Artist Biography

Warner K. Varno is a teaching artist with a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. Warner recently completed her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, where she delved into short story writing from her time living out west in Colorado and California (1998-2017,) and where she developed presencing through the visual arts, both a painting and print-making technique, and a somatic path of inquiry toward stress release, re-grounding and discovery. Warner created Time for Art in 2006; creating original fine art programming for K-12 student artists, teens, and adults, offering enrichment classes, camps, and workshops in drawing, painting, and mixed media arts and portfolio preparation out of her South Denver art studio. Since 2015, Warner has taught fine art classes, camps, and workshops for the Schweinfurth Art Center of Auburn, NY. She currently lives in DeWitt, NY, and teaches art for North Syracuse Central Schools.

Most recently, Varno exhibited with Artisan Gallery in Binghamton, NY in February of 2024, CORVID Love and Presencing Through the Visual Arts, four consecutive online exhibitions with her graduate MFAIA cohort, with Artisan Gallery as one of four artists in an online exhibition, “Art Connects Us All” (summer of 2020,) and “Anatomy of Hope” with Artisan Gallery (February of 2019,) featuring several bodies of work including the Chakra Series and House Nest Series as well as Between Heaven and Earth and Landlocked.  Varno was a member and exhibiting artist at Gallery 54 in Skaneateles, NY, exhibiting “Both Sides Now” at the Maxwell Memorial Library in Camillus, NY (summer 2017,) and “Anatomy of the Spirit” (October, 2016) at Gallery Julius at the Schweinfurth Art Center.  Varno has been chosen as an exhibiting artist for the juried SKARTS annual art show and fundraiser (2017-2019.) 

Before returning to the Central New York area, Varno was an annual exhibiting artist with Zip37 Gallery in Denver, CO, creating “Anatomy of Change” (February 2017) before returning to live in Central New York. Varno also exhibited her “Organ Santos” series at the Expressive Arts Institute in San Diego, CA, and at the Martha Swift Gallery in Point Loma, CA; a large retrospective called “Bright Wings” (May 2012,) featuring her Chakra Series, House-Nest, and the complete Japan Birds Project paintings.

A recent interview with Warner and Artisan Gallery’s Jenny Chang:  

Art Connects Us All In Dialog with Warner Varno

Exhibition: Anatomy of Hope

Exhibitions 

The Dove Block Project, Geneva, NY “Family Game Night,” opening 03/2025

ARTISAN GALLERY, Broom Cty. Arts Council, Binghamton, NY “CORVID Love and Presencing Through the Visual Arts” 02/2024

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online, and In-Person Graduating Portfolio Presentation: Presencing Through the Visual Arts, July 2022,  

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online, and In-Person Exhibition: Water and Stone: Building Decolonial Living Bridges An Exhibit of Interdisciplinary Art MFAIA-WA (online exhibit website developer, co-curator, and exhibiting artist)

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online Exhibition, Spring 2022 (online exhibit website developer, co-curator, opening online event planner, and exhibiting artist)

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online Exhibition, Fall 2021 (online exhibit website developer, co-curator, opening online event planner, and exhibiting artist)

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online Exhibition, Spring 2021 (online exhibit website developer, co-curator, and exhibiting artist)

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online Exhibition, Fall 2020 

ARTISAN GALLERY, Broom Cty. Arts Council, Binghamton, NY “Art Connects Us All” A Virtual Exhibition, 06/2020

MFAIA-WA, Goddard College Online Exhibition, Spring 2020 

SKARTS Annual Juried Art Show, Skaneateles, NY 07/2017, 07/2018, 07/2019

ARTISAN GALLERY, Broom Cty. Arts Council, Binghamton, NY “Anatomy of Hope” A Virtual Exhibition, 02/2019

GALLERY 54, Skaneateles, NY, exhibiting member artist 09/2017 - 09/2018

Maxwell Memorial Library; Camillus, NY “Both Sides Now.”  07/2018

ZIP37 Gallery “Anatomy of Change” Show 01/2017

Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center “Anatomy of the Spirit” 10/2016

