Of Italian and Russian heritage, Giovanna Paponetti brings a lifetime of experience to her artworks. Her fascination with art began at age three. Born and raised in New York, she was chosen to paint murals at the elementary schools she attended and often drew remarkable resemblances of her classmates since age 12. Love for nature was nurtured by her grandfather, who took her on outings to the Bronx Zoo. At age 14 she studied with famed portrait artist Stephen Rogers Peck.
Giovanna graduated from the Paier School of art, in Hamden, CT, (1972-1977). While attending Paier she was invited to become a member of the prestigious New Haven Paint and Clay Club after being accepted in two very competitive juried shows. In 1991 she graduated with a BFA degree in Art History from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT and was nominated for Who's Who in American Colleges in 1991. Giovanna has worked as an Illustrator, Technical Illustrator and Graphic Artist.
Giovanna moved to Taos in March of 1992 after visiting NM with an Anthropology class two years prior. Her studies in Native American history inspired her to paint Native people. Her paintings reflect her deep spiritual connections to wildlife and the Native American Culture. In January, 2004, she was invited to show her art at Stanford University to the Native American students as well as to lecture at the Stanford Cantor Arts Center, accompanied by a short documentary that she produced. In February, a portrait that she painted of a NM State Legislator was unveiled in Santa Fe at a dinner with 200 attendees. In 1998 Giovanna was commissioned by the Town of Taos to complete four medium-scale historical murals on the Town Hall complex. Also, McGraw-Hill has recently published a New Mexico social studies textbook using one of her Mural images: "Don Juan De Onate Visits Taos - July 14, 1598". The Taos News commissioned Giovanna to complete four portraits of Taos' finest citizens. They appeared on covers of the Tradiciones edition on October 28th, 2004. The paintings were unveiled at the Stakeout Restaurant the evening before. This was attended by 300 invited guests.
Giovanna is a volunteer at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Espanola where she has worked with a variety of songbirds, hawks, eagles, a baby bobcat and other small mammals in the intensive care unit.
Other Credits include:
Collectors Worldwide -Giovanna's hand painted drums and prints
Numerous paintings have appeared on covers of a variety of publications such as the State of NM Bench and Bar Directory in 1994, and the Taos Names and Numbers telephone Directory.
In 1994 a one-woman show of oil paintings and photography was sponsored by the State of New Mexico Bar Association at their annual convention in Taos.
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