Sahar Hasan
Harmony
2022
Oil on wood panel
18 x 23"

Artist Statement:
Our lives are deeply intertwined with wildlife, their presence echoing a silent plea for preservation. The calligraphy, seamlessly extending from earth to sky, symbolizes the language of nature, a dialogue humanity neglects to engage in. And the horse? He stands as the narrator, bearing witness to the story of coexistence and our responsibility to protect it.

Artist Bio:
Sahar Hasan is a Yemeni-American visual artist, curator, and founder of the Qamaria for Arts project. With a Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, New York, Sahar has held solo exhibitions across the USA, Yemen, and Turkey, and has participated in numerous international group exhibitions and biennials.

As a passionate advocate for cultural dialogue and the amplification of artists' voices, Sahar's work embodies a spirit of unity and connection. In 2021, she became the first Arab artist to receive a certificate from New York State for her artistic achievements, awarded by Nathalia Fernandez.

Sahar has curated several impactful exhibitions, including Threads of Light at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Canada (August 2024), and at St. Barth Church in Manhattan, NY (September 2024). She also organized the Do You See Me? exhibition, which provided a platform for young artists affected by war, held at the Brooklyn Children's Museum in 2023.

Through her art and curatorial projects, Sahar continues to foster harmony across cultures and uplift the voices of artists from diverse backgrounds.

Mark Loughney
Minimalism #1 (Ramen), 2023
Oil/charcoal on canvas
48 x 36"

Artist Statement
This piece depicts the state of minimal living, minimal sustenance, and subsisting on the margins of society. The interconnectedness of the noodles also symbolizes our reliance on one another to feel a sense of belonging and for social support.

Artist Bio
Mark Loughney is a Philadelphia-based artist whose work confronts the absurdity of the American criminal justice system. His most notable project, Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study Of Mass Incarceration, has seen national acclaim and media attention, with articles in The NY Times, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, Hyperallergic, ArtForum, NPR, Boston Globe, and numerous other media outlets.

Elyce Abrams
Surround, 2018
Acrylic on round wood panel
16" diameter

Artist Statement
Flexibility, strength and durability have profoundly inspired my work in the last few years. My paintings, that have always stemmed from moments that occur in my everyday life, come from a personal place, as well as a response to the events of the world at large. I am deeply affected by the adjustments we are all making to a constantly changing reality and the resilience I see everyday.

Through my paintings, I interpret the relationship between happiness and deep concern; hope and sorrow; fear and acceptance; compliance and resistance; confusion and clarity; isolation and connection. By analyzing these competing forces in my work, I am able to further explore and understand their value.

Artist Bio
Elyce Abrams is an abstract artist based in Philadelphia. Her work, in the last few years, has explored the relationship between happiness and deep concern; fear and acceptance; compliance and resistance; isolation and connection. Abrams received her MFA in 2004 from the University of the Arts and her BA/BFA from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Her work has been included in many solo and group shows - a selection of which are: Spectral, Blank Space Gallery, NYC; Blaze Stochastic, Shenandoah Museum of Contemporary Art, Woodstock, VA; Connection-Isolation, Blank Space Gallery, NYC; Hybrid, Bertrand Productions, Philadelphia, PA; We're All Here, Philadelphia International Airport; Something New Every Day, NoBA Projectspace, Bala Cynwyd, PA; Les Chic, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Lost in the Funhouse, Spring Break Art Fair, New York. Her work is included in public and private collections throughout the US and abroad, including the Microsoft Art Collection; Fox School of Business, Temple University; Royal Caribbean Cruise Line; Charles Library, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; Wuhan Heartland 66 Development, Wuhan, China; Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, PA. Recently, she collaborated on a rug collection with Ruggism, a company based in India.

Deborah Moss Marris
Smoke on the Water, 2025
Oil on panel
9 x 11"

Artist Statement
This work is from a series of paintings which explore the effects both beautiful and deadly from climate change on the interior and exterior landscape.

Artist Bio
Deborah Moss Marris is an artist, teacher, and designer who lives in New Jersey. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions and is included in the permanent collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Wills Eye Hospital, AECom, Korn Ferry International in Philadelphia, and Artists Representing Environmental Art in New York. She is represented by Bluestone Fine Art Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Hardcastle Gallery in Wilmington, Delaware.

