Transcendence: For Love of Imagination
Henry T. Heading
Artist Statement & Biography
“Being able to create is an essential part of my life. It is an extension of my innermost thoughts and imagination. My primary focus of art is realism, using oils and acrylics. Occasionally, there is a need for me to temporarily switch mediums to break up the monotony. So with this, I started designing and building three dimensional pieces. Working in mixed mediums, I use various wood, metal, and paint, thus allowing me to achieve the visual effects I am looking for. Many of my pieces have been derived from my attraction to Art Deco and Ethnic designs. I am not satisfied until each piece, regardless of the medium or size, has reached the highest possiblelevel of aesthetic quality and craftsmanship I can give it.”
Henry T. Heading has enjoyed creating art since childhood. While a student at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Detroit, his art teacher arranged for him to create and present a portrait to then Mayor Coleman A. Young. Henry continued his art studies on a scholarship as a Fine Art Major at the Center for Creative Studies (now known as the College of Creative Studies).
Mr. Heading understands the joy found in art and how it affects a young person’s heart. He has shared his love for art as a mentor/teacher at the Virgil L. Carr Center in Detroit, Michigan, where his students not only grew in their art experience, but also exhibited at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
Mr. Heading has often won best of show for art as well as landscaping, and in 2013, he won the MI Great Artist Visual Art Competition. He has also been a featured artist on ASPIRE TV and has exhibited in numerous gallery shows, including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Institute of Arts Bal Africain, Ericʼs Iʼve Been Framed Gallery, Arts League of Michigan, ArtRages Gallery, Black Arts and Cultural Center, G.R.NAMDI Gallery, and National Conference of Artists Detroit Chapter Gallery.
Henry’s murals beautifully enhance the walls of homes, churches, and health care facilities. His art and furniture is enjoyed and treasured by collectors across the U.S. and Canada. Kohei Suzuki, the former Mayor of Toyota City Japan, has a box designed by Henry.
His first attempt at mosaic tile was the creation of the Tiger Town Tiger sculpture for the Detroit Tigers Foundation and the Children’s Charities Coalition. The sculpture is located in Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
In his Michigan home studio, Mr. Heading creates new works, paintings with unique custom framing, treasure boxes, furniture, portraits and commissioned pieces. His wife Sheryl is also an artist and teacher, and together they own and operate Heading Designs LLC which features fine art, jewelry, t-shirts, calligraphy, educational posters and cards.
