Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Cavin-Morris Gallery in New York as well as a solo show at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
. His work has been widely shown in group exhibitions and Van Maanen’s art is in the permanent collections of the
New Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...
, First Bank of Minneapolis, National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, New Jersey State Council of the Arts, Jersey City Museum, Morris Museum, and others.
Life
Gregory Van Maanen began his work as an artist following discharge from the Army. A New Jersey native and
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
veteran, he received a
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
in honor of his service. Like many veterans, he deals with tortuous memories of Vietnam and suffers from post-traumatic shock. A bullet remains in his shoulder from wounds suffered during the war.
Van Maanen served in the Vietnam War between June 1968 and January 1970 and was discharged and sent home after undergoing severe physical and mental impairments, including
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
(PTSD). After several years of traveling, Van Maanen began to paint voraciously—on surfaces ranging from found objects to scrap board—to help him deal with the difficulties of PTSD and exorcise the demons in his mind.
Process
After several years of traveling, Van Maanen began to paint voraciously—on surfaces ranging from found objects to scrap board—to help him deal with the difficulties of PTSD and exorcise the demons in his mind. His paintings feature skulls, all-seeing eyes, open palms, glowing hearts, and a plethora of personalized symbols of protection. Some of the images may at first seem frightening, but the artist sees them as “good magic,” as talismans intended to keep evil at bay and signs of magic, of solace, and of survival. Van Maanen continues to converse with the spirit world and make art every day. The shrapnel lodged in his shoulder still plagues him, and he is frank about the reality of living with PTSD. Yet he remains a firm believer in the healing power of art for veterans and nonveterans alike. Painting provides him with the means to address his internal struggles. His art-making — his escape — is a record of the thoughts, images, names, demons, memories, and hopes to populate his internal world.