As a designer, Deborah Moss Marris has created pieces for NFL Films, QVC, NBC Sports, and was a featured Artist/Designer for ABC Carpet & Home. Along with being an Adjunct Professor at Camden County College, she heads the Visual Art program at Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Deborah Moss Marris received her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design, an MFA from Syracuse University, and is the recipient of three Ford Foundation Grants.

Dominique Lutringer
Chochikukyo 5321
Pigment, acrylic on paper
24 x 18"

Artist Statement
This series of abstract paintings offers a personal interpretation of Chochikukyo, a Kyoto villa designed by architect Koji Fujii in 1928. Through a carefully balanced interplay of color, texture, and geometric composition, the works translate the architectural harmony of the villa into a pictorial language.

The vertical and horizontal divisions recall the structure of traditional Japanese interiors, where sliding panels and wooden frameworks define spatial relationships. The restrained color palette-deep blacks, warm reds, and earthy tones-evokes the natural materials and atmospheric depth of the space. Layers of pigment create a tactile surface, referencing both the aged patina of the villa and the organic interaction of light and shadow within its walls.

The use of a small, uniform paper format enhances the intimacy of the series, reinforcing the personal and contemplative nature of the work.

Artist Bio
Dominique Lutringer, born in Strasbourg, France, with both French and German origins, earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Aix-en-Provence. His artistic journey took a significant turn in his early 30s when he moved to Japan, inspired by Yukio Mishima's The Golden Pavilion. This move was fueled by a longstanding fascination with Japanese culture that began during his adolescence.

In Japan, Lutringer's work evolved to focus on color, transparency, and layering. His paintings are celebrated for their dynamic interplay of light, shadow, and form, offering viewers a multifaceted experience of color and depth. Lutringer also explores ceramic making in a studio located in the Shigaraki area, renowned for its long tradition of ceramics in Japan. This medium further enhances his exploration of texture and form. His work is exhibited internationally and held in various public and private collections. Beyond his artistic practice, Lutringer is deeply involved in education. He offers art workshops for children with specific needs and for schools lacking dedicated artistic programs.

Mia Rosenthal
One Gross of Rainbows, 2022
Ink and gouache on paper
16 x 16"

Artist Statement
People have been drawing for at least 30,000 years - there is something fundamental about observing, processing that information, and then picking up a tool to draw it in ones own hand, with one's own voice. I relate to this idea very closely, and feel that I'm part of this flow of history, from then until now, of artists who are fascinated by and draw from the real world. Not in the sense of a need to duplicate, but to explore, learn, select, organize, and build through thought and marks.

Artist Bio
Mia Rosenthal is a works on paper artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Her drawings are included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Columbus Museum, Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art), Woodmere Art Museum, the Arkansas Arts Center, Texas State University and The New York Public Library. She holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and a BFA from Parsons School of Design. She was awarded a Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund Grant for the Performing and Visual Arts and a fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center.

Kevin Broad
Vik, 2024
Monotype- oil on paper
36 x 30"

Artist Statement
Study of nature has brought an inherent organic quality to my work. My aesthetic focuses on capturing sensations of light and color along with the emotions these can inspire. My style gains strength from my exploration and direct handling of various mediums - paint that I have an intimacy with because I make it myself. Painting is this process of discovery without fear or repression with the potential of bringing forth new forms of expression.

Chantal Westby
Serene, 2017
Ink, natural minerals, branches, and silver
73 x 36 x 2"

Artist Statement
As an artist, my journey is fueled by a commitment to evoke emotions and provoke thought. My creations are not merely visual experiences; they are dialogues with the observer, designed to stir the soul and challenge perceptions. Rooted in the purity of white and the vibrancy of color, my art now breathes in three dimensions, embodying the essence of nature, the pulse of the universe, and the impact of human excess. Light is a central character in my narrative, manifested through the delicate dance of diluted inks and natural pigments that conjure ethereal auroras. My palette extends beyond the canvas, embracing mixed media to unlock new realms of imagination.
Inspiration is a mosaic of the world around me-a tapestry woven from diverse materials, evocative photographs, resonant music, and poignant texts. This collage of influences coalesces on my mood board, awaiting the moment they coalesce into art.

Artist Bio
Westby is a renowned activist and artist from Philadelphia, known for her immersive paintings, sculptures, and installations. With a rich background in art, textiles, and design, she is committed to diversity, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Awarded the United Nations Earth Day Impact Gala's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, she continues to use her art to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire action.

