Art and Statements About Resilience
In the Human Experience and in Nature
September 30 – November 30, 2022
Welcome! The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS (HPAA) is an initiative of Manhattan Arts International, NYC, NY, an organization launched in 1983 to promote emerging artists. HPAA is a growing global community of artists, advocates, and writers dedicated to raising awareness about how ART serves as a positive catalyst for enhancing the well-being of individuals, society and the environment. We believe that art has the power to heal, inspire, provoke, challenge and offer hope and bring positive change to the world.
“The Healing Power of ART: Resilience 2022” was an online exhibition with the purpose of bringing positivity, healing, and hope. The word resilience originates from the Latin word “resalire” which means “springing back”.
Enjoy viewing some of the art from the exhibition.
To see the names of all 79 Artists who were in the Exhibition visit this page.
To see names of all 57 Special Recognition Art Award Winners visit this page.
How Artists Were Selected and the Criteria:
We asked artists to submit their artistic expressions of resilience as depicted in the human experience and/or in the natural world. All artists worldwide, and all styles and mediums were accepted. The entries were judged using specific criteria including originality, technical competence, and how well the art and their statement reflect the theme. To read more about the requirements for entrants please visit this page. ~ Renee Phillips, director and curator, Manhattan Arts International and The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS
Contact the Artists Directly: The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS does not engage into any art sales nor do we collect any sales commissions. Please visit the artists’ websites and contact them directly to purchase their art.
All rights reserved. Do not reproduce images without the artists’ permission.
Agnes Jorgensen
Resilience in its most basic form is strength during difficult times. Each day we are faced with decisions that we don’t always know the outcome. Art can inspire people to think about disaster risk and resilience in ways that science and numbers cannot. My inspiration for creating ‘Everyday Heroes’ is to build awareness for communities who are facing increased risk from hazards and climate change. jorgensenart.com
Agnes Jorgensen is also co-founder of Painting A New World, a nonprofit organization, and is considered one of our World Changers. Read Interview with Agnes Jorgensen and Andre Chatelain, Artists and Founders of Painting A New World.
Ruth Soller
Ancestral Puebloans built Cliff Palace over 800 years ago high in the cliffs of Navajo Canyon. Teddy Roosevelt designated this area in southwest Colorado as Mesa Verde National Park in 1906. Life for these resilient people was consumed by pursuing basic needs of shelter, water and food. They left behind evidence of pottery, architecture, and agriculture as well as ceremonial gatherings. Recent Christmas lighting of Cliff Palace revealed how it may have appeared when ancient campfires provided warmth and light. ruthsoller.com
Valerie Patterson
My work is a continuing search for deep understanding of the human condition — fascinating in its capacity for great kindness and mercy yet also great malevolence. I create highly refined watercolor paintings that often explode with psychological resonance with a sensitivity towards beauty and strength achieved through truth and honesty. I decided to use my voice to encourage people to see, think and feel. Awareness replaces ignorance and opens up the possibility of change. If you can’t ignore it, then you may feel compelled to change it. valeriepatterson.com
Karen Johnston
It only takes a moment to escape to a new world, one filled with color, breath, and restoration. When space is cleared amongst the chaos, seeds tumble forward, root down, and then sprout up. I wish for my work to spur the sort of pause that waters the imagination and sparks a skyward growth. And in that blink of focus, a surge of strength might be renewed, climbing high to meet the sunshine, refreshed with buds of hope. studiokarenjohnston.com
Karen Johnston is also the founder of H.O.P.E. and has been added to our World Changers. Read an interview Karen Johnston Artist and Founder of The H.O.P.E. Ministry.
Dr. Michael Durst
I paint the beauty of South Africa and create “Fractal Visions” with mathematical algorithms. As a psychologist, my artwork creates not only beauty, but also healing. It combines impressionism with digital fractal creations with layered techniques. The purpose of each piece is to evoke an emotional link to the heart-thus the name: Healing By Design. I had the resilience to start my art career when I retired and the strength to follow my passion to believe in my self-expression. heartscapepaintings.com
Michael won a Special Recognition Art Award and is featured in an article here.
Ekaterina Stoyanova
In my paintings I am drawn to the indomitable spirit of the native populations of the Americas and of the resilience of the wildlife in the American Southwest. The desert cultivates beauty through resilience which transpires everywhere, from the stampede of wild horses to the tender cactus blooms. I also paint portraits of Native American women and children inspired by their quiet courage of living in harmony with nature and by the rich artistry of their customs. stoyanovfineart.com
Ekaterina won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Gwen Roberts
My work is very female centric, exploring our perceptions of femininity in context to contemporary social awareness. It is my objective when I create artwork to divulge personal experiences and emotions but also to represent and bolster the female voice. Resilience is part of our nature as mothers, daughters, friends and colleagues. Every woman during her lifetime will have to employ resilience and apply her strength of character in order to defend and protect herself or loved ones. Simply put; it’s what we do. gwenroberts.com
Gwen won a Special Recognition Art Award and is featured in an article here.
