Joan Stango’s artistic practice has spanned the visual and performing arts. Her content is influenced both by her love of abstraction, and by her many years exploring the intricacies and dynamics of movement and sound. Stango’s compositions and images explore the physicality of transformation, expressing the continuously shifting states of being. Within these unfolding metaphoric collages, impressions and representations of things in the world evolve into resonant relationships.

Stango studied painting at The Arts Student League in New York City, and then attended the School of Visual Arts, New York City, where she received a BFA in sculpture in 1980. This was followed by graduate work in sculpture and installation art at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. In 1992 she received an AAS in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, with additional studies in textile design.

During graduate school, an interest in new music and performance led her to the classical dance and music traditions of India. From 1982-1992 she was a practitioner and performer of the Odissi style of Indian classical dance, and has studied North Indian raga and devotional music since 1984. Within the last 20 years she has been involved in collaborative music projects, composing, performing, and recording original vocal works. She lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.