Abstract and non-representational painting originated at the turn of this century, with German expressionism. Many artists abandoned the realistic depiction of the physical world allowing the form and color of actual paint to become the subject of their art. In America the color-field of paintings of Mark Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn were a natural outgrowth of this modernist approach.
In a similar manner, Donna Gans creates contemplative abstract paintings that are distillations of an inner landscape. The architecture of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright have influenced Gans’ sense of space and light. Since moving to Montana from New York in 1992, the Western landscape has also substantially altered her vision.
In addition to painting, Gans has a background in interior design, installation, and sculpture. She received her MFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In 1993 she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Montana Arts Council. She has exhibited her works at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Great Falls, Jest Gallery in Whitefish, and numerous other galleries in Montana and New York. Reviews of her work have appeared in Newsday, The New York Times, and the Southhampton Press.
A new body of Donna’s work will open August 7 at Jest Gallery in Whitefish, Montana.
Whitefish Gallery Nights 