Peter N. Van Giesen
This beautiful specimen of a Coastal Lodgepole Pine spoke to me of enduring resilience. I was compelled to capture its beauty in paint. Thriving through storms and droughts, growing on a rocky outcrop at the ocean’s edge. This ancient tree, enduring for hundreds of years, standing alone, twisted, and torn yet deeply rooted into the rocks. Leaning into every storm as if laughingly shouting into the winds, “go ahead, make my day, I will thrive regardless.” What a message to live by, Thrive, not just survive. peternvangiesen.com
Martine Allard
Inspired by my own traumas of breast cancer, both physical and psychological, these sculptures emerge as self-portraits. Through studies of female shapes, I tackle women body-images, self-esteem and contemporary definitions of Womanhood. My representations evolve as I cope with the scarred breast I see. They portray my emotional battle with sexuality in the afterlife of cancer. I put my artistic work in conversation with people’s inner struggles and society’s taboos. It defines my journey to resilience. martineallardsculptures.com
Marie Mitchell
Current global events and national issues: climate change, threats to the Australian environment, and the current refugee crisis drive the focus of my art. My creative practice is grounded in my deep social conscience and sense of personal responsibility. I believe art can touch people in ways scientific data cannot. I want my work to inform the viewer and inspire them to join the healing journey of alternative thinking, speaking out and joining others in collective action to foster change. mariemitchellart.com
Marie won a Special Recognition Art Award and is featured in an article here.
Michael Stoyanov
In my art I wish to convey the majestic simplicity of nature and to explore the organic connections between people and their natural environments as a source of sustenance, resilience, and creativity. I am in awe of the harsh and exquisite beauty of the desert landscape and I am captivated by the dignified history of the people who have learned to thrive in it. Their inexhaustible vibrancy is translated in the rich tonality of my palette. stoyanovfineart.com
Michael won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Nathalie Foisy
Oysters will produce pearls as a defense mechanism against a grain of sand disturbing their inner peace. They will invest years coating the intruding object with layers of nacre, creating a thing of beauty through relentless and meticulous effort. This strikes me as a very interesting metaphor for human behavior. Even through adversity, when we find the resilience to craft our inner pearl and the confidence to come out of our shell, the world becomes our oster. en-nathaliefoisy.com
Nathalie won a Special Recognition Art Award and is featured in an article here.
Sandra Duran Wilson
Rain is resilience. The fires and smoke have forever changed the landscape and livelihood of my beloved northern New Mexico. Water is the lifeblood of this high desert mountain region. I began painting and embedding my art with ideas of rain in the early stages of the fires. Water can be both a healer and a destroyer. Devastating rains on fire barren land washes away precious topsoil. The cycle of resilience is echoed in this process. Already, nature has returned. sandraduranwilson.com
Aaron Santos Boyd-Rochman
Some of my work is reminiscent of fossilized plants or creatures from an ancient sea. The process of fossilization keeps the past alive. Creatures are transformed and they persevere throughout the ages and are reborn into something beautiful. In my work I take everyday objects – in this case toothpicks – and collect and arrange them until they are transformed into something beautiful, unexpected, fun. arockinman.art
Aaron won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Claudia Michael
I am a landscape painter, inspired by the natural world. My visual narrative reflects the contemplative qualities of nature and the perception of beauty. An understanding of the sublime in the landscape brings focus to the nurturing qualities of nature and the individual as its supplicant. The Japanese idea of forest bathing extols the healing powers of spending time in nature which include a boost of immunity, release of toxic stress and the lowering of blood pressure and heart rate. claudialmichael.wixsite.com/claudia-michael-art
Claudia received a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Karen Melton
My paintings are bold, colorful, and show strength. They are inspired by the strength and resilience of people I have met around the world. People who have very little resources or who are discriminated against and yet every day they get up and show their strength, beauty, and ability to withstand and overcome their adversities. 10thstreetstudio.com
Elynne Rosenfeld
In May 2020 while walking a quarantine – safe path I found lovely purple flowers poking through the chain link fence of an abandoned factory. I photographed these and began to paint them, learning later that they are paulownia flowers, considered invasive, and that these trees grow randomly in unplanned landscape. It’s been my mission since to paint these, amid broken glass and beads, their own resilience a metaphor for what we have survived and continue to experience going forward. elynnerosenfeld.com
Elynne won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Denise Lorenz
My Rock Stories series conveys the resilience and fortitude of countless rocks, each set adrift to accumulate in one place and time for only a moment. An unending new gathering of rocks presents itself on the water’s edge. The movement of the water controls the destiny of each diverse patterned and colored rock. With every wave, the assortment transforms. I am renewed by this enduring continuity. deniselorenz.com
Denise won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Mark Weller
These lattice type patterns remind me of stained-glass windows or perhaps shattered glass mended together Kintsugi style. It also suggests trauma where something has broken into many pieces hinting at violent behavior. I see untold and unknown stories of who-knows-what kind of battles and struggles. Yet the wing remains functionally delicate and belies the fact that this is a complicated if not sophisticated and refined entity. The wing is attached to an insect named dragon and exemplifies resilience. time-stacking.com
Mark won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Esther Simonis
In the midst of hardship and turmoil, unlikely groups of people have the ability to unite and transform the impossible into the possible – to find hopeful solutions amidst devastating chaos – to save what has been lost in the ruins – to build up which have been destroyed. Miraculous outcomes can be seen in history when people bounce back from inevitable disaster to grab hold of inconceivable restoration. My artwork illuminates the power of hope, faith and human resilience. esthersimonisart.com
Esther won a Special Recognition Art Award in this exhibition and is featured in an article here.
