisible boundaries between people. The story is minimal and poetic, unfolding through restrained visuals and layered metaphor. It is greatly inspired by Wings of Desire in tone and the experimentation of Coppola’s films as well as many other films and artworks.

I think what I’m most proud of is that both WALLS and Quantum are acts of artistic risk – works that embrace experimentation and invite audiences into unfamiliar territory. They push beyond traditional forms, merging human presence with technology to create experiences that are intimate, disorienting, and ripe with possibility. While AI and new mediums can feel daunting, these pieces offer a way in: grounding innovation in meaning, beauty, and emotional truth. Together, they stand as proof that the future of art is not something to fear, but something to feel. It’s my job to help us feel that change.

How do you define success?
Success in the arts is something different. I come from a generation (hopefully not the last) where retaining your artistic integrity was paramount over Likes, visibility and sales. I consider myself a successful artist because I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lifetime of making what I want and not compromising a second of my time or a painter’s stroke to anything except the manifestation of my vision – which is the expression of my consciousness. Any artist who can do that, without succumbing to the shackles of history, preexisting standards of the market, or the pressures of narrow mindedness, is a success in my book.

Ultimately, it’s about freedom. Freedom to make, to inspire, to be inspired and to learn. In an ever growing authoritarian landscape, artistic freedom is the greatest resource our country has to offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oliverwarden.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: @quantum_switch