Joan Canto

Artist Biography I loved to draw as a child, especially figures. I studied figure drawing and painting with Santos Zingale, Robert Grilley, Jon Wilde and Gibson Byrd. My intention was to get a Masters degree in Art but life got in the way. I left the United States to live in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a vibrant, fascinating tropical metropolis filled with interesting faces and colorful neighborhoods. I continued to paint and participated in a one-person show and exhibited in local galleries. Upon my return to Madison, I had shows in several venues such as Fyfe’s Bistro, UW Hospital and Sunprint Kitchen and participated in the Madison Art Walk. Currently I am involved in the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program with awards in every show in 2023 and 2024 also winning a State award in Madison in 2024. In 2024, I was awarded second place in a juried show with Artful Women for my painting “Three Sisters.” My work has been accepted for a one-person show at Gallery 800 UBD in Madison. My work explores the underlying abstraction and structure found in nature. I place figures within landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes and use saturated color to create an atmosphere of mystery and emotional resonance. My influences are the French Post-Impressionists such as Bonnard, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. Modern influences include Alice Neel, deKoonig and the Bay Area Figurative Movement painters such as Diebenkorn.