Annie Shaver-Crandell
Evening Smoke: Where The Towers Were is a set of three pairs of watercolors executed en plein air — in the open air — except that, in mid-September 2001, ours was full of smoke from the burning remains of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Eerily beautiful sunsets called me to my roof, from which I had witnessed the aerial attack on September 11. If you didn’t know what you were looking at — or smelling — the sky views were poetically transcendent. annieshavercrandell.com
Annie Shaver won a Special Recognition Art Award from Manhattan Arts International and her article is featured here.
Sandra Belitza-Vazquez
Photographing wildlife and their environments is a passion of mine, and a platform for me to bring their conservation to my viewers’ attention. Depending on their resilience and adaptability in facing the challenges of fires, drought, erosion due to flooding in certain places, and the expansion of human settlements, they may even thrive. The animals of the Pantanal in Brazil have overcome these challenges and flourished in the world’s most extensive wetland environment. The world survives when animals survive. sbvaz.com
Anne Morrison Rabe
My relatives emigrated from Sweden in the 1880s to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior. I have spent more time here the past few years, chronicling the changing seasons in my photographs. Whether an aged birch, whose bark is scarred by time and man; maple trees bursting with bouquets of seeds, produced to quickly generate seedlings; or a Campanula flower growing out of granite, my ancestors were resilient people, not unlike the flora and fauna that reside here. amr-photography.com
Vincenzo Cohen
Through art I express the need for abstraction from ordinariness and the moment of creation becomes a way to sublimate social and inner conflicts. Through the human figure I express my resilience, The need to fight against injustice, social prevarication and abuse of power. My “armored corps” are an expression of this state of mind. They show the inner strength through the armor of the experience but also a hermetic resilience that pushes them to close in on themselves to create a defensive barrier against the obstacles of life. vincenzocohen.com
Rajul Shah
As an ex-pharmaceutical executive turned artist, I have witnessed strong connections between emotional and physical well-being. The Japanese Art of Kintsugi inspires the translation of my artwork to address aspects of the human condition and its ability to recover from illness, injury or trauma; including the impact of humans on the planet. We heal and evolve into improved versions of ourselves, with renewed strength and purpose. Our imperfections and injuries do not define us. Kintsugi is the physical translation of resilience. rajulshahart.com
Kasey Jones
Art expression is my one way to communicate narratives without words. In many cases, it becomes the opportunity to tell one’s story without the parameters, restrictions and judgments of language. It is this core experience found in creative endeavors that tells us art’s purpose is not merely to exemplify internal conflicts, but is actually to provide a way to continuously reinforce our own self-empowering, life-affirming capacity for resilience. Calm, connection and confidence: I use art to enhance resilience. kaseyjones.net
Roslyn Rose
I firmly believe that the future of our civilization will depend upon the use of space to survive. The girl is in a room with mementoes from the past, but she looks to the sky for the future. I have been fascinated by astronomy and outer space. When NASA offered to allow the public to download images from the Hubble telescope, I was one of the first to sign on. Using my artwork, I have finally entered the space beyond our earth. I juxtapose the neglected with the occupied, the deserted with the inhabited, one scene with another, or the past with the present. roslynrose.com
A Few Famous Quotes About Resilience
About Our Exhibitions
Throughout the year we present online art exhibitions open to artists from around the world working in all styles and mediums. The purpose of our exhibitions is to promote artists to our global audience and raise awareness about the importance of art for positive change. Exhibitions have included “Artists For World Peace”, “The Healing Power of Color”, “Our Bond With Nature”, “Art That Lifts Our Spirits”, and “Inspirational Art in Mixed Media”. We present a variety of powerful visual images and artists’ statements created by artists from around the world.
