Nancy Cerny (American, 20th Century-) artist and teacher, primarily known for her oil paintings of landscapes, florals, and still lifes. She grew up in Wisconsin, living next door to the flower shop her parents owned. She later moved to East Aurora, NY where she and her husband Frank raised their three sons while she worked as a registered nurse. After completing a BA and MS in art education at State University College at Buffalo (SUC, now Buffalo State College), she substituted and privately taught art classes. Nancy’s paintings are begun outdoors on-site, then finished in her studio which is located in East Aurora, NY.
Nancy has been actively involved as a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists, serving on their board for many years, currently as vice-president. She is also involved with the East Aurora Art Society and served as past president (2002-2004), and was co-chair of East Aurora’s Annual Outdoor Art Show (2000-2005). She also holds memberships in the Fine Arts League of WNY and the Western New York Artists Group. Her artwork can be found in Meibohm Fine Arts in East Aurora, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY, and the Artpark Gallery for the Buffalo Society of Artists in Lewiston, NY, as well as many private collections.
Artist Statement:
“I have always been close to nature, and being able to do artistic work within nature is a dream and a challenge. The process, for me, almost always involves plein aire work, painting on site. While I’m setting up to paint, I’m already looking around, not so much consciously for design, but rather for those areas of buried color and value patterns. I’m interested in the not so obvious color areas that excite me, which are hidden within the larger subject areas. That is my starting point. Then, beginning to paint, I react and abstract a color, or a few colors, in order to establish the beginning of an idea. It is only then that I am more aware of the design elements, and subject matter. While I’m aware that design is important, it doesn’t seem to be the first consideration for me.
I have been influenced by the impressionists; Paul Gauguin especially. I continue to be influenced by the bold use of color by Gauguin. However, more recently, Wolf Kahn has had an exciting influence, especially on the use of color. Kahn seems to exemplify the ambiguous use of color. It is this ambiguous use of color that comes so freely into my own painting.
Perhaps because I’m so loose with color, I have a loose, painterly style as well. I believe that painting outdoors also pushes me toward a great deal of spontaneity and looseness. I don’t make a determined effort to avoid realism, however while I’m painting I’m usually aware of an effort to push color and brushstroke freedom, especially during the initial blocking in of the work, at the expense of realism.
Related to my love for landscapes is my love for nourishing and protecting our natural environment. This is vital to our civilization, so I would hope that my interpretations of the outdoors, and attempts at abstracting its excitement would inspire others to take a momentary closer look at what we have now in nature, but can’t assume will be around forever. Trying to highlight these special environs is an exciting step in the development of my painting.”[1] -Nancy Cerny
Chronology of Exhibitions:
1999 & 2001- Exhibited, group benefit show, “Benefit the Western New York Land Conservancy”, Camp Olmsted, Sardinia, NY.
1999, 2001-2003, & 2005-2007- Exhibited, group show (2nd Prize 2003 & 2006, 3rd Prize 2007 & 2010), “East Aurora Outdoor Art Show”, East Aurora Art Society, with Gerald Mead, Juror (2002), East Aurora, NY.
1999, 2001 & 2006- Exhibited, group show, “Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit”, Kenan Center, Lockport, NY.
1999 & 2002- Exhibited, group show, “Regional Artists Exhibit”, with Douglas G. Schultz, Director Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Juror, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
1999 & 2002-2005- Exhibited, juried group show, “Regional Artists Exhibition”, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY, with Douglas G. Schultz, Director Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Juror (1999 & 2002), Celeste M. Lawson, Director Buffalo Arts Council, Juror (2003), Dr. Grant Holcomb, Director Rochester Memorial Gallery, Juror (2004), and Eric Jackson-Forsberg, Curator of the Martin House Restoration, Juror (2005).
1999-2004 & 2007- Exhibited, group show, “The Western New York Artists Group Members Exhibit”, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY, with Robert Scalise, juror (2007), Art Dialogue Gallery, University of Buffalo’s Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, NY.
2002- Exhibited, group show, “Plein Aire Painters”, Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY.
2003- Exhibited, solo show, Beaver Meadow Audubon Center, North Java, NY. Exhibited, group show, “The Roycroft Inn Fine Art Exhibit of the East Aurora Art Society”, East Aurora, NY. Exhibited, group benefit show, Junior League Decorator Show House, Buffalo, NY.
2004-2005 & 2010- Exhibited, group show, “Member Exhibition”, Fine Arts League of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
2006-2007- Exhibited, group show, Buffalo Society of Artists, Artpark Art Gallery, Lewiston, NY.
2006 & 2008- Exhibited, spring & fall group shows, Buffalo Society of Artists, with Harvey Breverman, juror (Spring, 2006), Buffalo, NY.
2007- Exhibited, two person show, Nancy Cerny Studio, East Aurora, NY. Exhibited, two person show, East Aurora Library, East Aurora, NY. Exhibited, group show, “Artists Among Us: Members Exhibit”, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY.
2007-2009- Exhibited, group benefit show and auction, “Paint the Town”, Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, Buffalo, NY.
2008-2009- June to March, exhibited, group show, “Buffalo Society of Artists at the County Executives Office”, by six members of the BSA selected by Erie County Executive Chris Collins, Buffalo, NY.
2009- Exhibited, group show, “National Women’s Exhibit”, Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Summer/Fall, exhibit, three person show, “Nancy Cerny, Nancy Helfter and Helen Rogers Russell”, Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Fall, exhibited, two person show, “Art in a Garden”, with works by Nancy Cerny and Liz Birardi, Cerny Art Studio, East Aurora, NY. Fall, exhibited, group show, “Gallery in the Barn”, East Aurora, NY.
2010- Summer, exhibited, juried group show, “Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit”, seventy seven works by fifty two different artists were shown, Kenan Center House Gallery, Lockport, NY. Exhibited, group art auction & show, “Gala2010”, watercolor painting “Red Amaryllis” (2004), 8.75” x 11.5”, donated by Carol & John Kociela, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY.
2012- Exhibited, group benefit show, "Mill Road Scenic Overlook Benefit Exhibition", Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY.
Awards & Honors: 2nd Prize (2003 & 2006) and 3rd Prize (2007 & 2010), East Aurora Outdoor Art Show, East Aurora, NY; Special Memorial Award, Fine Arts League, Buffalo, NY.
Memberships: Buffalo Society of Artists, Buffalo, NY; East Aurora Art Society (past president, 2002-2004), East Aurora, NY; East Aurora Outdoor Art Show (co-chair, 2000-2005), East Aurora, NY; Fine Arts League of Buffalo, NY; and the Western New York Artists Group, Buffalo, NY.
Galleries: Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY; Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY; and the Artpark Art Gallery, Buffalo Society of Artists, Lewiston, NY.
(Rewritten in parts and compiled chronologically by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY, 14052, meibohmfinearts.com, sources: Too long to list and are furnished upon request.)
_10x8_oc_slr_undated.jpg)
_40x30_oc_sll_2020_502.jpg)
_36x24_oc_slr_2020_501.jpg)
_40x30_oc_slr_2020_499.jpg)
_36x36_oc_sll_2020_500.jpg)
_40x30_oc_slr_2020_422.jpg)
_40x30_oc_slr_2020_503.jpg)