JOANNE LEONE CORRIS is an award-winning painter, collage and assemblage artist and an arts educator. She is a proud native of Newark, NJ, a graduate of Newark Arts High which cultivated her love for the arts. Professionally, she has a BA in Education from Kean University, and MA in Fine Arts from Jersey City State College and numerous art education certificates. Although Joanne recently retired after thirty years as a visual art teacher in the Newark Public Schools, she has always been a practicing artist. Her solo work has been exhibited throughout Rutgers University and the New York metro area. She has been selected for group exhibits throughout the Tri-state region in galleries, at universities and in public art projects. She has been published numerous times by the John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers-Newark.
Personally, she is from an activist family, who grew up during the turbulent 60’s. Her commitment to social justice and the desire to teach in Newark was developed from her personal interaction and exposure to civil rights giants such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and John Lewis. Through her father, she first met Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965 at the Queen of Angels Church in Newark around the Poor People’s campaign. Shortly thereafter, she attended the March in Selma and stayed afterwards registering people to vote and then participated in the Poor People’s March on Washington in 1968. She has continued to be involved in and support civic and community advocacy organizations such NJ Citizen Action.
“Joanne’s work expresses both the joys of life and play of individual growth: the sacred energy but also the nightmare of the soul, the pleasure and sorrow of being human.” -Jacob Landau, mentor
Shows curated by Joanne Leone since 1991
- “The Eye of the Artist” – Philadelphia, June 1991
- “Conversations with My Father” – Hillside and Valley Gallery, Orange, New Jersey, June 1996
- “Joanne Leone” – La MaMa, La Galleria, New York City, May 1997
- “Joanne Leone: Recent Work” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2002
- “Cross Country” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2004
- “Mothers: Paintings and Installations by Joanne Leone” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2007
- “Jacob Landau and His Circle” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2009
- “Layers: Paintings, Sculpture, and Collage by Joanne Leone” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2010
- “Conversations and Collaborations” – Newark, 2010
- “Dreaming: The Language of Art” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, May-September 2013
- “Landau’s Circle” – The Jewish Museum, 2014
- “The Umbrella Project” – Arts High School and NYC, 2015
- “Jacob Landau and His Circle” – JCC, West Orange, NJ, 2016
- “A Tribute to Ed Berger” – Dana Gallery, John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, 2017
