Meet the Artist at Opening Reception

Nanci France-Vaz is a modern renaissance artist that uses allegorical symbolism to create visual stories on canvas. France-Vaz draws inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites and Naturalist periods of art, poetry, and classic literature, and film. She combines her strong foundation in life painting with imaginative backgrounds fusing classical with contemporary realism. The artist was born in Brooklyn, NY and moved to the UWS in Manhattan in 2002 to study portrait and figurative art. She has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 3D Computer Animation for Film and Special Effects. In her recent work, the narrative of the spiritual and mystical play an important role based on her life experiences. The model serves as a self portrait. There are underlying tones and meanings left for the beholder to ponder and engage psychologically. Having studied film and Stanislavski Method Acting allows for a spiritual connection to her subjects expressing emotion and mood. Her study of lighting and movement, through acting, dance, and theater is the catalyst for creating a still image from a cinematic process. France-Vaz’s patterns of life express a life experience or moment of thought in time. France-Vaz has exhibited at Sotheby’s NY Arc Salon, Dacia Gallery NYC, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern European Art ModPortrait, Abend Gallery, Principle Gallery, IX Art 2022, Lovetts Gallery, Butler Institute of Fine Art, National Arts Club NYC, and Salmagundi Club NYC. Her awards include: Arc Purchase Award, Best In Show at WMOCA, 2nd Place Southwest Art Artistic Excellence, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Honorable Mention awarded by Raymar Art, Allied Artists Len G Everett Memorial Award, Joseph Hartley Memorial Award, John Collins Award, Colonel George J Morales Award, PSOA 3rd Place, International Artists People and Figures 2021, and Best in Show Portrait Award, Petite Gallery. France-Vaz has been published in Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, ARC Salon International Realism, ModPortrait 2020/2021, International Artists Magazine, American Art Collector, Realism. Today Her paintings hang in private collections and two paintings acquired by ARC for the Living Master Collection. She is represented by Dacia Gallery in New York City.

“During the pandemic, I felt so depressed and isolated. Painters are always solitary, but this was a time of embracing the loneliness that came from being chained to my studio to produce new work. I wished times were full of peace and I thought of John Lennon’s Imagine, with its hope for all people to live in peace, and of the flower children who once spread that message. They were truly bohemian spirits. From that thought, I went back in time and searched for moments I remembered or felt emotionally, to introduce a modern subject or twist to the story.”