NAN WHITNEY, painting & photography
I am an abstract artist currently working on paper and raw canvas. My work is instinctual, energetically gestural, organically textural and dynamic. It’s a visual narrative and an exploratory dance between colors, shape and line. It expresses courage in the mark making and gestures while exploring vulnerability and artistic expression of spirit.
Art is a spiritual practice for me. It is my process of bringing to light that which is in shadow. The current series has been created during my residency at the Mendocino Art Center 2021/2022. The various shades of ochre of the Mendocino Headlands is a connecting thread through all the work. It’s deep organic yellow color in contrast with carbon black and graphite create textural vibrant images.
ABOUT NAN
Nan Whitney grew up in a small southern beach town in a family of designers – architectural and fashion – where she discovered her creativity and love of line and texture. The ocean taught her about movement, color and light.
She is a reemerging artist and visual imagery creator and curator. Her professional career started in New York designing clothing for Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, and Henri Bendel. Her career then moved into the advertising and photo world creating visual content as stylist, art director, set designer and backdrop painter – all an interplay of her visual narration and creativity. She is a self-taught artist. Her work is in private collections and has been exhibited in group shows in Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York.