Bio/Artist Statement
A dreamer and fearless adventurer, I love fairytales, magic and anything occult and mysterious. Growing up, I was always curious about what lay beyond the visual world- its secrets, patterns, geometry, light. When I paint, I make contact with the unseen, therefore, my work becomes a place of imagination and unlimited possibilities. A secret language emerges, letting the colors and shapes tell the story.
My recent work is inspired by current events and the struggles we all share. Even though things may seem bleak and difficult at times, my color palette is optimistic and filled with HOPE.
The black and white squares in these works represent the self, the male/female side and the shadow/light. They can also represent the duality that exists in life, keeping us separate and feeling isolated; constantly being pulled and kept from being whole; separated by choices, roads and obstacles that life presents. The black circles represent obstacles, beliefs, thoughts, opinions, and prejudices that somehow shape and nudge us down roads we might not have taken or keeping us from the ones we should. The colors represent the general mood or feeling surrounding the situation. The black lines represent the strings, threads and roads that connect, bind, pull, stretch, wring, mold, encourage, challenge, and sometimes overwhelm us to BREAK THROUGH!
I was born in Gela, Italy, and immigrated to the United States of America in 1964. I began to paint in 2002 after taking a class in color theory at Parsons School of Design. My paintings and drawings have been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout New York and New Jersey and can be found in private collections in the United States, Italy and Prague.
Resume
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Gallery at 350 Bleecker New York, NY
2019 J City Theatre (“Love Song” Play) Barrow Mansion Jersey City, NJ
2017 Gallery at 350 Bleecker New York, NY
IECC- Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo Jersey City, NJ
2014 Mercedes Club New York, NY
2015 Ambience Edgewater, NJ
2011 OC Concept Store New York, NY
2010 Guggenheim Gallery Rensellaerville, NY
Waldo Lofts Jersey City, NJ
2009 Kosciuszko Foundation New York, NY
2008 Nuradeen’s Gallery Jersey City, NJ
Group & Select Exhibitions
2021 Silverman & Hamilton Square Jersey City, NJ Storytellers
Akwaaba Gallery Newark, NJ Soul of a Badass Warrior
Drawing Rooms Jersey City, NJ Herstory (Artsy)
2020 Art Fair 14C Hyatt Regency Jersey City, NJ Juried Show
IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo Jersey City, NJ Return to Innocence (Virtual through Kunstmatrix and JCast)
2019 Art Fair 14C Hyatt Regency Jersey City, NJ Exhibitor
Jersey City Theatre Center Jersey City, NJ Privilege
Village West Gallery Jersey City, NJ Wherefore Art
Nimbus Dance Works Jersey City, NJ For the Love of it All
2018 Janson’s History of Art Collaborative Book Art Project by Sue J. Norton Poplin
Grace Church Jersey City, NJ Who are we? Who am I?
IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo Jersey City, NJ Spaces
Watchung Arts Center Watchung, NJ Salons
The Oakman Jersey City, NJ The Art Project
Hob’art Gallery Hoboken, NJ Dialogue
Drawing Rooms Jersey City, NJ Somewhere Over the Interconnected Rainbow
The Gallery Space Rahway, NJ What’s Next
2017 Harborside Atrium Jersey City, NJ What’s Next
City Hall Jersey City, NJ Solstice
2015 Village West Gallery Jersey City, NJ Bread & Circuses
2014 Village West Gallery Jersey City, NJ Whiskey Rebellion
2013 CAF Jersey City, NJ
2011 Andre Zarre Gallery New York, NY Tender Allusions
Open Studio Guttenberg, NJ
Edgewater Arts Festival Edgewater, NJ
2010 Edgewater Arts Festival Edgewater, NJ
2009 Kosciuszko Foundation New York, NY
Nuradeen’s Gallery Jersey City, NJ 2 Women
2005 Washington Square Outdoor Arts Exhibit New York, NY
Edgewater Arts Festival Edgewater, NJ
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
2020 Facets of Women, IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo
2020 Elements of Emotion, IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo
2019 I-Phone as brush/ Cell-Phone as Muse, IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo
2018 Spaces, IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo
BOOKS
2021 No More TV! Go Outside and Play… by Lisa Collodoro
2021 What’s a Cinquain? by Pro Arts JC
2020 Can you Haiku? by Pro Arts JC
2019 Pro Arts Cooks! by Pro Arts JC
ARTICLES / NEWS
JCAST Live on Zoom Artist Talk, October 4th, 2020
Laura Pace: Casa Colombo Presents “I-Phone as Brush/Cell-Phone as Muse”-iitaly.org, December 11, 2019
Jonathan Mandell: “Different Point of View”- The Jersey Journal, August 2, 2009
EDUCATION & AFFILIATIONS
2023 Executive Director/Curator IECC at Casa Colombo
2018-2021 Assistant Executive Director/Curator IECC at Casa Colombo
2019-2021 Board Member of ProArts, JC
2017-2018 Board of Trustees IECC Center for the Arts at Casa Colombo
2016- present Member of Pro Arts JC
2001 Dorfman Projects Gallery, New York, NY - six month internship
1979-2009 Registered Dental Hygienist (R.D.H.)
1979 New York City College of Technology- A.A.S.
Follow me on Instagram