Light affects our individual perception of color, that we know, but in Janet Siegel Rogers’ luminous, glowing pieces, our perception alters the light. Janet’s extensive experimentation to find the perfect medium for her exploration of color brought her to discover that beeswax mixed in oil paint serves to suspend the pigment, and our disbelief.

Our first impression is the absolute jewel of hues, shining in the light, until we are drawn in and find a lineless, formless fractal of sorts, where the color folds in upon itself in waves. Her pigments appear to be suspended, surrounded by light at the face and behind each brushstroke as the wax keeps it buoyant within the layers. Depending on the angle we see the brushstroke and how it relates to the light.

It took her years to discover this ancient technique of the use of encaustic, which allows for the creation of rich textures and layers, giving an artwork a three-dimensional quality. When she paints it is as if she carves gently into the wax, building up the layers with her brush.

Janet’s life experiences have naturally influenced her work, notably her six years in the Far East, which impacted her aesthetic sensibilities. Former Executive Director for the Boca Museum of Art, George S. Bolge, remarked, “Her art is the result of a loving and shrewd reading not only of life and of the old masters, but of modernism as well, and it lies in direct linear descent from the art of Monet, Bonnard, Klee, and Rothko.”

But she also conjures the color interactions of Josef Albers, the color fields of the abstract expressionists and by stressing the absolute relativity of color, her work enriches our viewing, the experience we have in our world, and ultimately our sense of who we are.

Like Albers, Janet was a distinguished educator. For 45 years, from kindergarten through graduate school, she shared space for color exploration. She established the Advanced Placement Studio Art program for the Performing & Visual Arts School of Broward County, and was named Broward County Arts Educator of the Year. She served as a Studio Art Consultant to the College Board, and was an art education delegate for Eisenhower’s program for cultural exchange, People to People. She travelled to Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and China through this Citizens Ambassador Program.

Janet holds three degrees: a B.A., M.A., and an M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Her work is collected internationally and nationally and is in the permanent collections of museums, including the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, and the Hollywood Art & Culture Center.

“I do not paint what people see but I hope people see what I paint.” –Janet Siegel Rogers.

JANET SIEGEL ROGERS
United States

EDUCATION

MFA, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
MA, William Paterson University, NJ
BA, Denison University, Granville, OH

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

West Palm Beach International Airport, FL
Florida Masters, Museum of Florida Art, Deland, FL
Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL
The Other Half: Women in the Collection, Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
Elizabeth Edwards Fine Art, Lahaina, HI
Palm Springs International Art Expo, CA
33rd International Festival of Painting, Castle Museum, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France
Gallery 5, Soho, New York, NY
Art 21, Las Vegas, NV
Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL
"Frequencies of Nature," Traveling Museum Show
Karygma Gallery, Ridgewood, NJ
Vero Beach Center for the Arts, FL
Museum Collection Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL
"Director's Choice," Gogen Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Lloyds of London Exhibition, London, England
James Trezza Fine Art, Paris, France
"Focus on Fort Lauderdale," Museum of Art, FL
"Abstractions," Karygma Gallery, Ridgewood, NJ
"Art Miami '91, International Art Exposition," FL
"Director's Choice," Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Frances Wolfson Gallery, Miami, FL
Miami Dade Gallery, South Campus, Miami, FL
"National Works on Paper," TX & USA
"Invitational," Miami Herald, FL
"Biennial Exhibition," Metropolitan Museum, FL
Galerie Ninety-Nine, Miami, FL
"Florida Creates," Jacksonville Art Museum, FL
The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL
Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna, FL
"National Photo/Printmaking Exhibit," Somerville, NJ
"Small Works," Washington Square East Galleries, NY
"Meet the Artist," Bergen Museum, NJ
"Audubon Artists," National Academy Galleries, NY

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Florida Southern College/ Polk Museum
Palm Beach Cultural Council, FL
Museam of Art, Deland, FL
The mAe, Delray Beach, FL
Westside Gallery, Ridgewood, NJ
Elaine Baker, Gallery Center, Boca Raton, FL
The Art Center, Lake Wales, FL
Loggerhead Plaza Galleries, Teak Garden, Juno Beach, FL
Florida Stage, Manalapan, FL
Elizabeth Edwards Fine Art, Laguna Beach & Palm Desert, CA
Runaway Moon Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
ResourceASIA, West Palm Beach, FL
Lee Wagener Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
Art Collector's Gallery, Miami, FL
Ann Norton Museum, Palm Beach, FL
Babson College Gallery, Wellesley, MA
Jaffe Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Broward Community College, FL
Contemporanea Gallery, Jacksonville, FL
Alex Gallery, Washington DC
Treasure Room Gallery, New York, NY
Ann Jaffe Gallery, Miami, FL
Casements Gallery, Ormand Beach, FL
Villanova Gallery, Villanova University, PA
Pratt Galleries, Brooklyn, NY

COLLECTIONS

Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL
Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Museum of Art, Deland, FL
Art and Cultural Center, Hollywood, FL
Public Art and Design, Broward County, FL
Barnett Bank, Jacksonville, FL
Broward County Medical Examiner Office, FL
Capital Bank, Miami, FL
Cleveland Clinic, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Cypress Savings Collection Plantation, FL
Port Authority, Port Everglades, FL
Sun Bank, Fort Lauderdale, FL

AWARDS

1994
Arts Teacher of the Year, Broward County, FL
1990
Mellon Foundation Grant
1983
Fellowship, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL
1981-1982
Fellowship, Pratt Institute, New York, NY