BY DR. REBEKAH MCCLOUD, GUEST WRITER TO THE TIMES
ORLANDO – Artist Nicholas Gantz draws, paints, and is a photographer. From Miami, he grew up in a family of creatives. His mother and older brother are singers, his father draws and paints, his sister is a videographer, and his younger brother is a drummer. He said he and his siblings were blessed to have their parents. “They directed and pushed us in our purpose. It was instrumental to have an environment for us to dream.”
A University of Central Florida (UCF) graduate, he started college as an architecture major and switched to graphic design his first semester. He had creator’s block in college and changed his major to studio art. “I didn’t have anyone next to me to help navigate the art world. God has always been there within me. He gave me my ideas for art. What I learned from my experience is art is heard of and unheard of. Many people don’t think art is something you can do. My advice is if you have a dream, chase it,” he said.
Gantz’s artistic style is bold and modern; his drawings are conceptually based rather than based on a person. Describing his style, Gantz said, “I want my art to help people to think, to evolve their emotions, and to see themselves. My intent is for them to get what they need in the moment.” For the Puzzled Peace launch, he submitted a stylized drawing of the brain titled “Mechanism.” His artist statement for the piece says, “Without systems in place, there would be no common connectivity or functionality that keeps the world operating. My work ideates one of the first systems, the human body, and its interconnected networks. Mechanism explores the brain as a machine working together not only to keep the body’s function but also to bring growth to fruition. Thus, defining the relationship between a shift in your mind and the freedom established from that growth.”
“An Unbound Heart” is another of his drawings. Gantz said, “In this piece, I wanted to represent what I feel holds the world and the people in it from experiencing real change. The heart in this piece represents the human heart but is also used to represent the earth. The chain links are used to represent limitations that could hold us back, but that could also set us free. The words written on the chains are issues that most people have faced whether individually, or together. This piece is about overcoming your problems; not only for yourself, but also to create a better world.”
Gantz is also a photographer. His grandparents gave him his first camera. “My grandma was a photographer. She always had her camera and took pictures at every event,” Gantz said. He fell in love with photography when his family visited New Orleans. “I took lots of pictures. While editing, I lost the pictures and spent several hours trying to retrieve them. I thought I must like this if I spent so much time looking for lost pictures,” he added.
Gantz’s work has been on display at the Orlando Museum of Art (Orlando), the Dali Museum (St. Petersburg), and the Orange County Courthouse (Orlando). He also had a solo show in 2022. Visit his website at www.nicholasgantz.com.
Puzzled Peace www.puzzledpeace.weebly.com
