Joan Hellenthal
Artist's Statement
I studied on the East Coast in the Abstract Expressionist style of painting and graduated from Brown University with a BA degree in Fine Art. Subsequently I received my Masters degree in Fine Art from San Jose State University. My work has been included in several galleries in the Bay Area and is in numerous corporate and private collections. I have participated in Open Studios since its inception and teach classes at the Santa Cruz Art League.
Imagery has become part of my work as well as abstraction, and I am interested in the synthesis of the two. I have been inspired by my visits to Italy and the Mediterranean, and by the beauty of the California landscape. Painting in both oil and pastel, I often do studies en plein air and work from visual memory in the studio. My painting is characterized by shimmering light, expressive color, and loose, energetic marks. I hope to evoke a time of day, season, and poetry of place.
2020 Exhibitions:
90th ANNUAL STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
TAKE AWAYS: Art To Go: Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery, Watsonville, CA
MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
GALLERY ARTIST: Gallery 125, Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz, CA
COMMISION: Kaiser Permanente, Scotts Valley, CA
2019 Exhibitions:
20/60: WOMEN ARTISTS IN THEIR PRIME: Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
OUR BOUNTY/PLEIN AIR: Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery, Watsonville, CA
TAKE AWAYS: ART TO GO: Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery, Watsonville, CA
MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT: Santa Cruz Art League
GALLERY ARTIST: Gallery 125, Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz, CA
2018 Exhibitions:
88th ANNUAL STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION: Santa Cruz At League, Santa Cruz, CA
GALLERY ARTIST, Gallery 125, Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz, CA
2017 Exhibitions:
FIRST FRIDAY ART TOUR: Buttercup Cakes, Santa Cruz, CA
GALLERY ARTIST: Gallery 125, Tannery Art Center, Santa Cruz, CA
2016 Exhibitions:
86th ANNUAL STATEWIDE EXHIBITION; LAND & SEA: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
TAKE AWAYS: ART TO GO: Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
FIRST FRIDAY ART TOUR: Fish Princess, Santa Cruz, CA
GALLERY ARTIST: Los Gatos Museums Gallery, Los Gatos, CA
2015 Exhibitions:
FIRST FRIDAY ART TOUR: The Artisans Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
GALLERY ARTIST: Los Gatos Museums Gallery, Los Gatos, CA
COASTAL SPIRITS: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
2014 Exhibitions:
FIRST FRIDAY ART TOUR: Stripe, Santa Cruz, CA
2013 Exhibitions:
83rdANNUAL STATEWIDE EXHIBIT: INCREDIBLE PLACES: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
MEMBERS’ EXHIBIT: Davenport Gallery, Davenport, CA
2012 Exhibitions:
EARTH & SKY: Davenport Gallery, Davenport, CA
82ndANNUAL STATEWIDE EXHIBIT: COLOR & LIGHT, Santa Cruz Art League
2011 Exhibitions:
INTO THE WOODS: Santa Cruz County Bank Arts Collaborative, Santa Cruz, CA
SMALL WONDERS: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
TASTY: ARTISTS PLAYING WITH FOOD: Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA
LANDSCAPES: Davenport Gallery, Davenport, CA
ART IN THE GARDEN: Wisteria, Soquel, CA
STARS: Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA
2010 Exhibitions:
LOS PAJAROS: Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
NATURE’S TREASURES: Contemporary Landscape Painters of California:
80thANNUAL STATEWIDE EXHIBITION: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
INDIAN SUMMER: Davenport Gallery, Davenport, CA
LOCAL ESSENCE: Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
STARS: Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA
