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Abstract Painting: Past, Present, Personal

Jill Nathanson

Intermediate level

Offered in conjunction with Jill Nathanson: Chromatic Phrases on view at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, this workshop invites participants to explore abstraction through color, composition, and personal expression. Through studies focused on color mixing, color relationships, movement within the picture plane, and pictorial organization, students consider how abstract paintings create visual and emotional resonance. Students also have the option to attend the Artist Walkthrough with Jill Nathanson following the workshop at no additional charge, offering firsthand insight into the exhibition and the artist’s creative process. Check back for recommended supply list!

October 17, 2026
Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: VBMA Studios 2 and 3
#26FWS-01 $235 (VBMA Members $200)

Biography

Jill Nathanson has long pursued what she describes as the “active life” of color, treating it as both subject and driving force in her practice. Rooted in the legacy of Color Field painting, she studied at Bennington College, where her work was shaped by encounters with artists such as Larry Poons, Kenneth Noland, and Sophia Healy, among others. She later received her MFA from Hunter College in 1982.

Nathanson’s paintings are composed of poured, translucent planes of acrylic and polymer that form luminous, spatially complex fields. Her process combines the unpredictability of fluid paint with a structured, intentional composition, creating a dynamic between open expanses and layered, almost-glazed transitions. The works are at once clear and complex, marked by subtle tonal variation and brilliance of hue.

Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville; the Sheldon Museum of Art; and the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, and is held in numerous public and private collections.