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Gloria Mani
"Art is constant - just as life - one should never lose the wonder - learn anew everyday", says acclaimed and award winning artist, art conservator, and restorer Gloria Mani. Gloria is greatly inspired by the gentle quiet of the countryside and gardens throughout the world and is often found painting landscapes in "plein-air", the open air. In addition to her passion for landscapes, Gloria has been painting and drawing nudes for over forty years. Each of Gloria's paintings is refreshing with a style and medium unique to its subject matter.
At a very early age, passion for art was instilled in Mani and was a normal part of her life. Her exuberant father, Antonio Mani, owned and directed the Columbus School of Art in Columbus, Georgia. She grew up studying at his school and watching him paint. Part of her studies included attending art museums and exhibits in this country and abroad. Mani continued her studies at the Art Students League of New York where she studied under Robert Brackman and Robert Beverly Hale – two of the preeminent instructors of the 20th century. Gloria attended the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and has participated in numerous workshops given by nationally acclaimed artists including: Wolf Kahn at the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia and John Budicin and Lynn Gertenbach of the Plein Air Painters of America in Fallbrook, California and Bennington, Vermont.
Being greatly inspired by the American Impressionists, Gloria choose a variety of subject matter - landscapes, seascapes, interiors, figures, and portraiture. The play of light and shadows generally draws her to a specific scene, often an everyday spot that has gone unnoticed. By exaggerating colors, using a rhythmic composition, broken brushwork or texture, she transform the ordinary into an interesting and exciting work of art. Mani’s paintings capture the essence of the land, the mystery, a mood, an emotion, or perhaps only a dream.
Among her many awards and professional recognition, Gloria was listed as "one of the most influential people in the Arts in Columbus, Georgia in the past 100 years" by the Columbus Ledger Enquirer. In 1990, Gloria received the First Place Art Award at the National League of American Pen Women at the Georgia State Convention. She was top designer and painter of art furniture for the Sugar Hill catalog, and has been collected by celebrities such as John Travolta and Natalie Cole. Among Gloria's many exhibitions was a show at AGORA Gallery Soho , New York City, New York entitled "Elements of Nature".