Cody Heichel (b. 1984) is an Ohio-based painter working in oil and watercolor. His paintings portray intimate scenes of domestic living and the natural world. Shaped by influential figures such as Charles Burchfield, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Heichel manipulates color and form, leaving subjects abstracted yet within an understood reality. Concerning his process, Heichel says: “As I paint, I am continually drifting between states of observing, remembering, and imagining. This process results in images which pull from reality, but may evolve into entirely imagined subjects. Familial figures, nearby landscapes, household items, all are captured directly through drawing or painting. Once a stopping point is reached, works are taken back to my studio where they may be developed further, or simply deliberated upon and left as is. The size of each piece remains open throughout the painting process, allowing for the image to shrink or expand from its initial scale and orientation. Some paintings are finished in one sitting, while others take on many forms over the span of years.”

Heichel is a self-taught artist. In 2020, he was awarded The Past Presidents Award at the 100th Annual National Watercolor Society International Juried Exhibition. In 2017, he was awarded the Greater Columbus Arts Council Visual Arts Fellowship, and was one of two artists selected for the GCAC’s 2018 Artist Exchange Program in Dresden, Germany, where he participated in a two-month artist residency. From 2010-2017 he worked as a Creative Mentor at Open Door Art Studio, an artist studio and gallery for adults with disabilities.