Into Oblivion - Self Portrait Oil on canvas - SOLD

Biography

“ . . . a breezy nonchalance is betrayed, perhaps, by the inclination of an ankle, a slight slouch when no one is looking. The tilt of a chin and a daring patina convey a woman’s struggle in a setting that is otherwise oblivious. Subjects are captured in the moment, interacting with their own place and time. The result is uncanny, both powerful and engaging.”

Raised in a rural Mennonite community in Nebraska, Pauline spent the first nine years of her education in a one-room schoolhouse. Early on, she knew that somber gray and rigid adherence to form were somehow at odds with her own impulsive vitality. Drawing became her mode of expression, and a dance between strength and vulnerability had begun. “An artist paints her times and draws from childhood experiences,” she says. “Mine were colorful and rich.” Formal art studies began in college and she studied both art and theater at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, graduating with dual degrees.

Today, the artist’s modern, eclectic approach is perhaps best described as a blend of Fauvism, Post-Impressionism, and German Expressionism. She is profoundly influenced by those periods, and favorite masters are Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne, Mondrian, and Dufy. “Many of my college instructors were Abstract Expressionists,” she explains, “and I learned a great deal about design. The drawing and color skills were developed later. It is exciting to put it all together.” Pauline’s work is strongly designed and reflects considerable formal training. Yet significantly, it also communicates a profound respect for a gentle, more tentative nature. Invariably, the ensuing interplay of color, line, and execution command the viewer’s attention.

The artist’s work, signed Pauline Giammanco in the 80’s, has been admired throughout the Northwest in solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions. An award-winning painter, she has been a member of many Oregon galleries and exhibited at prestigious open-air festivals in Sausalito, Park City, and at the NW Pacific Arts Festival in Bellevue, Washington. For five summers, she was a portrait artist at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, and for ten years she taught in the Denver Public Schools. She is primarily a studio painter, however, and it is there that she finds the space and freedom to explore the diametrical challenge of bold strokes and gentle spirit. “The technical form,” she says, “is what draws you in. It’s the powerful and sensuous communication that makes you want to stay.”

In 1984, she moved herself and her 13-year-old daughter, Jill, to Southern Oregon and explored printmaking at Southern Oregon State University, under the direction of master printmaker Lyle Matousch. In 1993 she relocated to Eugene where she continued her art studies at the University of Oregon and taught both in the public schools and through private art consortiums. In 2003, she retired from Harrisburg High School. She continues to paint and is a self-published, self-marketed artist.

Related Education and Work Experience

B.A. in Art and Drama, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Art and Speech Teacher, Scottsbluff, NB
Secondary Art and Drama Teacher, Denver Public Schools
Colorado Renaissance Festival Calendar
Graduate Work in Lithography, University of Northern Colorado
Portrait Artist and Instructor, Colorado Renaissance Art Festival
Graduate Work in Lithography, Colorado State University
Figurative Workshop Instructor, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO
Graduate Work in Lithography and Etching, University of Southern Oregon
Graduate Work in Lithography and Etching, University of Oregon
Secondary Art Instructor, Harrisburg Public Schools, Harrisburg OR
Private Workshops in Drawing and Watercolor (ongoing, 1988 – present)

Solo, Invitational, and Juried Exhibitions
(Many recurring, 1986 – present)

Primarily Paper, Umpqua Community College
Sausalito Fine Arts Festival
Pacific Northwest Arts Festival
Park City Art Festival, Park City UT
Art and Vineyard, Eugene OR
Salem Art Festival, Salem OR
Rogue Valley Art Association, Medford OR
Kings Mountain Art Festival, Woodside CA
Beverly Hills Affaire in the Garden, CA
Foothills Art Center, Golden CO
Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland OR
The Alder Gallery, Coburg, OR
The Mayor’s Art Show, Eugene OR
The Human Form Exhibition, Newport OR
The Lawrence Gallery, Sheridan OR
White Bird Gallery, Canon Beach OR
The Attic Gallery, Portland OR