Sandra Benhaim
Langton Experiment 2, 2019
Hand-cut + assembled painted paper collage, on watercolor paper
26 x 32.75"

Artist Statement
My paintings and collages are about place, and they take inspiration from landscape, but are not a representation of any specific location. For some time now, many of my images have been purely abstract, expressing in unabashed, exuberant color my enthusiasm for the natural world. I have also begun to investigate collage much more fully, by creating works on paper and other surfaces. My paintings and collages result from a rather intuitive process, and they are built up layer upon layer, with varied colors, expressive strokes of paint, and textured materials. This procedure allows the gradual, but ultimately triumphant, emergence of my art. My artwork welcomes viewers to "enter" these "worlds" by imagination, memory, and reverie.

Artist Bio

Sandra Benhaim is a visual artist working in oil, mixed media, and collages on canvas, wood panels, and paper. She earned a BFA (on a full-paid four year scholarship) and later an M.Ed, from Temple's Tyler School of Art. Sandra also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. For nearly two decades she was an art specialist teacher in Philadelphia's public schools.

After working representationally for years, she now creates mainly abstract images, often expressing these in unabashed, exuberant color. She has exhibited nationally from Washington state to New York to Florida. Sandra's paintings are in public collections such as PNC Headquarters Tower in Pittsburgh, PA; The Fellowship of PAFA (the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts); Servier Laboratories, Boston, MA; Mondrian Investments, Philadelphia, PA office; Bryn Mawr Dermatology offices in Villanova, PA; RCCB LLC Law offices collection, Conshohocken, PA.

Patrick Egan
Billie I, 2024
Oil on canvas
47 x 37"

Artist Statement

We, by intuition, know, or recognize, those moments that define us, each of us, to ourselves. Translating those moments into a visual image is a matter of process. The process, composition, consists of pulling together the disparate parts, some tangible, some intangible, that go into a painting.
Laying it out in charcoal points to what it might ultimately look like,
enhanced by a palette which corresponds to whatever feeling arises, either from the imagination or from experience.

Chris Cox
Changing Course (11/24/20), 2020
Oil on canvas
30 x 48 x 1.5"

Artist Statement

My paintings are from my series "Chaos & Calm" that I worked on in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Those years were an extraordinary time of chaos in our country, our lives and our world. We had to endure a pandemic and a toxic political environment that divided our country. I have tried to visually record what I felt throughout this time. Many days during those years were chaotic, but sometimes I was able to tap into some much-needed calmness, thus the name Chaos & Calm.

These paintings were created by first applying layers of color for the background that reflected my changing mood throughout that time. After the background was completed, much like the action painters, I used kinetic, spontaneous mark-making to record what was happening on any given day. Each painting is titled and dated for the day the marks were added to the background color of the painting. The paintings are almost like a visual journal of my life during that time.

Artist Bio

Chris Cox is an abstract artist living in Philadelphia and France. She is represented by Muse Gallery. Currently, she has a solo show, Being In Nature, at Muse Galley. Recently her paintings were in the exhibition, Color Fields, curated by InLiquid at The National in Philadelphia. In 2024, Chris also participated in the Fairmount Waterworks curated exhibition titled Wanderings: Observations of Our Watershed.

Chris was selected to be the featured artist for Bluestone Fine Art Gallery at the inaugural Philadelphia Fine Art Fair held in 2019. She was also one of seven artists featured by Bluestone at the Hamptons Virtual Art Fair in September 2020. Her series, Spiritual Journey: A Visual Narrative was also chosen to be in Abington Art Center's 2020 Fall Solo Series. In 2021, Chris had two paintings featured in Woodmere Art Museum's 79th Annual Juried Exhibition and was one of two artists featured in the Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia's Virtual Exhibition. During 2023, she was selected for Wayne Art Center's juried exhibitions "Attraction to Abstraction" and the "Regional Spring Open Exhibition."

chriscoxart.com

Nancy Neill
Exhuberant, 2022
Oil pastel on paper
20 x 20"

Artist Statement

My abstract oil pastel series explores the feelings and emotions generated by color. These paintings use warm colors to evoke a passionate and uplifting feeling. For me, the many shades of red and other passionate colors serves to energize, warm and transport me to a better place. Each painting is done in a unique color to evoke a slightly different emotion.

Although the imagery in the series is abstract/non-objective, it gives a feeling of looking outside. Circles, lines and other marks float in space, perhaps suggesting a happy time and place. The paintings are oil pastel on paper. Oil pastel provides one of the most intense colorations of all mediums. Each painting is done in many layers of oil pastel, developing a thick and creamy surface. Earlier layers are revealed using a palette knife to cut back into the surface and create various marks and gestures. I think of my work as passionate and full of movement.

