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)

  • Anne Neilson Fine Art Gallery (Charlotte, NC)


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”.