I began painting...

in an abstract expressionist style after many years of representational work in order to connect with and express my experience fathering an autistic child. The day to day stresses and struggles to be a good father for my son have at times been overwhelming. Love, anger, humor, sadness, and loss become an explosive convergence of vivid color and expressive brush stroke. A subconscious level of interaction with my emotions and my spiritual energy informs me as I connect with my inner world and visualize what's happening on the canvas. I maintain this conversation from within and without throughout the painting process.

The entire body of work approximates a place that I inhabit physically and psychologically. My goal in painting is to recreate on canvas what I am experiencing inside, from high states of agitation and angst to feelings of calm. Incorporating vibrant colors and layering textures on the canvas, I strive to reconstruct a path through my emotional world that produces areas of high kinetic energy and serenity on the canvas.

Residencies and Guild Memberships:

2020 Vermont Studio Center Fellow, Johnson VT

2020 VCCA Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow, Amherst VA

2019 Artist in Residence Weir Farm, Wilton, CT

2019 New artist member Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, CT

2019 Artist Fellow, Virginia Center for Creative Arts VCCA residency

2017-present The Artist Collective of Westport

Exhibitions
2026 ‘Winter in America’ group exhibit Schelfhaudt Gallery, University of Bridgeport

2025 ‘Connections’ group exhibit Schelfhaudt Gallery, University of Bridgeport

2025 ‘Terrains of The Heart’ | Wilton Library AmFab Artists group show Wilton

2025 American Fabrics Artists Group Show | The Stairwell Space,
AmFab Bridgeport, CT

2025 Westport Artist Collective Group Show | Westport Playhouse, Westport, CT

2025 ‘Connections’ group exhibit Schelfhaudt Gallery, University of Bridgeport

2023 ‘Mixmaster’ | Mattituck Museum Group Show | Waterbury, CT

2022 ‘Spectrum’ | Carriage Barn Arts Center Annual Contemporary Art
Group Show | New Canaan, CT

2022 ‘Mixmaster’ | Mattituck Museum Group Show | Waterbury, CT

2020 ‘Spectrum’ | Carriage Barn Arts Center Annual Contemporary Art
Group Show | New Canaan, CT

2020 ‘This Must Be The Place’ | The Mayor’s Gallery Solo show |
Stamford, CT

2019 ‘HeArt & Mind’ Exhibit, Silvermine Arts Center Juried Group Show

2019 Newton-Roux Gallery, Bedford Square, Westport, CT

2019 Summer Salon, Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, CT

2019 Greenwich Art Society, Group Show, Greenwich CT

2019 Maritime Gallery, “Migrating Colors” Group Show, Norwalk CT

2018 Citywide Open Studios | Artspace | New Haven, CT

2018 Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Juried group show, 'Spectrum, What's New, What's Now'

2017 Westport Artist Collective Group Show, Westport Art Center

2016 Silvermine School of Art Juried Student Exhibition

2015 "Gardens & Abstractions"
Solo Exhibit of paintings with select photographs of garden designs, Wilton Library

2014 "Painted Abstractions" Solo Exhibit, Westport Library Great Hall,

2014 Art About Town Juried exhibition, Westport, CT

2014 Silvermine School of Art Juried Student Exhibition

1981 Christian A. Johnson Gallery, Middlebury College, Middlebury VT

Related Work History:

• PetrowGardens Landscape Design Westport, CT Launched in 2007.
  Owner and chief landscape designer for design/build residential
  landscape company.
  

• Business Week Magazine / Art Director / Senior Art Director / International Art Director / The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York City 1987-2007 Directed the overall design of the magazine. Conceptualized and designed covers, reviewed and critiqued all layouts, and oversaw all production aspects of the publication. Managed a staff of 35 art directors, photo editors, graphic artists and imaging personnel.
  

• Time Magazine / Assistant Art Director / Layout Artist Time Inc., New York City 1985-1987 Art directed International, Business and Arts sections.
  

• Sports Illustrated / Layout Artist Time Inc., New York City 1984

Design Awards and Publications:

• Society of Publication Designers / Print Regional Design Annual /
  Society of Illustrators / Communication Arts Illustration Annual /
  Los Angeles Art Directors Club / Art Direction Magazine

Education:

• 2010-2017 Silvermine School of Art , New Canaan, CT
  Courses in landscape, still life and abstract painting
  

• 2006-2007 The New York Botanical Garden
  Certificate work in Landscape Design
  

• 1984 School of Visual Arts, New York , NY
  Courses in advertising art direction
  

• 1977-1981 Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
  Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art (painting) and biology.

Contact Jay if you have any questions or are interested
in purchasing a painting. email: jay.petrow@gmail.com