Sarah Gutwirth
Cloth of Gold, 2022
Oil on canvas
40" x 38"

Artist Statement
This painting is a transitional work which navigates between the earlier smaller "Correspondence" pieces and my latest work. Both the Correspondence paintings and the new Natural Philosophy paintings are based on a grid. Cloth of Gold takes the themes of echoing forms in nature and in human-made objects, both in paintings and in decorative objects from the Correspondence works. However it plays on a composition derived from late Baroque still life, where the objects of still life are presented in the landscape. The clear reference to tropes from historical painting is a continuing theme in my work. I would say this is one of my least cerebral and most purely sensuous of paintings.

Artist Bio

Sarah Gutwirth received her BFA and BA in painting in 1978 from a joint program of Reed College and the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland OR. Her MFA in painting is from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1985. In 2017 she was nominated for the prestigious Joan Mitchell Prize for Painting. She has received grants from Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Foundation for Women, Murray State University and United University Professions at SUNY. She has had 20 one and two person exhibits over the last thirty-one years and has had work in numerous group shows including in Philadelphia at CFEVA, INLIQUID and the Cosmopolitan Club. Her work has been shown in seven states. She has paintings is in several private and University collections, including the People's Education Press in Beijing. She held three tenure track teaching positions, receiving tenure at two. She retired in 2017 as Full Professor of Painting Emerita at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. In 2017 she moved to Philadelphia where she was born and raised.

James Oliver
Ducati 1
Acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"

Artist Statement
A painter whose precise visual language pushes the tradition of twentieth century abstraction into a contemporary context. Oliver is a conceptually driven formalist whose work is inspired by his dreams and emotional states, which he abstracts into an undetermined and subjective viewing experience by emphasizing line, color, and form. Even as Oliver turns to a figurative practice in recent series, rendering cultural icons like chopper bikes, Pontiac Firebirds, and his childhood poodle in detailed line drawings, these representations similarly evoke broadly accessible affects abstracted from his mental landscape.

Artist Bio

Born in Upstate New York, raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of an advertising executive and an educator, Oliver was exposed from a young age to visual art from its most commercial applications to more visceral exponential lives. As owner of James Oliver Gallery, Oliver has honed his painting and curatorial skills. As a curator he scans the breadth of the world for artists who will enhance the vision of his gallery spaces.

Alex Spalding
Kitten, 2024
Flashe on gessobord, back signed in acrylic
24" x 24" x 1.5"

Artist Statement

"Wild Side" is my collection of figurative paintings and portraits celebrating power, imagination, and human nature untamed. At its core, the work explores contradictions central to our sense of self-beauty and unease, allure and alienation-drawing viewers in to project their own narratives and emotions. In "Wild Side", Using color, stylization, and an absence of context, I create an inviting yet challenging space for viewers to confront unresolved tensions, as raw, feral imagery blends with absurdity, ambiguity, and glamor.

I work with AI as a collaborator, inviting an element of unpredictability and distance. The impersonal choices AI makes offer me a method to examine the collision between personal and cultural symbolism. Then, I refine the imagery, guiding the process by shaping the output with my reflections, personal experiences, or ideas.

Artist Bio

Alex Spalding (b. 1985, Springfield, MO) is a self-taught figurative painter specializing in vibrant, stylized works created with highly pigmented vinyl-based paints. Drawing from vintage commercial illustration and Contemporary fine art, he re-imagines these influences through bold technique and the innovative use of technology.

Before dedicating himself to painting in 2023, Alex was immersed in a diverse range of creative pursuits, including experimental dance music production, managing two net-based record labels, gonzo music journalism, screenwriting, and caricature, as well as minimalist graphic art. This multidisciplinary background continues to inform the style of his work today. Alex lives and works in Philadelphia, PA, where he runs The Mid-Atlantic Collective (or MAC) and Canvas & Curtain: A Persona-Crafting Studio for Visual Artists.

Craig Stover
Lemon Hill I, 2017
Oil on canvas
16.5" x 20.5"

Artist Statement
This painting is one of a series of maps that I made from the memory of a park named Lemon Hill. This small park is right above Boat House Row in Philadelphia. The artist used to walk his dog in this park daily and it's his memory of the winding roads and small buildings that become the basis for these memory maps.

