TAWA at 45
The Exhibition
Florence Moonan
Unbound
mixed media – venetian plaster, universal pigment tints, graphite, charcoal on cradleboard, 2020; 30″h x 30″w
Florence Moonan (florencemoonan.artspan.com) has decades of art-making experience, including painting, mixed media, and sculpture. She is noted for her tactile abstract venetian plaster paintings. Moonan’s work was recently included in the David Scott Gallery, Princeton, NJ (invitational), Hunterdon Art Museum Members Exhibition 2022-2023, and Ellarslie Open 39 at the Trenton City Museum. She was invited to exhibit at Rutherfurd Hall’s Celebrate the Arts. Moonan’s work was featured in The Conversation Continues at The Trenton City Museum. Her list of exhibitions includes shows in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York, and Texas. Her work has been featured at the Abington Art Center; Aljira Center for Contemporary Arts in Newark; Centenary College; Chautauqua Institution; The Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster; George Segal Gallery; Maryland Federation of Art; Mercer County Community College; Middlesex County Museum; Nabisco Brands Gallery; New Hope Center for the Arts; Norristown Arts Center; Perkins Center for the Arts; Philadelphia City Hall; Prallsville Mills; Pennswood Art Gallery; and Trenton City Museum. In addition, her work was selected for the New Jersey Emerging Artists Series, Monmouth Museum in Lincroft, NJ, and Artsbridge Distinguished Artist Series.
She has received awards from GoggleWorks Center for the Arts; D&R Greenway Land Trust Gallery; Phillips Mill; Ellarslie Open; New Hope Center for the Arts; Makers Alley; Prallsville Mills; Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission; Lambertville Historical Society; and Golden Key Art International. Her work is in the collection of The College of New Jersey; the Mercer County Cultural Commission permanent collection; BARC Developmental Services, and others. She is represented in Doris Brande’s book, Artists of the River Towns. She received her BFA from The College of New Jersey.
“I am not timid when painting intuitive abstractions. I follow my heart, listen to my instincts, and let the workflow, whether I am developing an interesting texture, experimenting with a new color, or taking advantage of the unexpected. I allow the paintings to reveal themselves through my process. There are moments when I get lost in my work. That’s when the magic happens and that’s when I know I am on to something. As I create, I am influenced by colorful memories of performing in summer stock theater, my family, the natural world, and experiences from my travels, but above all, music, especially Broadway musicals and opera. My love for performing merged into painting in adulthood when my father gave me a set of acrylic paints. My current medium of choice is venetian plaster and mixed media. The unique qualities of venetian plaster help me produce layered surfaces that reveal fragmented patterns and rich textures. The effects I am able to produce appeal to my love for abstraction and allow a personal artistic exploration to emerge as I work. The plaster’s special qualities help me render surfaces, that are to me, immediately appealing and sensuous. Much like a beautiful aria. At times, bold marks originate from visceral reactions to music.”