About Janette Afsharian
Janette Afsharian is a visual artist, designer, and creative director based in the New York City area. Her abstract paintings explore line, movement, structure, and the search for balance within chaos.
Afsharian began painting while in college, but her reative path soon moved into the emerging world of digital media. After earning a degree in International Economics, she studied multimedia design at New York University and joined WNET/Thirteen, New York’s PBS station, during the formative years of the web. Beginning as an intern and eventually becoming a Senior Graphic Artist, she designed and developed websites, animation, and interactive experiences for PBS programming.
In 2000, she founded Bluemarker, a creative studio specializing in digital design, interactive media, and web communications. Over the following two decades, Afsharian created and directed digital projects for educational, cultural, publishing, and nonprofit organizations. Her work has included projects for organizations such as Columbia University, Scholastic, Barnes & Noble, Wiley, and PBS. Her digital work has received two Webby Honors, and she has been named Creative Director on four Emmy-nominated projects.
After many years working primarily in digital media, Afsharian returned to painting in 2021.
Her paintings combine acrylics, metallics, and other media on canvas, often using intersecting lines, geometric forms, and layered perspectives. Some viewers see aerial landscapes, architecture, bridges, or maps. For Afsharian, the lines suggest intersecting and overlapping thoughts—a visual search for structure and balance amid complexity.
Her work has been exhibited in New Jersey, including exhibitions with Studio Montclair and Leonia Arts.
Afsharian’s creative work has also extended into podcasting and emerging media. In 2023, she co-created Lost in Jersey, an interview and culture podcast that grew to more than 150 audio and video episodes featuring artists, authors, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and entertainment figures. She was selected as a judge for the 2024 Montclair Film Festival.
She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Strategic Communication and Marketing at Montclair State University, continuing a career-long interest in how technology changes the ways we create, communicate, and experience ideas.
