Hana Aviv “Blue Mountain Lack at sunset”

Hana Aviv has dreamed of being an artist her whole life. She practices to hone her skill whenever she has a free moment and has taken classes to improve her technique. Her artistic training has led her to view the world differently, she sees the world around her in terms of shapes and composition. Now, she thinks about how to create the most interesting combination of shapes and color. She feels that watercolor is a great medium for doing so. Though it can be a challenge, the use of watercolors allows her to translate her world view, the worldview of an artist, into colorful artworks that feature natural subjects. Hana is a veteran of Alfa Art Gallery, having showed her work in the gallery’s “Small Format/ Affordable Art Exhibition” in 2012 and 2014 and The New Brunswick Art Salon “Watercolor and Mixed Media” show in 2015 and 2016.

All my life I wanted to be an artist. After graduation from college with a degree in Biology, I worked in New York City during the day and enrolled in drawing and watercolor classes in the evening. Later I took more intense instruction in art by taking evening classes at the Montclair art museum (MAM). From 2007 until 2011, I took a class every fall, winter and spring semester, and participated in many workshops. One of the first classes was life drawing. I liked life drawing because I discovered that I liked visualizing subjects in terms of lines and shapes, and I loved to create patterns and designs based on the figure. However, once I captured the shape and movement of the figure, I was reluctant to finish the drawing. Somehow, the lines and shapes seemed fresher, and the finished drawing(shading, background, details etc.) detracted from the freshness of the sketch. The teachers at MAM taught me about composition, color, temperature and the play of shadows. Through trial and error, I found that the best way to finish my compositions was by using watercolor. Watercolor, although a challenging medium, does not require the level of detail that finishing a work in chalk or pastel does. It is also a much more fluid medium than oil. As I experimented with different techniques, such as wet into wet painting and filling the paper with fields of color, I discovered this was the best way to finish my sketches. 

To improve my skills, I took several semesters of watercolor classes at the MAM, and now continue taking drawing classes at the Zimmerli museum in New Brunswick. To find my own style, I joined the New Jersey watercolor club and the Essex County watercolor club and I watch artist’s demonstrations, participate in workshops and go on plain air painting trips. At this time I focus on overall design of my work–lines, shapes, and unity of design and color. I take my inspiration from nature – my best work seems to be floral designs and landscapes. I travel extensively, and find inspiration in the landscapes I encounter in my travels and frequent hiking trips. I often make small sketches in the field and finish my work later in my studio.

New Brunswick Art Salon 2023 – Watercolor and Mixed Media “See the Forest for the Trees.”

New Brunswick Art Salon 2022 – Watercolor and Mixed Media “After the Charm: In the Name of Autumn” Exhibition

New Brunswick Art Salon 2021 Fall Watercolor and Mixed Media Exhibition

New Brunswick Art Salon 2016 Part II Watercolor and Mixed Media Exhibition

Education

1976  B.S., Biology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY

1979  M.S., Biology, New York University, New York, NY

1992  Ph.D., Biology, New York University, New York, NY  

Art Education

Montclair Art Museum: Fall, winter and spring semester art classes (2007-2013)

Life drawing, drawing into painting, expressionism, watercolor, workshops

Mason Gross School of the Arts–Zimmerli Drawing Society September 2015 to 2019

Employment

Professor of Pathology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901


Exhibitions

Alfa Art Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ

  • Small Format/Affordable Art Exhibition – 2012 and 2014
  • New Brunswick Art Salon for watercolor and mixed media – 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 

D&R Land Trust Foundation, Princeton, NJ

  • Feather and Flight – Juried Exhibition – 2017
  • Lovely as a Tree – Juried Exhibition – 2018
  • Spring Training: People, Places, Play – 2019 
  • Beautiful Creatures – 2nd Annual Art Installation 2020 
  • Delaware-river of the Year – 3rd Annual Art Installation 2021 

Essex County Watercolor Club

Juried show: 

