Florence Moonan

"My abstractions are spontaneous and expressive. When I paint I'm filled with anticipation about how the finished work will reveal itself. I make intuitive decisions about the direction the work should take to accomplish a finished piece. In my process I’m interested in layering, scraping, and rubbing through the painted surface in order to uncover buried marks and texture that create a history of where I’ve been. A successful painting often leads to a series. Music has had a great influence on my work and I can usually be found listening to opera, or show tunes while I work."
-Florence Moonan

Florence Moonan is a visual artist who works primarily in acrylics, collage, and mixed media. She was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Lambertville, New Jersey. Moonan received a Bachelor of Fine Art from The College of New Jersey and currently resides and paints in her home studio in Stockton, New Jersey.

Moonan has an intuitive approach to creating art in a contemporary abstract painterly style. Her expressive works frequently develop into a series. Much of Moonan’s work is autobiographical and deals with themes such as: her hometown (Lambertville Music Circus Series), opera (Quante Stelle Series), AIDS (T-cell Series), her favorite food, the olive (Sacred Fruit Series), and family history (XING Series, The Italian Lesson, and MHM Series). Moonan’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Middlesex County Museum and the Trenton City Museum in New Jersey.

Her work is held in many private collections and in permanent collections including the Family Service Association of Bucks County, The College of New Jerse,y and the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. She has received awards from Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission, Phillips’ Mill Annual Juried Exhibition, Ellarslie Open, The College of New Jersey, Art International, and others. She is featured in Doris Brandes' book, Artists of the River Towns.

Education and Training:
The College of New Jersey, BFA, Ewing, New Jersey, 2002

Teachers and Influence:
The most influential person in Moonan’s life was her father, Frank Stockton Gulick, a painter and photographer. Influential teachers include: Chrisa Craig Kumnick, Bruce Rigby, Charles Kumnick, and Hiroshi Murata. Others who influenced Moonan: Joan Snyder, Judith Streeter, Pat Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Helen Frankenthaler, Miriam Shapiro, Jackson Pollack, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jim Dine, Cy Twombly, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Connection to Bucks County:
Florence Moonan was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Lambertville, New Jersey. During her childhood in the early 1950s, she was a member of St. John Terrell’s Lambertville Music Circus. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The College of New Jersey and today lives and paints in her home studio in Stockton, New Jersey. She frequently participates in exhibitions in and around Bucks County, including Phillips’ Mill Annual Art Exhibitions in New Hope, Pennsylvania, juried shows at Prallsville Mills in Stockton, New Jersey, and she is a member of Artists’ Gallery Cooperative in Lambertville.

Colleagues and Affiliations:
Bruce Rigby, Chrisa Craig Kumnick, Charles Kumnick, Pat Martin, Beatrice Bork, and fellow Artists’ Gallery members.

Solo Exhibitions:
Innovations, Artists' Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2009
Bucks County Designer House & Gardens, Solebury, Pennsylvania, 2009
Served with a Splash, Bell's Tavern, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2008
Abstract Paintings, Hopewell Frame Shop and Gallery, Hopewell, New Jersey, 2003
Chaos & Crossroads, Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, New Jersey, 2001
Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2001
Sacred Fruit: Works on Paper, Bell's Café, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1997
Paintings by Florence Moonan, New Jersey National Bank a CoreStates Bank, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1995