Our current call for artists is always announced on this page.
Visit The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS Members Gallery
View Our Members Exhibitions
Love, Peace, Harmony and Unity
Autumn – Art by Artist Members
Whimsical Art by Artist Members
Spring Online Art Exhibition
Fantastic Flora and Fauna
Change and Evolution
Members’ Exhibitions About Color
A Healing Touch of Red
The Healing Color of Purple
Art With The Magical Color Blue
The Power of Yellow
Many Shades of Green
Members Celebrate the Color Orange
The Healing Glow of Pink
Many Shades of Gray
Beautiful Brown in Art by Members
Renee, this is another spectacular exhibition organized by you. I started sharing it with my staff members and patients of the hospital where I work. I enjoy watching their eyes light up and the smiles on their faces whenever they visit your website. Renee, I share your belief that art is a powerful healing modality and I see evidence of that belief every day. Thank you for continuing to produce uplifting exhibitions.
Dr. Jonas B, Thank you for your comment and your email messages. I value your positive words and efforts to spread the word about our exhibitions. Thank you for the healing work you do at the hospital. Best wishes, Renee
There are so many emotions weaved into stories of resilience. Thank you for including my work. I am honored to be in the company of so many artists that I love and admire. Once again – a beautiful show!
Rajul
Rajul, it is an honor to include your inspirational artwork “Healing Muladhara” and your powerful statement. I agree, there are so many deeply felt emotions revealed in this outstanding exhibition. Thank you for participating. All the best, Renee
Renee, Thank you for including my painting “Cliff Palace Mesa Verde” in this fabulous exhibition. It is an honor to show with so many insightful and skilled artists worldwide. I will share this link with my followers.
Ruth, your paintings are magnificent and I very much appreciate your submission of “Cliff Palace Mesa Verde”. It is also included in the video I created to promote the exhibition. Thank you very much for sharing the link to view this spectacular exhibition.
Congratulations on another beautiful curation Renee! I enjoyed the caliber and emotion coming from all the artists! Thank you again for encouraging and supporting artists in their endeavor to get their message out.
Thank you Robin for submitting “Only My Rules”, an exquisite reminder, as you wrote that visual art is “a healing ‘medicine'”. I will continue to promote this important exhibition to encourage artists and art enthusiasts and build relationships among them all.
Thank you very much for including me in this exciting exhibition. I must have missed the acceptance notification as I only found out during a follow-up on the website. Thanks again! It looks great!
You’re welcome Marie! I’m delighted to your beautiful, thought-provoking, important work of art “Starting the Cycle of Hope: from Dead Dirt to Living Soil”. I’m also including it in the exhibition video. Sorry you missed the email I personally sent to you after I received your entries, from entries(at)manhattanarts.com.
The Healing Power of Art: Resilience 2022 is a stunning exhibit! It truly does reflect the concept of resilience in so many forms. Plus, it includes such diverse media and people from all over to richly convey its strong theme. Thank you for including my work in this attractive and thought-provoking exhibit! I am proud to direct my students and art colleagues to enjoy perusing the works. Congratulations on another enchanting and worthwhile endeavor on your site, Renee! The works really transform us to other places.
Thank you for your comment Denise. Your Rock Stories XXVI, colored pencil on paper, was a perfect fit for this exhibition that conveys resilience in nature. I greatly appreciate your participation. Thank you also for your desire to direct your students and art colleagues to view the show. By spreading the word you will be helping more people gain empowerment and strength during these challenging times.
I am honored to be included in this exhibition along side such talented artists. This exhibition portrays so much healing. Thank you.
Monique
Monique, it is an honor to include your beautiful and meaningful painting “Surrender to the Universe” in this exhibition. along with your insightful statement.. Thank you for participating and I wish you continued resilience in all areas of your life..
Congratulations Renee on another remarkable exhibition. There is so much value in what you share here to see and to read. As a practicing therapist I especially appreciate the artwork and the artists statements about the topic of overcoming difficult challenges. Renee you always attract the best art and artists to your shows which is a tribute to your long, professional dedication to standards of excellence and many long hours of preparation. Bravo. I will share a link to this exhibition on social media and with my patients.
Thank you Marta. I appreciate your kind words and that you will be sharing a link to this exhibition that I know will help many people. All the best to you.
What a show!! Every single work holds its own powerful truth of resilience. Can’t wait to go back through this exhibition again and again and soak it all in. Thank you for your beautiful curation, Renee. Thrilled to be included!
Thank You Karen! It is always a pleasure and privilege to add your painting to our exhibitions that emanate love and light. Thank you for participating with “Seeds of Growth”, a poetic painting and statement to match. Please return often and share the link!