CONNECTIONS II
Buntzen, Neshatfar, Wainright
Connections II
Buntzen, Neshatfar, Wainright
Connections II documents the recent development of three unique artistic voices on a shared pathway of innovative and creative expression.
Richard Buntzen, Soody Neshatfar, and Anna Wainright have a strong relationship-based connection. They are linked by their close friendship and collaboration. Introduced several years ago by Atlantic Highlands Artist Marge Levine (1934 -2015), Buntzen, Neshatfar, and Wainright recognized their respect for one another and their art production. A connecting bond was established and nurtured. This equally influential bond continues to strengthen and grow through their common interests, mutual understandings and encouragement, shared time together, and their passion to create. Connections II is the second three-person exhibition at the Atlantic Highlands Art Council Gallery.
Richard Buntzen is a freelance visual artist based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He works in both oil paint and print media collage. He had a successful career as an art educator in the Alpine School District, Bergen County, NJ. He earned his MFA Degree from New Jersey City University, where he studied under the direction of Hugo Bastidas and Dr. Jose Rodeiro. Richard has recently studied with artist Mitchell Johnson in Truro, MA, and artist Edward Povey in Catalunya, Spain. Richard currently studies painting with artist Julie Friedman, Owner and Director of ART SPACE, in Morristown, New Jersey. Richard is a Signature Member with the National Collage Society. He is also a member of the Maryland Federation of Arts, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and Atlantic Highlands Art Council. He shows his work nationally as well as in several galleries and museums in Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey. www.richardbuntzen.com. Instagram: @artrb501
Soody Neshatfar - The passion for visual art has always been a part of Soody’s life, but formally she started painting under the direction of Master Painter Marge Levine in the year 2000. She has participated in workshops with Master Pastelists Richard McKinley, Lyn Asselta, and Julie Friedman. Soody continues to study with Julie Friedman, working in both oil and Pastel. Soody’s works is to capture the sensory impression rather than a precise depiction. She is a member of The Pastel Salon of New Jersey. www.sneshatfar.com
Anna (AJ) Wainright, IAPS/EP- PSA/MP - Anna is a National and International award-winning gallery represented artist. Driven to paint images that evoke a sense of weather and emotion as well as place, she is known for her atmospheric paintings. After 25 years in public service her pursuit of her dreams to be an artist began in 2007 with pastels as her preferred medium at the time. After 15 years of work in that medium her efforts culminated in 2022 when she received the top award, Prix De Pastel, in the Master Division of the Pastel World Exhibition at the International Association of Pastel Societies Convention in New Mexico, where she also received Eminent Pastelist distinction. She received the Alden Bryan Memorial Award in Landscape at the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition in 2024. She has Signature in the American Tonalist Society and Associate in Oil Painters of America, NOAPS, and the American Impressionists Association. She has exhibited in two shows in China, and one in Korea. She was featured in the “A Lyrical Landscape” in June 2025, “Conjuring the Landscape” in Jan 2021, and “Found and Imagined” April 2019 issues of the Artist’s Network Pastel Journal, as well as the book publication “Pure Pastel: Contemporary Works by Today’s Top Artists” in 2019. Her works have shown in museum exhibitions including the Butler Institute of American Art, OH; Slater Museum, Norwich, CT; and Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA. She has gallery representation at The Artful Deposit and Beacon Galleries in New Jersey, as well membership at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. www.ajwainright.com