  • 85th Annual Member’s show for transparent watercolor, Library of the Chathams, – 2015    
  • Associate Members Exhibit – Art @1275 Studio and Gallery, Fairfield NJ – 2014   

Fall Arts Festival, Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School in Newark NJ 

  • Exhibited in 8 consecutive annual shows –  2012 to 2019 

Garden State Watercolor Society, Signature member 

Juried shows:  

  • 45th Annual Juried Show, Nature’s Beauty, D&R Greenway Land Trust Princeton NJ – 2015 
  • 46th Annual Juried Show, Trenton, NJ – 2016  
  • 47th Annual Juried Show, D&R Greenway Land Trust Princeton NJ – 2017 
  • 48TH Annual Juried Show, Trenton, NJ – 2018 
  • 50th Annual Juried Show, Out of the Wild, D&R Greenway Land Trust Princeton, NJ – 2020  
  • 51st Annual Juried Show, “Recovery” D&R Greenway Land Trust, Princeton, NJ – 2021  
  • Annual Associates and Signature Members Exhibition, Middletown, NJ- 2016 
    • Merit Award “Pink Tulips”  
  • Annual Associates and Signature Members Exhibition, Middletown, NJ – 2018 
  • Annual Associates and Signature Members Exhibition, Middletown, NJ – 2019, 2020, 2021 
  • “Small but Mighty” Watercolor Exhibition, Farmstead Arts, Basking Ridge, NJ – 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (First Merit Award-Windblown)

George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 

  • Art Connection Exhibit – 2017 

National Arts Program, Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School for employees and their families

  • 2011 – 2019 – Exhibited in 7 annual consecutive shows 
  • Awards: 
    • 2nd Place for “Pink Gladioli” – 2011 
    • 1st Place for “Starburst of White Irises” – 2013  
    • 3rd Place for “Galapagos Bird” – 2014  
  • Honorable mention for “Scottish Countryside” – 2017  

New Jersey Watercolor Society, Elected member 

Juried show: 

  • 75th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Middletown Arts Center – 2017 
  • 76th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Middletown Arts Center – 2018 
  • 79th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Middletown Arts Center – 2021  
  • Associate Members Exhibit – Morristown Community Theatre, Morristown, NJ – 2011 
  • Associate Members Exhibit – Morristown Community Theatre, Morristown, NJ – 2013 
  • Associate Members Exhibit – Les Malamut Gallery, Union, NJ – 2017 
  • Associate Members Online Exhibit – 2018 
  • Annual Elected Members Exhibition, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022(virtual)

Physicians and their Art, Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

  • 2013, 2015, 2016 – Exhibited multiple paintings in the Atrium of RWJMS, New Brunswick, NJ  

SOLO SHOWS   

  • 2012 Caldwell library, Caldwell, NJ 

DEMONSTRATIONS 

  • 2019 (March 4) Hunterton Watercolor Society – Demonstrated painting of “Santorini” 

OTHER  

  • Permanent display of three paintings on in the Lobby of Cancer Center of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 
  • Permanent display of a botanical (cucumber) at the Point Breeze Estate in Bordertown, NJ 

Art Events

Affordable Art show and sale at the Montclair Art Museum – 2010 

Jam at the MAM – Montclair Art Museum online art show and sale – 2020 

Il Chiostro 25th Anniversary juried online show 2020 

Art on the Avenue on Bloomfield Ave in Caldwell, NJ – 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 

  • Honorable mention for “Yellow Irises” – 2016  

Art in the Park – Highland Park, NJ – 2016 

  • 3rd Place for best exhibit  

Art of the Esplanade, Mountain Lakes NJ – 2018 

Garden State Watercolor Society Art Sale, Princeton, NJ – 2018 and 2021

Awards

Featured Artist on the National Arts Program Foundation Website (2011) 

Artist of the week in the National Arts Program Magazine (2012) 

Memberships

Elected Member-New Jersey Watercolor Society 2018 

Signature Member-Garden State Watercolor Society 2017

Small Works

Feel free to visit Hanna’s website: theartofhana.webs.com

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