Deborah Kozart Ludtke is a New Jersey-based abstract artist recognized for her hard-edge, acrylic oncanvas paintings.Trained in her adult years through local community art classes in New Jersey and Paris, France,where she lived with her family from 2007-2012, Deborah’s artistic journey has taken her from representational to abstract painting. Passionate about color theory and geometric design, Deborah’s paintings radiate energy by juxtaposing flat fields of dynamic color and encapsulating unique shapes with defined edges. Inspiration comes from natural and human-made patterns she finds in the world around her – undulations of clouds/waves/mountains and repeated motifs in quilts/woven rugs/hand-painted tiles. Frequently created in pairs, and at large scale, many of Deborah’s paintings render a single design concept in both a linear and a curved format - echoing her left-brain/right-brain approach to creating art. Deborah lives in Gladstone, NJ with her husband Fred and goldendoodle, Rosie. Her biggest fans include her daughter Sophia, son Freddy, and soon-to-be daughter-in-law Grace.

Valentino’s journey as an artist began in her youth. Born in Vernon, New Jersey, she showed an early interest in the arts. The catalyst to her artistic journey was a birthday gift, a point and shoot polaroid camera given to her by her aunt.

In high school, Valentino began taking photography classes and learning the basics of film. Her uncle gifted her his old film camera, which aided in her development and fostered her passion for photography. Valentino went on to study photography at Sussex County Community College. After completing her Associates Degree, she transferred to Montclair State University. Valentino was awarded the area award for photography in her class's BFA exhibition at Montclair.

Valentino became a multidisciplinary artist after several family members were diagnosed with cancer. She would go into her studio space and create three dimensional layered paintings, allowing herself to heal and deal with all of the grief she was experiencing. Painting was an emotional release and allowed Valentino a way to express herself fully without affecting other people’s emotional state. After dealing with the loss of her grandmother and aunt, Valentino continued to find joy in painting and invested more time into learning the medium.

After creating an entire series of three dimensional paintings, Valentino continued her practice by learning about creating layers in artwork to give it depth. Her new series involves the use of catalyst tools to create layered acrylic paintings. Valentino’s primary subject matter is abstract because she feels the need to
express herself through brushstrokes and mark making, which allow her to clear her mind. Each brushstroke and color choice is based upon her mood which varies daily. The intensity and technique used varies each day and can include posca markers for fine detailing near the end of each creation.

Valentino has had her work exhibited in various areas such as New York City, Greece, New Paltz, and North Dakota. She currently has work in various galleries across New Jersey. She had a solo exhibition at Green Door Studio titled Value People. She is represented by ArtCircle Gallery in Boonton, NJ.