Group Exhibitions:
All Together Now, Artists' Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2010
Artists’ Gallery (Two Artist Show), Lambertville, New Jersey, 2007, 2008, 2009
Point of View, Gallery 125, Trenton, New Jersey, 2009
Phillips’ Mill Annual Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2009
Dreaming, Gallery 125, Trenton, New Jersey, 2009
National Small Works Painting Exhibition, Main Street Gallery, Groton, New York, 2008
Senior Artists Initiative Art Exchange Exhibition, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2008
Inside/Out, Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2008
Inside and Out, Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Prallsville Mills, Stockton, New Jersey, 2008
Contemporary Art and Antiques, Gallery 31 North, Glen Gardner, New Jersey, 2008
Ellarslie Open, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2008
Dangerous Women Two, Gallery at Mercer County Community College, Hamilton, New Jersey, 2007
Endings and Beginnings, Rock Paper Scissors Gallery, Asbury Park, New Jersey, 2006
Artsbridge at Prallsville Mills, Stockton, New Jersey, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005
Regional Small Works Painting Exhibition, Main Street Gallery, Groton, New York, 2004
Vagaries and Vessels, Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, New Jersey, 2004
Remix, Art Alumni Exhibition, The College of New Jersey, 2004
New Beginnings, Firenze Gallery, New Preston, Connecticut, 2004
Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA) @ 25, Anniversary Exhibition at Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2004
Artists of the River Towns, Health and Wellness Center, Warrington, Pennsylvania, 2004
Mercer County Artists Annual, Gallery at Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004
Ingredients of Alchemy, Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, New Jersey, 2003
New Century Regional Juried Art Exhibit, Bensalem, Pennsylvania, 2003
Artists of the River Towns, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003
TAWA at Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2000, 2003
National at Prallsville, Prallsville Mills, Stockton, New Jersey, 1999, 2003
MonRho's Gallery, Brownsville, Texas, 2003
Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, New Jersey, 2003
Artsbridge at Trenton, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2003
Artcamp Benefit Exhibition, Artsbridge Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2003
Upstairs Gallery Artists, Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, New Jersey, 2001
New Century Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Nagy Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2000
Citizen Cake, Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton, New Jersey, 2000
Ellarslie Open, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1999
New Century Art Show, Golden Door Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1998, 1995
End of the Millennium, Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, New Jersey, 1996
Contemporary Expressions, Artworks Juried Painting Exhibition, Artworks, Trenton, New Jersey, 1995
Works on Paper, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, New Jersey, 1993
Spiritual Matters, TAWA at Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1993
Annual Juried Show, Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Artist's Personal Metaphor II, TAWA at Ellarslie, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1992
Open Juried Show, Doylestown Art League, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1992
Mercer and Bucks County Artist Juried Show, Mercer Medical Center Gallery, Trenton, New Jersey, 1992, 1989
ALCNJ 14th Annual Tri-State Juried Exhibition, Middlesex County Museum, Piscataway, New Jersey, 1991
Group Juried Show, Holman Gallery, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1991
Hunterdon Museum of Art Members Show, Clinton, New Jersey, 1990
TAWA Soviet Exchange Exhibition, USSR Artists Union Gallery, Moscow, USSR, 1990
TAWA at Nabisco, Nabisco Brands Gallery, East Hanover, New Jersey, 1990
Centenary College, Ferry Art Gallery, Hackettstown, New Jersey, 1989

Public Collections:
Family Service Association, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Trenton, New Jersey
College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey

Awards:
Stanley and Nancy Baron Award, Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Prallsville Mills, Stockton, New Jersey, 2008
Purchase Award, Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission Permanent Collection, Mercer County Artists, Gallery at Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 2006
Honorable Mention, New Century Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Bensalem, Pennsylvania, 2003
Award for Painting, Art International, Golden Key International Honor Society, Atlanta, Georgia, 2002
Award for Painting, Phillips’ Mill Annual Juried Show, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2000
First Prize Works on Paper, New Century Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Nagy Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2000
Purchase Award, Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission Permanent Collection, Mercer County Artists, Gallery at Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 2000
Juror's Merit Award, Mercer County Artists, Gallery at Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1998
Certificate and Award, Holman Gallery, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1991
Best of Show, Ellarslie Open IX, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1990

Affiliations and Memberships:
Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County
Artsbridge
Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey
Philadelphia/Tri-State Artists Equity Association
Trenton Artists Workshop Association