Gregory Van Maanen began his work as an artist following discharge from the Army. A New Jersey native and Vietnam veteran, he received a Purple Heart in honor of his service. Like many veterans he deals with tortuous memories of Vietnam and suffers from post-traumatic shock. A bullet remains in his shoulder from wounds suffered during the war. His artwork has been a healing tool for Van Maanen.

Van Maanen has been exhibiting work since 1988. He has had several solo shows at Cavin-Morris Gallery in New York as well as a solo show at Rutgers University. His work has been widely shown in group exhibitions and Van Maanen’s art is in the permanent collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, First Bank of Minneapolis, National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, New Jersey State Council of the Arts, Jersey City Museum, Morris Museum, and others.

Kohler Foundation acquired a large collection of Van Maanen's work, which includes paintings, sculptures, cast heads, amuletic pieces of wood or bone, drawings and embellished furniture. Conservation was done by Meghan Thumm Mackey of Madison, Wisconsin and PARMA Conservation of Chicago, Illinois. The collection was gifted to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 2007 and has been featured in a solo show at the Arts Center.

Van Maanen continues to create art and currently resides in upstate New York.