Jill Nichols’ painting career emerged from a commercial art background. Her works reveal the transience of life, unveil the hauntingly familiar, and revere the wonders found in daily encounters. Imbuing paint with color and light, she captures her profound appreciation and reverence of nature. Her distinctive marks add a directness and freshness to her range of subject matter. Her career includes national juried exhibitions in galleries, museums and inclusion in notable collections, such as James Comey, the former Director of the FBI and the Yale Medical Center. Her painting, “Phi,” was a part of the “Nasty Woman” art social movement, at the Institute Library in New Haven. She is an active member of the Lyme Art Association, participating in many exhibitions including the Lyman Allen Museum and the American Society of Marine Artists juried exhibitions. Most recently, Kelly Baum, Curator of Contemporary and Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, selected her painting “Cloud in Blue Minor” for the Greenwich Art Society annual juried exhibition. Jill teaches at the University of New Haven and holds an MFA in painting. Please visit www.jillnichols.com.

Sharon Kocay works in a variety of mediums and believes in freedom of expression and having fun with artwork. A resident of West Hartford, she attended the University of Connecticut majoring in English and Art. She had a career in retailing and then was a preschool teacher for 18 years, developing art programs for youngsters. For ten years she was the art director at Camp Renaissance at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford. An award winning artist, Sharon has exhibited in various shows and galleries including,  the West Hartford Art League, the Golden Thread Gallery, the Hartford Art School, the Town and County Club, and the New Britain Museum of American Art Member’s Juried Show. She is a member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society, the West Hartford Art league, the Connecticut Academy, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the UConn Health art committee.

The art exhibits of both Jill Nichols and Sharon Kocay will be shown at the Celeste LeWitt Gallery at UConn Health until Dec. 14, 2017.

UConn Health’s collection of fine art serves to enhance the environment and promote the sense of a caring community for patients, visitors, staff and students. Art is selected, acquired and exhibited by the UConn Health Art Advisory Committee. To view a selection of the permanent collection visit: UConn Health Art Collection.