Hunterdon County - East Amwell - Florence Moonan Exhibit
Through Sunday, May 12, 2019 - East Amwell, Hunterdon County
Florence Moonan Exhibit
Florence Moonan is a New Jersey artist who is passionate about painting and music. When she was a child growing up in Lambertville, her heart was set on performing, but a set of acrylics gifted from her dad redirected her focus and she began painting at home while raising four children. Today, her home and studio are located in Stockton.
She was employed at The College of New Jersey (previously known as Trenton State College) over 30 years. During that time she began taking art courses through their tuition-waiver program. One semester she registered for a studio class with a remarkable professor who taught her to express her inner thoughts and emotions through color and texture. It was a revelation and she began working in an abstract manner. Using acrylic paints and mixed media, intuitive paintings began to spring up from bits and pieces from her memory. Family mementos, loss, travel, and above all, music, began to inform her work. It was a turning point. She was learning a new language. Today, she is known for colorful abstract venetian plaster paintings. Through this medium she learned to create bold new ways of mark making using metal scrapers and various tools. Visual surfaces of color and motion emerge after multiple layers of hand-tinted plaster were added and subtracted. The surfaces are hand burnished and the results produce a tactile texture as smooth as a stone tossed by the sea. Her paintings evoke a range of moods from playful to mysterious. A mystery waiting to be revealed to her and to be interpreted by the viewer.
Moonan advanced in her career at The College while continuing her studies and building a professional art portfolio. In December 2002 she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts summa cum laude. She retired in 2007 and began painting full time.
Her artwork was selected for the 2017-2018 New Jersey Emerging Artists Series at Monmouth Museum. Her paintings have been selected for numerous juried shows, invitationals, and group exhibitions throughout the United States including: D & R Greenway Land Trust (First Place Award); Phillips Mill, New Hope Arts Center, Prallsville Mills; Ellarslie at Trenton City Museum; 11th GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, (First Prize Award) Reading, PA; The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ; Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ; Maryland Federation of Art, MD; Chautauqua Institution, NY, and the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission’s Invitational Biennial.
The East Amwell Historical Society will present the Florence Moonan Exhibit at the East Amwell Museum 1053 Old York Road, Ringoes, NJ. The opening reception will be held on Friday, April 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Admission to the East Amwell Museum and exhibit will be free and open to the public on weekends from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The exhibit will be on display from April 6 through May 12, 2019. For more information, visit www.eastamwellhistory.org.
Florence Moonan is a New Jersey artist who is passionate about painting and music. When she was a child growing up in Lambertville, her heart was set on performing, but a set of acrylics gifted from her dad redirected her focus and she began painting at home while raising four children. Today, her home and studio are located in Stockton.She was employed at The College of New Jersey (previously known as Trenton State College) over 30 years. During that time she began taking art courses through their tuition-waiver program. One semester she registered for a studio class with a remarkable professor who taught her to express her inner thoughts and emotions through color and texture. It was a revelation and she began working in an abstract manner. Using acrylic paints and mixed media, intuitive paintings began to spring up from bits and pieces from her memory. Family mementos, loss, travel, and above all, music, began to inform her work. It was a turning point. She was learning a new language. Today, she is known for colorful abstract venetian plaster paintings. Through this medium she learned to create bold new ways of mark making using metal scrapers and various tools. Visual surfaces of color and motion emerge after multiple layers of hand-tinted plaster were added and subtracted. The surfaces are hand burnished and the results produce a tactile texture as smooth as a stone tossed by the sea. Her paintings evoke a range of moods from playful to mysterious. A mystery waiting to be revealed to her and to be interpreted by the viewer.
Moonan advanced in her career at The College while continuing her studies and building a professional art portfolio. In December 2002 she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts summa cum laude. She retired in 2007 and began painting full time.
Her artwork was selected for the 2017-2018 New Jersey Emerging Artists Series at Monmouth Museum. Her paintings have been selected for numerous juried shows, invitationals, and group exhibitions throughout the United States including: D & R Greenway Land Trust (First Place Award); Phillips Mill, New Hope Arts Center, Prallsville Mills; Ellarslie at Trenton City Museum; 11th GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, (First Prize Award) Reading, PA; The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ; Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ; Maryland Federation of Art, MD; Chautauqua Institution, NY, and the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission’s Invitational Biennial.
The East Amwell Historical Society will present the Florence Moonan Exhibit at the East Amwell Museum 1053 Old York Road, Ringoes, NJ. The opening reception will be held on Friday, April 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Admission to the East Amwell Museum and exhibit will be free and open to the public on weekends from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The exhibit will be on display from April 6 through May 12, 2019. For more information, visit www.eastamwellhistory.org.
