For Jesús Núñez, love is one of the few things in life that cannot be turned into something negative.
A friendship can change. A relationship can disappoint. Even words associated with happiness can take on different meanings depending on our experiences. But love, Jesús believes, remains love.
“Love is always love,” he says.
That simple belief has grown into something much larger inside J. Núñez Gallery in downtown Millburn. Through his LOVE ALWAYS collection, Jesús is exploring how art can move beyond the canvas, supporting causes, creating conversations, and connecting people. It can feed someone, support someone, start a conversation, and perhaps most importantly, remind a community to care for one another.
When Jesús opened his gallery, he knew he wanted to use art for something beyond selling paintings. He began partnering with local nonprofits, donating 50 percent of the proceeds from the LOVE ALWAYS collection to organizations providing different forms of support to those who need it.
To Jesús, each organization gives love in its own way, whether through food, housing, resources, or care. LOVE ALWAYS became his way of helping that love travel a little further.
That philosophy is reflected in the artwork itself.
No two LOVE ALWAYS pieces are exactly alike because Jesús doesn't believe love has one particular look. The love someone feels for a parent may be different from the love they feel for a friend, child, or pet. His canvases follow that same freedom.
On one day, inspiration may lead him toward pink paint and hearts. On another, it could mean black and white, bold patterns, or spray paint influenced by street art. Each piece begins with the same word—love—but where it goes from there is entirely its own.
Over time, that love began leaving the gallery walls.
At the Millburn Free Public Library, Jesús created an interactive installation asking visitors a simple question: “What do you love?” Community members wrote their answers on postcards and added them to the display, transforming individual thoughts into a collective piece of art.
LOVE ALWAYS postcards have also appeared throughout local communities, sometimes tucked into unexpected places for people to discover. Jesús has collaborated with local businesses on limited-edition products benefiting nonprofits and has turned LOVE ALWAYS artwork into wrapping paper for a holiday gift-wrapping fundraiser.
As LOVE ALWAYS continues to evolve, Jesús is exploring ways to bring even younger members of the community under its umbrella. One idea is to partner with local schools, inviting children to create artwork around what love means to them while finding ways for those projects to also give back to the schools.
The form may continue to change, but the mission doesn't.
Creating these initiatives requires time, materials, and significant personal investment. Yet those moments haven't convinced him to walk away from LOVE ALWAYS. Instead, they have reinforced his belief that its message is needed.
Because perhaps now, more than ever, communities need reasons to come together.
For Jesús, that also means recognizing the role art and independent businesses play in creating the identity of a town. Inside J. Núñez Gallery, visitors aren't simply looking at something selected because it matches a sofa or fills a space. The gallery exclusively sells original artwork, allowing someone to know there is a real person, story, and creative process behind the piece hanging in their home.
Jesús is particularly passionate about supporting local artists and women artists through his gallery. In his corner of Millburn, he hopes to create a place where artists can be seen, new ideas can be explored, and original art remains approachable to the community.
It is a reminder that supporting local can take many forms. It can mean visiting the gallery you've passed countless times, learning an artist's story, participating in a community project, sharing the work of a small business, or choosing something created by a person instead of something mass-produced.
And sometimes, it can start with something as simple as a blank wall.
The next time you look at an empty space in your home and wonder what belongs there, consider looking beyond what simply matches. Find something that means something. Learn who made it. Support the hands and the story behind it.
Because when art supports an artist, a cause, and a community, love doesn't have to stay on the canvas.
It keeps moving.
And love is always love.
“Every piece is a way to help love travel a little further.”
“Love doesn’t have one shape. It looks different for everyone, but it has the power to connect us, inspire us, and remind us how important it is to care for one another.”
“When you choose original art, you are supporting more than a gallery. You are supporting an artist, their story, their dreams, and your community.”