“Boredom is foreign to Halbert’s paintings-variation, not repetition, is her rule in dealing with the figure. Several of her finest subjects achieve an independent complexity in their rugged, hearty dignity.” - Victoria Donohoe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/22/11 MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
I was a choreographer and modern dancer for most of my life. I made the transition to painting and teaching art after I stopped dancing. My dance experience plays a significant role in my approach to painting. There is a discord between energy and stillness to my subjects. I love to draw into paint focusing on how the colors relate while moving across the canvas. I use a variety of media to create a raw, but luminous finish reflecting a gestural, painterly, and contemporary style.
Traditionally, I begin as I would when choreographing a dance, one element moving into the next. A line begins, takes shape into mass, which will deepen with color, and then culminates into an expressionistic, impressionistic experience.
My paintings are an honest representation developed through a feminine looking glass. I look inward to paint my own personal and honest journey in my many roles of life. I am surrounded by strong personalities and I dream vivid dreams. My painting merges a sense of abstraction but based in a reality that leads me to paint motion to evoke emotion. I have had an extensive career teaching art to students of all levels and ages.
My teaching is an integral part of my art making process. I never stop growing as an artist by listening to others while empowering students to create in their own personal style. I am available for workshops, lectures and private lessons in a variety of media and art topics.
Artist Biography
Nancy E. F. Halbert, a former dancer and choreographer, has a Masters in Art Education from the University of the Arts with a prior MFA in Dance from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. In 2013, she was a fellowship participant of Vermont Studio Center and was also juried in as a featured artist in Studio Visit Magazine www.studiovisitmagazine.com. Her paintings have won awards at The Philadelphia Sketch Club. Nancy served as the volunteer director for five years at the artist cooperative MUSE Gallery in Philadelphia Following MUSE Gallery, she was a member of 3rd Street Gallery and is currently exhibiting with Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.
Her contemporary figurative and landscape paintings have been juried to exhibit in such prominent shows as Winged Woman: The Art of Arlene Love and Contemporary Parallels, The Painted Bride Art Center, 2018;The Woodmere Art Museum's Contemporary Art Show, 2009, 2012, Philadelphia, PA; the Betsy Meyer Memorial Show at the Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA; The Hospital of University of Pennsylvania’s Celebration of Life Show in 2013 and 2015; James Oliver Gallery, Art/nude Philly, 2013, a benefit for the Abramson Cancer Center, and other shows in Pennsylvania, including Goggleworks in Reading PA. She recently has shown in Key West, Florida and her paintings are in collections in Australia and the United States, including New York Presbyterian Hospital and Jefferson Hospital.
Nancy has been a devoted and supportive art teacher in continuing education programs in the area for nearly twenty years. She has taught painting and drawing in pastels, watercolor, oils, acrylics and art history to adults and children of all levels. She is devoted to empowering others to create art in their own unique style while gaining the necessary skills to develop unified compositions. She also teaches lessons in her home studio in Philadelphia.
Education
2002 University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA MA, Teaching in the Visual Arts
1984 Temple University, Philadelphia, PA MFA, Choreography and Dance Performance
1979 Ohio State University, Columbus, OH BFA, Dance and Arts Administration
Awards & Honors
2016 2nd Place Prize, The 2016 Annual Domenic DiStefano Memorial-Works on Paper Show, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
2014 Award in Best in Abstraction, Small Oil Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Featured Artist, Studio Visit Magazine, A Juried, National Publication
Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
1989 City of Philadelphia Citation Award as the Executive Director of the CEC Philadelphia, PA
1987 Choreography Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
1985 Residency Grant Recipient, Interdisciplinary Performance, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
1980 Outstanding Student Achievement Award, Expanded Arts Department, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
1989 - 1992 Consultant - to non-profit arts organizations and artists in grant writing and program development in Philadelphia
1985 - 1989 Executive Director, Community Education Center (THE CEC), a non-profit educational and cultural arts center serving diverse populations and citywide independent visual and performing artists.
1979 - 1991 Choreographer, modern dancer and teacher
Other
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 POST, Philadelphia, PA
Exhibitions
Solo
2012 endure., MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Lignet Roset, Philadelphia, PA
Merion Art and Repro, First Friday Main Line, Ardmore, PA
2011 vows, MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 A Painted Diary, Knapp Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009 e-motion, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Balance Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007 Merion Art and Repro, First Friday Main Line, Ardmore, PA
Jewel of India, First Friday Main Line, Ardmore, PA
Two-person
2008 Blending Forms: paintings and pottery, Tyme Gallery, Havertown, PA
Groups
2013 Body of Work, The FAF, Woodbury, NJ Juried Exhibition
4 Artists: Halbert, Burrus, O'Halloran, Zimmerman, MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
A Celebration of Art and Life Exhibition, The Pearlman Center, Philadelphia, PA
Vermont Studio Center, Residency Program, Johnson, VT
2012 71st Contemporary Art Show, Woodmere Art Museum Philadelphia, PA Juror: Alex Kanevsky
Professional Membership Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2011 34th Anniversary Show, MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
SCORE!, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
PROCESS, Aktion Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Immaculata University Art Show, Berwyn, PA Invitational
In Person, Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA Juried Exhibition
2010 33rd Anniversary Show, MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2009 The Rhythmic Figure, ICO Gallery, New York, NY
32nd Anniversary Show, MUSE Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
6th Annual Betsy Meyer Memorial, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA Juror: Julien Robson
Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Contemporary Visions, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA Juror: Sam Gillian
Members Exhibit Together, Knapp Gallery, Philadelphia PA
Members Show, Twenty-Two Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Six of One, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Sherman Mills, Carano Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Carano Gallery, Sherman Mills, Philadelphia, PA
New Members Show, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007 Artsisters, Gyphon Cafe, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
IDENTITY, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty Show, Main Line Art, Haverford, PA
Works On Paper, The Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Painting the Unclothed Figure, Fine Arts Gallery, Exton, PA
Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
The Art League, American College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Artists Guild of Delaware County, Darlington Arts Center, PA
2005 Faculty Show, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Member Exhibit, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2004 Member Exhibit, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
2002 Juried Graduate Show, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
