Jim Toia is an American studio artist and professor of art.

Early life

Toia was born in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He attended

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Schoo ...

where he discovered an

Amanita muscaria ''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus ''Amanita''. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, ''Amanita muscar ...

on the school grounds and researched its deadly attributes. At

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

took Field Studies in Natural History with biologist Bill Maple. At Bard, Toia studied art with Jim Sullivan, Nancy Mitchnick and Jake Greossberg. He received his MFA from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

and worked with Loren Madsen,

Judy Pfaff Judy Pfaff (born 1946) is an American artist known mainly for installation art and sculptures, though she also produces paintings and prints. Pfaff has received numerous awards for her work, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundat ...

, Lucio Pozzi, Petah Coyne, Jackie Windsor and Bill Tucker. Before SVA he attended a studio program in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

, Italy where he discussed his work with visiting artists in residence

Eliseo Mattiacci Eliseo Mattiacci (1940 - August 25, 2019) was an Italian sculptor. References 1940 births 2019 deaths Italian male sculptors 20th-century Italian sculptors 20th-century Italian male artists 21st-century Italian sculptors 21st-century ...

Enzo Cucchi Enzo Cucchi (born 14 November 1949) is an Italian painter. A native of Morro d'Alba, province of Ancona, he was a key member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, along with his countrymen Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, ...

and Jannis Kounnelis.

Career

Early career

In the 1980s, Toia was a Studio Assistant to

Stephen Antonakos Stephen Antonakos ( el, Στυλιανός Αντωνάκος; November 1, 1926 in Agios Nikolaos, Laconia, Greece – August 17, 2013 in New York City) was a Greek born American sculptor most well known for his abstract sculptures often incorporat ...

. Toia traveled internationally with Antonakos, installing permanent installations as well as large scale exhibitions. After graduate school, while pursuing his art career, Toia taught at

County College of Morris County College of Morris (CCM) is a public community college in Randolph, New Jersey. CCM offers associate degree and certificate programs as well as transfer opportunities for students looking to pursue a bachelor's degree at another instituti ...

in Randolph, NJ and subsequently became Gallery Director there and then at Lafayette College from 1998-2008.

Studio art

Toia had his first solo exhibition in 1986 and has since been showing his spore drawings, inky cap paintings, ant hill castings, and more in exhibitions and residencies in the US and abroad. In March 2002, his works were displayed at the

Hunterdon Art Museum The Hunterdon Art Museum, previously known as the Hunterdon Art Center and the Hunterdon Museum of Art, is located in a historic stone mill at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1952 when it purchased Dunham's Mill, t ...

Clinton, New Jersey Clinton is a town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is located on the South Branch of the Raritan River in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 2,719, in

Joshua Tree, CA Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High ...

where he developed works around the study and manipulation of images of the desert crust. Toia is represented by the Kim Foster Gallery in New York City.

Teaching

Toia is a professor of studio art at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

where he is involved with the Community Based Learning programs and the Creative and Performing Arts (CaPA) Fellowship, and also leads an arts mentorship program with the local

Easton Area High School } Easton Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of the Easton Area School District. As of the 2020-21 school year, Easton Area High School ...

. He is also the Chair of the

Karl Stirner Karl Stirner (November 14, 1923 – February 18, 2016) was a Germany-born American sculptor known internationally for his metalwork. His work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Phi ...

Arts Trail in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

Bibliography

* ''Tying & Untying''. Cowritten with Lee Upton. Clinton, NJ: Lucia Press, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toia, Jim Living people Artists from New Jersey Bard College alumni Lafayette College faculty Lawrenceville School alumni School of Visual Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)