Artist Bio
BFA '93 - University of the Arts
Studio Assistant for Sam Maitin and Elizabeth Osbourne
Worked with Creative Artists Network (now the CEVA), The Philadelphia Art Alliance, Woodmere Art Museum, The Snyderman Galleries, The Avenue of the Arts and The Arts & Business Council
Taught printmaking and painting at Haverford College
Served as Executive Director for Allens Lane Art Center
Winner of Bartol Award for Educational Excellence
Produced and curated 100+ visual art exhibitions
Host of ArtShow (artist interview program on youtube)

Wendee Yudis
Male Gaze, 2024
Photo-silkscreen, acrylic and spray paint on wood panels
24" x 48"

Artist Statement

My art turns the definition of femininity on its head, challenging unconscious gender bias, sexuality, objectification, and body image. I question the roles imposed on women-both those assigned to us (child, wife, daughter) and those we embrace (boss, lover, vixen). Why must we be vixens or victims? Can we be both?

Through a playful yet provocative lens, my work explores power dynamics, featuring recurring female icons layered with nuance. I use typography to highlight gendered language-why is a bossy man a leader while a bossy woman is a bitch?

Influenced by Warhol and Pop Art, I merge feminist themes with a bold, retro aesthetic that critiques cultural norms while celebrating women's agency. Using photo-silkscreen, painting, and spray paint, I layer imagery to create new meanings. My silkscreen process mimics a paintbrush, producing originals that explore translucency, opacity, and pattern-revealing both seen and unseen relationships.

Artist Bio

Featured in Philly Style Magazine and CBS Philly online in April 2024, Wendee Yudis is a Printmaker/Painter whose mixed media paintings/photo-silkscreens have been exhibited in solo & group shows in NYC, Chicago, and Philadelphia since the mid-1990's. Select solo exhibitions include James Oliver Gallery in Phila, HMVC Gallery New York-Times Square, Ceres Gallery in NYC and Gallery 1633 in Chicago. A selection of group shows include Women United Art Movement: I am Woman, The Albright/Knox Museum (NY), Manhattan Graphics Center, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Penn Medicine, CFEVA and The Trenton Museum. Select work was in a national competition in the Pheonix Gallery in NYC by juror Thelma Golden, then curator of Whitney Museum of American Art.

Wendee Yudis received an MFA in Printmaking & Painting from Pratt Institute and a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to being a visual artist, Wendee has worked professionally as a Graphic Designer & Art Director for advertising agencies and non-profits in NYC and Philadelphia.

https://wendeeyudis.com/

Alfred Ortega
Two Moons, 2023
Oil on canvas
36" x 34"

Artist Statement

This work was inspired by a brief study of the cosmos, astonishing that there are many planets nearby with numerous moons as well as my attraction to the sea.

Artist Bio

Born in Philadelphia, Alfred Ortega studied painting and sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Ortega's work is currently represented by the Atlantic Gallery, Nantucket; David David Gallery, Palm Gardens, Florida; Millésimé, Philadelphia; and CSM Art, New Jersey. Ortega has exhibited at the Woodmere Museum and Knapp Gallery in Philadelphia. The artist's work is represented in the permanent collection of the Pennsylvania State Museum and in private collections.

Noted for his bold use of color, Ortega's paintings and oil prints emanate primal energy. His prominent, large canvases reveal a dynamic world populated with vibrant forms and figures barely contained within their frames. A master monoprint maker, Ortega's vivid oil prints of abstracts, figures and portraits are animated by an unabashed freedom of form and color and a daring love of life.

alfredortega.com

Lauryn Levette
Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)
2024
Oil and acrylic on canvas
20 x 20"

Artist Statement
Painting and drawing allows me to express the complexity of the body concerning the Black figure in a western art historical canon. My work exists in a dreamscape to capture the subconscious mind, which is considerably the most vulnerable part of us all. It is in conversation with the Afro-surrealist movement in an effort to subvert the notoriously white male dominant genre. Implementing gestural marks, distorted figures and saturated color palettes allows me to communicate various psychological spaces based on personal narrative.

Artist Bio
Lauryn Levette sets her colorful figurative works in a dreamscape capturing the subconscious mind, elevating agency and power in Black women. Her paintings and drawings reference personal narrative, pop culture, and spirituality to explore themes of the self, the power of introspection and learning to assert comfort and vulnerability in a world that is still learning to value it. Levette graduated with a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2021. Her art has been exhibited in several fairs, auctions, solo and group shows across the U.S. as well as internationally for venues such as Soho House, Untitled, Miami, and WACO's Wearable Art Gala. She is recognized in publications for Artsy, Juxtapoz Magazine and RISD Museum.

