About Jane T. Woodworth

When following Jane Woodworth’s art over the years it is easy to see an autobiography in paint. Her work has developed and refined into its current style, mirroring her own life movements and experiences. Travel and studies overseas have generated inspiration from Italy to China. Trips to the Southwest led to work highlighting the beauty and color of mountain and desert landscapes, similar to Elaine De Koonings abstract New Mexico-inspired canvases, which hint at the possibility of objecthood through broad brushstrokes and strong color. It is easy to trace her artistic journey from genre painting to mixed media abstraction. Now, as Woodworth states: “My interests lie in the tactile and surface qualities of two dimensional and low relief works. As such, my choice of materials has evolved and grown through the years, now including that which will emulate, simulate and exaggerate the abstract images from my environment…With this in mind I hope the viewer will catch a glimpse of reality in a new and different way.”

In her current work, Jane Woodworth finds inspiration through the artwork of German abstract painter Emil Schumacher, whose bold lines and strong color contrasts are echoed in many of her paintings. In a more optimistic interpretation of abstract expressionism, Woodworth’s work is essentially intuitive and conveyed through an exercise of artistic expression and subjective abstraction. Woodworth’s mixed-media approach to her artwork has led to very creative and innovative techniques and materials. Using her own hand-made paper, foam core, insulation, plaster, natural material and manmade fiber, Woodworth is able to create wonderfully colored and textured works of art which are both sculptural and expressive.

Finding inspiration in an object or in nature, Woodworth distills it to its essential elements, and then adds color, texture, and objects, only to carve out and remove that which is unnecessary. “My art is the growth toward the edge of uncertainty with the willingness to leave a work at this stage, often unresolved, knowing there could be more, a change, a further investigation.” In other words, Woodworth knows if a painting is done not by arriving at a pre-determined image or idea, but rather by seeing, or perhaps feeling, that the media and its arrangement have finally joined in concert and the two aspects of her art, the material and its resultant creation, are in symbiosis. Knowing what that moment is makes the difference between a work of art with aesthetic and conceptual value and that which is a mere spattering of color and shapes. It is this artistic vision and technical talent that defines the sophisticated and complex art of Jane T. Woodworth.

Education

B.A.Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA

Independent and Continuing Education:

Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA

Corcoran School of Arts, Washington, DC

Virginia Commonwealth University

James Madison University (JMU), Harrisonburg, VA

Academy of Creative Arts, Norfolk, VA

Pyramid Atlantic Studios, Maryland

Penland School of Arts and Crafts, Penland, NC

Studies Abroad:

Siena, Italy (VCU)

England and Brugge, Holland (JMU)

Tuscany, Italy

Munich, Germany

Select Publications

2003 Free Lance-Star, “The Weekender” magazine. January 9^th

2002 Free Lance-Star, “The Weekender” magazine. August 1^st

2001 Nurture Magazine, March/April ed., cover image

Free Lance-Star, “Home”, September 30^th

2000 Free Lance-Star, “The Weekender” magazine, October 5^th, cover image

1998 The Journal, “Arts and Entertainment” March 18^th, p 14, King George, VA.

1997 The Journal, “Arts and Entertainment” April 16^th, p15, King George, VA

The Free Lance-Star, “Style” p 1, April 28^th

1994 The Free Lance-Star, “Style” p 1, July 5^th

1994 The Free Lance-Star, “Style” p 1, May 16^th

1993 The Free Lance-Star, “Style” p 1, August

1992 The Free Lance-Star, “Style” p 1, January, 14^th

Private Collections and Commissions

Mr. & Mrs.Melvin ZarinskyMrs. Mary Agnes Goodlow

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Burkelew Frank and Laura Stuart-Taylor

Besty Glassie Mrs. Marybelle Ashton Bob Worthy

Sharon RossKathryn and Chuck WillisPaula Rose

Jack Darling Mr. & Mrs. Lyle Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Charles Fowler

Frank Masterson Dr. and Mrs. Jacques Riviere

Exhibits and Awards

2003 Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts – Juror, “Urban Images” Fredericksburg, VA

Upstairs @six-twenty-three – Two-person show, Fredericksburg, VA

Art First Gallery– “Abstract and Abstracted”, Two-person show, Fredericksburg, VA

2002 Oasis Gallery -Harrisonburg, VA

Sawhill Gallery –James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Uniquely Fredericksburg – Juried exhibit, Fredericksburg, VA

Art First Gallery -Fredericksburg, VA

Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts –“Black & White” juried exhibit, Fredericksburg, VA

2001 Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center –“Fredericksburg, an Artist’s View” Fredericksburg, VA

Art First Gallery – Fredericksburg, VA

Capitol Hill Art League – Washington, DC

Bistro 309 Restaurant & Gallery – “From the Northern Neck to Tuscany” Solo Exhibit, Fredericksburg, VA

Fredericksburg Studio Walk – Blue Door Studio, Fredericksburg, VA
2000 Art First Gallery – Fredericksburg, VA

Riverby Gallery – Fredericksburg, VA

Governor of Virginia Awards for the Arts 2000– Nominee, Fredericksburg, VA

Fredericksburg Studio Walk – Blue Door Studio, Fredericksburg, VA,

Colonial Art & Frame Gallery – “Small Works” Fredericksburg, VA

1998 Capital Hill Art League – Solo Show, Washington, D.C.

1996 Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts – Best in Show, Fredericksburg, VA

1994 Rappahannock Community College Art Invitational– Featured Artist, Warsaw, VA

1992 Media at Montrose Invitational – Juror Annette Polan, Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C.

1984 Frederick County Art Association – First Place, Frederick, VA

1983 12^th Annual Juried Athenaeum Show – Merit Award Winner

1981 Leggett Of Spotsylvania Mall – First Place, Spotsylvania, VA

1980 Richmond County Arts Festival – First Place, Richmond, VA

Boardwalk Art Show – First Place in medium: oil, Colonial Beach, VA

1979 NOVA Regional Juried Art Show – Curated by Michael Monroe, Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

1977 The King George Art Show – Best in Show, King George, VA

Corporate Collections and Commissions

Reed Farm Equipment, Fredericksburg, VA

Geico Insurance Co, Stafford, VA

King George Dental Offices, King George, VA

Bistro 309, Fredericksburg, VA

Aria Farm and Dressage School, West Point, VA

Virginia Sprinkler Systems, Richmond, VA