ARTIST STATEMENT

Seeing, experiencing, imagining. For more than four decades, Ned Wert has been producing abstract paintings based on his travels - - to Mexico and Central America, Africa, Europe and Asia -- and finding inspiration through his personal observations, his drawings and sketches produced on site, and hundreds of photographs.  The resulting work invites the viewer to interpret the images, sometimes finding hints of reality, sometimes not, but always being challenged to think.  Wert believes strongly that his work should be open to individual perceptions:  “If I tell the whole story, I leave out any opportunity for interpretation, and I think art must be a vehicle to communicate.”  

Conceived to engage the spirit and emotions of the viewer, Wert’s paintings are generally large, defined by vivid color and energetic brushwork.  They are strong, yet subtle, and filled with movement, depth and emotion.  They are always brave, confident and assured.  N. Wert 2007

RESUME

EDUCATION
Creative Art Studies, Lucca, Italy, 1978
Post Graduate work, Photography and Television Production, Indiana University, Indiana, PA,1971 Blossom-Kent Art Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 1970
M. Ed, Art Education, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 1964
B.S. Art Education, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, 1958

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Lynden Gallery, Elizabethtown, PA
Lancaster Galleries West, Elizabethtown, PA
Dover Art League, Dover, DE
Gallery on the Square, Millersburg, PA
Community Gallery of Lancaster, PA
Gualt Gallery, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA
Bird-in-the-Hand Gallery, Sewickley, PA
Olin Fine Arts Gallery, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Delaware State College, Martin Luther King Center Gallery, Dover, DE
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
Sloan Gallery, Lock Haven, PA
William Ris Gallery, Camp Hill, PA
Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA
Messiah College, Grantham, PA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Laurel Arts Center, Somerset, PA
Tangerine Fine Arts, Harrisburg, PA
Gallery 33 WITF, Hershey, PA
Fossil to Fridges, Pennsylvania State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
Dressler Center for the Arts, Somerset, PA
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art Triennial, Loretto, PA
Butler Museum of American Art, Youngstown, OH
Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
Pennsylvania Painters and Printmakers, CPFA, State College, PA
Westmoreland Museum, Greensburg, PA
William Penn Memorial Museum, "A Tactile Vision," Harrisburg, PA
Cheltenham Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
University Museum, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA
NOHO Gallery, New York, NY
Hood College, Frederick, MD
Philip Dressler Center for the Arts, Somerset, PA
Pittsburgh Plan for Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA
Gallery Doshi, Harrisburg, PA
California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA
Carlow College, Pittsburgh, PA

SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA 2 awards; 1975 Review
mention in Pittsburgh Press; 1976-79, 1982 Juror's Award; 1983-90, 1993, 1996
Johnstown Allied Artists Show, SAMA, Johnstown, PA - 12 awards
Hoyt Institute of Art, New Castle, PA - award
Washington and Jefferson National Painting Show, Washington, PA
Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA
Creative Arts Studies Mostra, Cameria di Commercio, Lucca, Italy
Aqueous '78 National Watercolor, Southern Alleghenies Museum, Loretto, PA - award
Ninth National Lujunta Fine Arts League, Lajunta, CO
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, PA
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
Lancaster Summer Arts Festival Show, Lancaster, PA
Huntingdon Museum of Art, Huntingdon, WV
Blair County Arts Festival, Altoona, PA
Westmoreland Heritage National, Greensburg, PA
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Hazleton Art League Annual, Hazleton, PA
North and South Dakota Regional Show, Rapid City, SD

PUBLICATIONS
NAEA News, "Eastern Regional News" 1988-1990
Art Teacher, Fall 1974: "Multiple Image/Sound: Motivation for Creative Activity"
Pennsylvania Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Winter 1974: Co-authored "Colored Light and Shadow: A Stimulus for Creative Movement"
Learning Resources Magazine, April 1975: Co-authored "Multi-Media: Motivation for the Arts and Basic Education"
Readings: Developing Arts Programs for Handicapped Students Co=authored Chapter: Art: Many Options for Creative Activity

COLLECTIONS
American International School, Dusseldorf, West Germany
Cedar Cliff High School, Northumberland, PA
Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA
United States National Bank, Johnstown, PA
Joy Manufacturing, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
On-Line Systems, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania State University, York, PA
Ward Foundation, Altoona, PA
Hoffman Engineering Co., Pittsburgh, PA
100 Friends of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
ALCOA Corp., Pittsburgh, PA
Selene, Inc., Lucca, Italy
Gulf Oil Corp., Pittsburgh, PA
One Oxford Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, Lock Haven, PA
Pennsylvania State Museum, William Penn Building, Harrisburg, PA
Cumberland Valley School District, Mechanicsburg, PA
P & N Coal Company, Punxsutawney, PA
Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Pittsburgh, PA
Private Collections in more than 28 states and 10 foreign countries

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Director, University Museum, IUP, 1988-1996
Professor Emeritus, Department of Art, IUP
Professor, IUP Creative Art Studies, Lucca, Italy
Art Teacher, Elizabethtown Area High School, Elizabethtown, PA