Artist Statement    

My work is organic and borrows from forms found in nature. Some subjects are literal and others more abstract. 

In nature, disparate objects take on similar forms. The tributaries of a river can resemble the branches of a tree. The layers of the dermis resemble the walls of a canyon revealing the layers of the ages. Scale as well as other elements will dictate what any viewer perceives. Other worlds can be imagined.

Other works are more representational and deal with the human condition, both political and personal.

Color permeates everything.  It is the one element that is consistent. I paint in all mediums, however, oil seems to dominate. It is the most forgiving and allows me to change direction as often as I choose. This is important because I seldom start out knowing where the work is going. It is a journey to a place as yet unseen. 

Biography

Vivian McDuffie (nee Reynolds) is a New Jersey artist working professionally since 1977. She was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1939, grew up in Jersey City, resided in Montclair for 37 years, and presently lives and works out of her studio in West Orange, New Jersey.

Public art commissions include Light Rail Stations in Jersey City and in Wood Ridge for New Jersey Transit and a bronze memorial at The Commons in Pascataway, New Jersey.

Other permanent collections include the Montclair Art Museum, the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, the James E Lewis Museum in Baltimore, Bloomfield College and St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn.

One person shows include LA SUPA DE VIDA in Santiago de Cuba at Centro Provincial de Antes Plastica y Diseno, New Jersey City University, Bloomfield College and The Fine Arts Gallery at Georgia State University Perimeter campus.

Selected Group shows include The Newark Museum, the Jersey City Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Aljira in Newark, Yamgoma Gallery in Washington DC and Clock Tower Gallery, Cinque Gallery, Lever House and Columbia University all in New York City.   

Publications include IKON: Creativity and Change ART AGAINST APARTHEID WORKS FOR FREEDOM, TIME CAPSULE: A Concise Encyclopedia By Women Artist (placed in a time capsule in Beijing), GUMBO YAYA Anthology of Contemporary African-American Artist,  Periodicals FREEDOMWAYS Quarterly (cover illustration), New York Times, Star Ledger, Washington Post. 

Professional activities include member of Women’s History Month Project in Montclair, New Jersey, founder and chair of Women Artists of Montclair (WAM), officer on the board of City Without Walls Gallery (CWOW) in Newark, New Jersey for 10 years and mentor for CWOW’s OutReach program, teacher at Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey for seven years.