About The Artist
Hi, I'm Jerry Cantwell, a North Carolina-based painter. My formal art training began at New York University in the Studio Art Program, and I completed my fine art education at the National Academy of Fine Art in New York City, where I studied painting and drawing under Serge Hollerbach. I consider him the master teacher who most influenced my development as a painter and artist.
Through his instruction, I explored both the classical and modern masters — Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Cézanne, alongside modernists like Van Gogh, Rouault, Modigliani, Albers, Morandi, Rothko, Matisse, and Milton Avery. That blend of classical technique and modern sensibility continues to shape how I approach painting and drawing today.
Art Training
New York University:
Studio Art (Painting)
1982-1984
National Academy of Fine Art (NYC):
Studio Painting
1983-1986
Appalachian State University, Boone NC:
MA Art Education/Studio Art (Painting)
1986-1988
Exhibitions
New York University (NYU)
National Academy of Fine Art (NYC)
Catherine Smith Gallery (Boone, NC)
South Florida Arts Center (Miami FL)
Nth Gallery (Boone, NC)
Creekside Gallery (Foscoe, NC)
Reid’s Cafe (Banner Elk, NC)
Beacon Restaurant (Boone, NC)
Simpatico Gallery (Charleston, SC)
ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY
“I strip the the design to essentials: The facts do not interest me as much as the essence of nature”
- Milton Avery
My artistic philosophy is to strip down the image to its psychological essence through perspective, form and color. Something that connects us all. Through my art I attempt to guide the viewer into a space where the ego relaxes, the breath is even and a graceful truth is revealed. I try to take perspective and show it where both color and form make sense. Each image is a meditative state. I want the viewer to have a sense of going into the painting and being silent. I simply like to describe my drawings and paintings as “Silent Spaces”.