BIOGRAPHY

D Nina Cruz is a contemporary interdisciplinary artist based in New Jersey. Having grown up in and out of the U.S., diverse cultures shaped her early interest in different mediums. She began drawing in a realist style at age eight and using stain in traditional ways at age ten. After winning awards as a student for watercolor portraits and drawings, she was drawn to oils, captivated by the medium’s ability to create dramatic textures.
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As a young adult, Cruz used art as a powerful tool to foster community engagement, a creative project that earned her the distinguished ‘Congressional Award’. She put herself through school as a first-generation college graduate and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Later she accomplished a lifelong dream by illustrating not just one, but two children’s books—both bilingual. As a published illustrator, she brought her creative vision to life in a way that would inspire young readers across cultures. 

While working on a painting project, Nina explored the use of stain as a medium for fine art. Discovering no resources that taught stain-painting, she initiated her own exploration to develop necessary techniques with different types of stains. For a decade, she dedicated herself to refining innovative methods, achieving excellent results in a body of work that showcases realism and abstraction on diverse wood species. In two and three dimensional artworks.

Nina’s use of locally sourced wood reflects her commitment to sustainability. Influenced by her grandfather’s woodworking, who turned small works and made wooden instruments, she developed a unique appreciation for natural woods. In 2017, she conceived, curated, and produced a solo exhibition with themes of community and volunteerism that was free and open to the public (Volunteerism—the New BLACK). It garnered local front-page coverage and an NPR interview.

Cruz’s active imagination and curiosity, combined with Japanese principles of imperfect beauty, shapes the substrates and themes in her art. Her whimsical themes and hand-carved textures explore hidden worlds that explore imagination, play, and possibility.