Joan Gantz is a native New Jersey artist who works primarily in acrylics with the addition of graphite, marker and collage. She divides her time between Essex County and Ocean County and receives great inspiration from both the New York metro area and the Jersey Shore. Her undergraduate focus was nursing and she practiced in Critical Care for fifteen years. Joan’s interest in creating art and fascination with color have been intrinsic to her since childhood. The opportunity to study painting began at the LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences and was continued at the Yard School and the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts . She has embraced and continues to develop an abstract style which is frequently inspired by forms in nature. Other powerful sources for her work are derived from her travels, emotional interpretations and responses to life circumstances.

Joan’s process usually begins with small sketches gained from experiences on locations. These are enlarged on canvas using layers of marker and paint, and synthesizing by addition and subtraction. It is her distinctly personal interpretation that gives the feeling of straddling reality with abstraction, particularly in her landscapes. The goal of her work is to achieve a shared experience which speaks to the view. The power and emotion of color and movement in her abstracts are her favorite vehicles.

Exhibits and Awards

2024 Solo Show

Open Studio Chateau Orquevaux Artist Residency, Orquevaux, France October

“ People, Places and Perspectives” Pleiades Gallery, NY, NY April

2023 Group Show

“ Color My World” Pleiades Gallery NY,NY November

2023 Solo Show

“ Small Measures” Livingston Library, Livingston , NJ January

2023 Group Shows

“ Galerie Des Amis” West Caldwell Library, West Caldwell NJ February

Pleiades Gallery Chelsea, NY, NY January

2022 Solo Show

Batavia Cafe 356 Springfield Ave Summit, NJ October-March

2022 Joint Show

Hamakom Gallery.45 West 8th Street NY,NY May -July

2021 Group Shows

Berkshire Hathaway Gallery. Livingston. Nov-Jan

“Trees” Montserrat Contemporary Art NY, NY October

“Beach Art’ Wildflowers Too! Barnegat Light Sept-Nov

Ashenfelter, Trembulak, McDonough, Golia&Trevenen Law Office June-Sept Montclair

2020 Group Shows

“Art in the Age of Covid” December-January Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, First Street Atlantic Highlands

“ A Sense of Place’ July-August Alfa Gallery , Church Street New Brunswick

“Viewpoints 2020” April 24-May 30 127 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair

“ 10 Annual Cityscapes Exhibition” on line competition Light and Space, Honorable Mention

https://lightspacetime.art/cityscapes-art-exhibition-february-2020/.

“ Altered States” Jan 25-Feb 15 Pleiades Gallery 530 West 25th St, NY NY

2019 Solo Shows

Montclair Fall Art Walk Oct- Jan 2020 Pure Energy Hair Studio Bloomfield Ave, Montclair

Studio Montclair Inc. Window March 1 - April 30 127 Blomfield Ave, Montclair

New Jersey School of Medicine Window May 1 -Aug28

2019 Group Shows

West Orange Council for the Arts Small Works Exhibit Nov 16- Jan 10 Valley Road, West Orange NJ

Juried Exhibit On the Road to 50 Garden State Watercolor Society Oct , Yardley PA

8th Annual Exhibit of the National Arts Program Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Newark, NJ

2018

  • Honorable Mention, Nineteenth Annual Gaelen Juried Art Show Whippany, NJ

    2017

  • Studio Montclair: State of the Art

  • Best Transparent Watercolor Award Philadelphia Sketch Club: Works on Paper Philadelphia, PA

  • Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Juried Wide Open

    2016

  • Honorable Mention, Garden State Watercolor Society: Annual Associate and Signature Members Exhibition, , Middlesex, NJ

  • Studio Montclair: Back Story Montclair, NJ

    2015

  • 76th Annual Audubon Artists Incorporated Exhibit, NY, NY

  • Studio Montclair: Honoring the Fauves

  • Arts Guild International Juried Exhibition, Rahway, NJ

  • Cotswald Industry Award, Garden State Watercolor Soc.: 46th Annual Juried Show

  • Aedra Artist House, Jersey City, NJ

  • Merit Award Long Beach Island Foundation: Member and Student Exhibit 2015, 2010, 2009

Artist's Statement

I am compelled to paint as my response to objects and experiences. It is a distinctly personal dialogue between my environment and my use of line, shape and color. I believe this is why I straddle the line between representational and abstract subjects.

My painting has developed through many phases of media. Presently I am working in acrylics and markers incorporating collage materials for texture. I love the diversity on a variety of support surfaces. My subject matter has evolved from strongly representational to purely abstract. I give deliberate intent toward movement and emotion through my palette, brushstrokes, and texture. Engaging the viewer for a shared creative experience is my primary goal.   

A short video of hanging “Purely Abstracts” a joint show with Carol Nussbaum at HaMakom Gallery .

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