Dolores Poacelli
Endangered Species, 2015
Acrylic paint and aluminum enamel on canvas
36" x 48"

Artist Statement

This series is an offshoot of the works I have done using recycled aluminum printing press plates which I sand cut and glue onto panels. The shine creates another level of space. The color punctuating the space and creating a rhythm.

Artist Bio

Among many awards, in 2024 and in 2011 I was the recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship for Painting, and in 2000 awarded the Samuel Fleisher Challenge Exhibit in Philadelphia.
My work has been exhibited widely and is part of many public and private collectons such as
• SAP Software in Germany
• Bank of American in Delaware
• Cooper Anderson Hospital in Camden NJ
• New York Presbyterian Childrens Hospital in NY • Park Towne Place in Philadelphia
• Liberty Properties in Malvern PA
• Murano Condominiums in Philadelphia
• Psychology Dept. of Princeton University in NJ
• and the State of New Jersey
I have studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Fleisher Art Memorial, and have worked for many years as a graphic designer. I have been teaching art for 14 years.

Kathy Davis
Love Over Hate, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
40" x 30"

Artist Statement

In this painting, I'm combining my interest in mark-making and calligraphy with intuitive abstract painting. The repeated message of "love over hate, heart over mind, faith over fear, peace over war" seems especially needed in these tumultuous times.

Artist Bio

Contemporary abstract painter, Kathy Davis, has evolved as an artist through several career reinventions. In many ways, Davis' paintings are the culmination of the years of training, experience, and inspiration she accumulated as a teacher, a designer and writer of greeting cards, and a business owner.

The sale of her art licensing business in 2019 has reinvigorated Davis' passion for painting.

Currently, Davis' painting style is non-representational in nature. Acrylic, watercolor and collage are her preferred media. She is exploring new ground with her love of color and calligraphic mark making. Davis' paintings have been described as fresh, expressive, thought provoking and uplifting. There is both a sophistication and casualness that give her work wide appeal.

As a lifelong resident of Horsham, PA, Davis has exhibited in juried shows at the Wayne Art Center, Coleman Fine Art, Cerulean Arts Gallery, Capitol Hill Arts League, Abington Art Center and American Greetings Corporate Headquarters. She is currently a member of Muse Gallery in Philadelphia.
Davis' work is held in many private collections in the U.S.

Judith Jacobson
Emergence.
Encaustic on cradled masonite panel
15.5" x 12.75"

Artist Statement

Outward trails of inward travels Journeys marked with blemishes and scars of where we've been and how long we've tarried. I stare and glare and dissect. I layer: on off on paint wipe add Darkened surfaces with transparent echoes of time and space. Memories linger vivid! then fade and return with altered sounds and visions. I layer- and feel the ghosts

of translucent darkness emerge, dissolve in and out out and in back and forth. Remembered flesh, supple and toned Youthful belief in forever

Mortality looms invisible, stealthy the flesh it consumes and… Where is Forever? Fragments of beings implode, explode!

Parts become wholes. Fragments become lifetimes that wither and wrinkle and crease and crack like too many layers of paint. And when did I become like too many layers of paint? and… What is Forever?

Artist Bio

Judith Jacobson received her BFA in Painting, with a minor in Philosophy and a Provisional Teaching Degree, from The Tyler School of Art in 1969. She received her MFA in Painting from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1997. She is the recipient of The Leeway Foundation Edna Andrade Grant in Painting, "awarded for work that exhibits exceptional promise and talent." Judith's work was purchased by the founder of The Leeway Foundation and is part of the permanent and prominent collection. Judith was invited to participate in panel discussions with other Leeway grant recipients at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

She has received numerous awards in Painting and Drawing. Her achievements have been extensive and positively reviewed by the media. Judith has been a Visiting Artist at local colleges, giving presentations of her art and process, and then making studio visits to critique the work of the students. She has also shared her ideas and work in many "Meet the Artist" discussions. Judith continuously donates her art to charitable organizations, to include, but not limited to yearly MANNA live auctions at The Moore College of Art and Design.

