ALTA ACQUA Bookstore, Venice
BIO
Mary Jean Canziani holds a BFA from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY with a concentration in Printmaking, but her education in the arts has been continuous through her career pursuits. Her first professional experience was in visual merchandising, creating interior and window displays for major department stores. Working in this field cultivated a keen design sense and an ability to work in 3-dimensional design on a large scale. Canziani’s next career step was owning a decorative painting business, executing a myriad of faux finishing techniques, murals and specialty plaster applications for residential and commercial clients. Completing these projects increased her repertoire of capabilities, resulting in a veritable storehouse of creative experience to call upon.
She returned to her personal art practice in 2010 and began exploring ways to express what she wanted to say. Decorative painting had provided an opportunity to work on non-traditional surfaces- murals and faux finishes had made their way onto anything from a brick wall to an air conditioning unit. She experimented with painting her own concepts on wood, plaster, metal and velvet, etc., which led to her current series of using books as a canvas. Canziani has participated in numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, having had three solo shows in Venice, Italy. Her pieces are in collections in the U.S. and Europe. Most recently she has been sharing her experience and skills to teach adult studio art classes. Fittingly, her art education continues as she finds there is much to learn from her students.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2022 RIPPLE EFFECT / Visual Arts Center of NJ (group
SMALL SACRIFICES II / Visual Arts Center of NJ (solo)
SMALL SACRIFICES / Scuola Grande de San Teodoro/Venice, Italy (solo)
2019 RE-COVERED BOOKS / Scuola Grande de San Teodoro/Venice, Italy (solo)
LET’S BELIEVE! / Visual Arts Center of NJ-Summit, NJ (solo)
2018 OH, WHAT A WORLD! / Visual Arts Center of NJ-Summit, NJ (group)
2017 Open Orange Annual / Valley Arts Gallery- Orange, NJ (group)
PORTRAITS (MOTHER & CHILD) / The Rectangle Gallery- Orange, NJ (group)
2016 MARY JEAN’S LIBRARY / Scuola Grande de San Teodoro/ Venice, Italy (solo)
Contemporary Artists Forum Exhibit XII / 1978 Gallery- Maplewood, NJ (group)
Visual Arts Center of NJ Members Show / Summit, NJ- Awarded
Martha Barnes Prize (group)
Studio Montclair Members Show / Montclair, NJ (group)
HEART WOOD / Hamilton Street Gallery- Bound Brook, NJ (group)
2015 Passage Gallery@MONDO / Summit, NJ (solo)
International Juried Show- Center for Contemporary Art- Bedminster, NJ (group)
PORTRAITS Exhibit / Monmouth Museum- Lincroft, NJ (group)
BODIES & SOUL / Studio Montclair- Montclair, NJ
Open Orange Annual- Orange, NJ- Awarded Best in Show (group)
ENDANGERED / Hamilton Street Gallery- Bound Brook, NJ (group)
ARE BOOKS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES? / Summit Public Library Summit, NJ (solo)
2014 C.A.F. EXHIBIT XI - 1978 Gallery- Maplewood, NJ (group)
TUNNEL SHOW / Contemporary Art Fair- Tunnel Building- NYC (group)
ASSISTED LIVING / Red Eye Cafe- Montclair, NJ (solo)
2013 SOMETHING WICKED / Gallery U- Westfield, NJ (group)
SHOW OF HEADS / Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY (group)
NOTA BENE / Artspace@MONDO- Summit, NJ (solo)
2012 CONTRAST SHOW / 320 Studios- W38th St., NYC (group)
C.A.F. Exhibit X / 1978 Gallery- Maplewood, NJ (group)
THE BOOK AS CANVAS / Red Eye Cafe / Montclair, NJ (solo)
2011 HAPPY FEET AND THE ANGRY INCH / One Gallery- Newark, NJ (group)
ILLUSTRIOUS / One Gallery- Newark, NJ (group)
PERSPECTIVES / Art Alliance- Redbank, NJ (group)
Art Bazaar- Lyons Weir Gallery- W20th St, NYC (group)
CONTRAST SHOW / 320 Studios- W38th St., NYC (group)
CONTRAST SHOW / 320 Studios- W38th St., NYC (group)
Art Bazaar / Lyons Weir Gallery- W20th St., NYC (group)
2010 EMERGING ARTISTS / Orchard Windows Gallery / Orchard St., NYC (group)
CREEP SHOW / Framing Mill Gallery- Maplewood, NJ (group)
Affordable Art Fair / Lyons Weir Gallery- W20th St, NYC (group)
C.A.F. Exhibit IX / 1978 Gallery- Maplewood, NJ (group)
Art Bazaar / Lyons Weir Gallery- W20th St., NYC (group)
REVIEWS
Hyperallergic - https://hyperallergic.com/779005/art-fair-14c-new-jersey-2022/
Courier News - https://mycentraljersey.newspapers.com/image/113626016
Hyperallergic - https://hyperallergic.com/450336/oh-what-a-world-what-a-world-containment-visual-arts-center-of-new-jersey/
Art Spiel - http://artspiel.org/nj-visual-arts-center-global-angst/
Hyperallergic 2018 year’s best shows - https://hyperallergic.com/477663/the-pursuit-of-art-2018/