ZIP37 Gallery “Time for Art” Show 01/2016

ZIP37 Gallery “Friends of a Feather” Show 05/2015

MARTHA SWIFT GALLERY, “Bright Wings” Show 08/2012 - 10/2012

NEXT Gallery, “Put A Bird on It!” Birds Invitational Show 04/2012

NEXT Gallery, Between Heaven and Earth, solo show 11/2011

LA Japanese American National Museum, LABBIT SHOW 07/2011

THE GOTTHELF ART GALLERY, Invitational Passover Show 03/2011

NEXT Gallery, LANDLOCKED, solo show 11/2010

MARTHA SWIFT GALLERY, NTC, San Diego, CA, Connecting the Dots 07/2010

SYNC GALLERY, Wabi Sabi Show 06/2010

CORE NEW ART SPACE, WOW Show 05/2010

NEXT GALLERY, New Members Show 01/2010

NEXT GALLERY, Members Show 12/2009

EUROPA, Anatomy of Ghosts, 03/2009

EUROPA, Current Painted Works, 03-04/08

HOOKED ON COLFAX, Gutted Books, 05/08

DELECTIBLE EGG, Through Their Eyes; Oil Pastel Paintings, 01/08

HOOKED ON COLFAX, Altars of Anatomy, 12/07

CAFÉ ON TENNYSON, Dia De Los Muertos; Memorial Mural, 11/07FANCY TIGER, Inside Out; Gutted Books, 02/07

THEATRE ON TENNYSON; Holiday Show, 12/06

SPARROW, Wall Sculpture, 11/04

MISS TALULAH’S, Artifacts and Arrangements, 11/03

MINE, Group Show, Jeweled Escapement Series, 11/03

Artist Publication

Binghamton ART GUIDE 2020 Edition

Artist Program

Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC.  You Are Here: Mapping Our Stories.

Received a scholarship to participate in intensive bookbinding, altered books, paper-making, transfer printmaking, and fiber arts workshops in order to build a collection of materials to culminate in mixed media autobiographical works. 

Special Projects

  • SMITTEN is a web-based archive of love/grief spanning twenty years of lived experience.

  • The Mask Project COVID-19 Memorial Quilt, a collaborative project culminating in a sacred space to reflect on the shared experience of the Coronavirus.

  • Medical Poetry Card Illustrations, a collaboration between national and international poets toward a medical poetry card deck used in pre-med literary classes.

Gallery Work

  • Member and exhibiting artist, Gallery 54, Skaneateles, NY 2017

    Create installations and organize and facilitate openings, design member exhibition space and special events, and attend monthly meetings.

  • Member and exhibiting artist, NEXT Gallery and Zip37 Gallery, Denver, CO 2006-2016

    Install artwork, email marketing, and communications for monthly exhibiting artists, organize and facilitate openings, design member exhibition space and special events, sit gallery, manage salon style “store” and attend monthly meetings.

  • ·Curatorial Assistant, Roland-Gibson Art Gallery, SUNY Potsdam, NY 1992-1996

    Rotate and curate drawings, paintings, and print collections.  Install artwork in campus offices and galleries, email marketing and communications for monthly exhibiting artists, send and receive exhibiting artist work, organize and facilitate openings, design exhibitions and organize special events and sit gallery.

Fundraising

  • The Japan Birds Project 2011 - Current

    Design and create small “bird and flower” paintings to reproduce as limited edition matted archival prints to raise money for all children to have access to fine art enrichment classes. (50/100)

  • Annual Scholarship Fundraiser, JCC/ECC of Denver

    Collaborated with thirteen classroom teachers and their students, ages three months to five years to create a piece of original artwork from each classroom to sell at a live auction to raise money for student scholarships.  Coordinated and directed parent volunteers and the acquisition of materials.  

  • Annual Art and Music Fundraiser, Academia Ana Marie Sandoval

Fine Art Teaching

  • Time for Art and Yoga workshops, classes, and camps, CO, CA, and NY 2006 - Current

  • Painting workshops, classes, and camps at The Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY 2015 - Current

  • North Syracuse Central Schools, Cicero, NY 2021-Current

  • Liverpool Central Schools, Liverpool, NY 2017-2020

  • Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, a dual language public Montessori in NW Denver, CO 2006-2016

  • Instructor for Art Appreciation, Red Rocks Community College, Arvada, CO, 2008-2010 

  • Escuela Tlatelolco, a bilingual public Montessori with a focus on social justice, NW Denver, CO 2003-2006

  • Montessori School of Denver and Monart School of the Arts, Denver, CO 2001-2003,

Education             

  • MFAIA Goddard College, in progress

  • University of Denver, MA in Curriculum and Instruction, K-12 Art Teaching License

  • Instituto de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MX: studied local ceramics and artisan crafts, Spanish language and culture

  • El Mundo en español, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; Spanish language immersion in a family home with intercambio

  • Sacramento State, Graduate Painting and Contemporary Women Studio Artists

  • University of California at Davis, hand-building with clay

  • SUNY Potsdam, BA Fine Art and Anthropology