Genevieve May | From Soul to Canvas

ISSUE 72 APRIL 2025 LIMITED EDITION

From Soul to Canvas

The most rewarding part of being a creative is to make an impact on others while being given the freedom to express my story in my own creative way. My goal as an artist is always to provoke emotion. Words that come to mind when describing my work are moody, romantic, haunting and perhaps ethereal. I enjoy expressing emotions that are often uncomfortable in hopes to let go and make space for new ones. I channel what I like to call ghost memories. These are memories I hold that I feel haunt or cloud my mind. I often paint about the thoughts we might not ordinarily want to share. I like the rawness and honesty that comes from surrendering to vulnerability, I think this is what separates authentic art from pretty art. I think there is strength in pouring your heart out into your work. Although I always strive to create something beautiful, my goal is to share a piece of my soul. As an artist I feel sometimes that I am a vessel; creatively thinking of ways to make an impact on humanity. And while my work is very much a reflection of my life, I hope that it can be relatable and comforting to others.

Genevieve May is an artist based in New York City, celebrated for her distinctive fusion of abstraction and figurative realism. Coming from a diverse creative background, including painters, authors, filmmakers, fashion designers, sculptors and musicians, she embraces different mediums to convey the human experience. Her work often integrates elements of fashion, music and calligraphic poetry, creating a dynamic interplay between identity and visual expression. She considers herself a storyteller while aiming to achieve an illustrative experience with a contemporary flair.

Raised in a renovated tobacco barn in a rural town outside of Northampton, Massachusetts, Genevieve May was born the daughter of accomplished artists and authors, Dennis Nolan and Lauren Mills. Genevieve remembers many formative trips to museums, art classes, and gallery openings.

As a child she studied classical drawing, calligraphy and painting with her parents and later studied figure drawing and sculpting at Lyme Academy, all before the age of fifteen. Upon entering high school she took credited college courses in egg tempera painting and in addition, studied watercolor and fresco painting with her parents in Europe. Later, Genevieve studied color theory and cadaver life drawing at Stamford University. Here she was able to practice the old renaissance tradition of dissecting human bodies in order to improve figurative drawing skills. She attributes her knowledge and deep understanding of the human form to this intensive. Once she felt that she had grasped the techniques her education provided, she summoned her art forms and created her own methods of self expression and storytelling.

ISSUE 72 APRIL 2025 LIMITED EDITION

ISSUE 72 APRIL 2025 LIMITED EDITION