Judith has exhibited substantially. Her work is included in collections in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Michele C Kishita
Snowmelt, River's Edge
Latex and silver leaf on birch panel
20" x 20"

Artist Statement

In my practice, I explore ideas of transience, interconnection, transformation, and beauty to give voice to the tales that are silently embedded in my wood panels' grain. Reflecting on its rhythmic undulations that map a tree's annual growth and water intake, I imagine a place, an atmosphere, or a feeling that articulates the visual contrast and harmony where nature and mankind intersect. Formally drawing from the graphic stylizations and compressed spaces of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, I use hard edge abstraction and colors from nature, that are not typically considered "natural," to capture the memory and spirit of the landscape.

Artist Bio

Michele Kishita is a Philadelphia-based artist who uses landscape as her primary subject. Her paintings are strongly influenced by the graphic stylizations and compressed spaces of Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Kishita's paintings are in a number of private/corporate collections, including Toyota, Capital One, and Kaiser Permanente, and her work is featured in Create Magazine, on the Poetry Foundation blog, and the Studio Break and Thyme in the Studio podcasts, as well as in several literary journals. She has participated in artist residencies in New Mexico, Russia, and Iceland and exhibited at the Sharjah Art Museum in the United Arab Emirates and the Museum of Non-Conformist Art in St. Petersburg, Russia. Kishita received both her BFA and MFA in painting from the University of the Arts

Jorge L. Vega
A Drive Through Banana Country, 2019
Oil on canvas
30" x 40"

Artist Statement

Most of the visual elements portrayed in this painting are influenced by my experiences growing up in Puerto Rico. Its flora, fauna, its tropical colors, and how that has affected my memories of the island, contributes to its visual interpretation.

Artist Bio

Jorge Luis Vega grew up in Puerto Rico and currently resides in Philadelphia. He has a B. F. A. from Tyler School of Art, Temple University and a M.F.A. from Stanford University.

Zeinab Diomande
It's all soup now, nobody wins, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 36" x 2"

Artist Statement

This piece focuses on a warm and hazy environment, a bar-like setting. The figure is engulfed in a tray of smoke adding to the intensity of the situation at hand: spades. All parties playing the game seem to have winning cards and evidently somebody if not everyone is cheating. I chose to add a humorous touch to this painting to remind myself that sometimes things aren't that serious. I tend create environments that you can partially recognize but when looking closer, nothing is rooted in reality. My purpose is never to be too close to what's real, mostly an illusion but never the real thing.

Sally K. Eisenberg
The Waiting is the Hardest Part, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 24"

Artist Statement

Painting and creating in the abstract provide me with the wiggle room to be in the present moment and see what comes up as I place color on my canvas. My paintings evolve. They start out one way and then, through gestures and layering, end up going in a completely new direction. In the words of Edward Hopper, "if i could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." Creating art is MY communication tool of choice. Painting in the abstract allows me to feel and express my innermost emotions and begin dialogue.

Artist Bio

Sally K. Eisenberg is an abstract artist based in Philadelphia, PA. A lifelong artist, Sally thrives outside the lines, expressing herself through various media, including acrylics, works on paper, mixed media, and photography. Her work brings forth a dance of light, color, and texture, evoking curiosity, and emotion. Solo shows have been held at Twenty-Two Gallery, 1241 Carpenter + Artspace, and Da Vinci Art Alliance. She has been a part of many group shows including Pictor Gallery in NYC, Philadelphia Sketch Club, ARTSisters, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Fleisher Art Memorial, Naudain Art Collaborative, Da Vinci Art Alliance, 1241 Carpenter + Artspace, and the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts. She has been opening her studio for the last few years as part of the Center for Emerging Visual Artist's POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours). Sally's work is in private collections throughout the United States.

Kindred Art Collaborative
One Who Can Hold Their Breath, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 36"

Artist Statement

They might not have an "Iron Neck". They might be able to be "Burned". They might not be able to "Stretch". They might not be able to "Swallow the Sea". But they might be able to "Hold Their Breath Forever".

Artist Bio
Started in 2019
Members:
Carl Cellini
Richard Metz
Mikel Elam

We are currently working on our resume as a group but only have been together for a few years. Each of us have our own substantial resumes and over 50 years of experience in the arts.
• Carl Cellini is a painter, sculptor, musician, composer, martial artist and instructor of martial arts who grew up in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He has had numerous painting exhibits in the last forty years and his work has been purchased by businesses, schools and individual patrons during this time. He received his BFA from Temple University's Tyler School of Art in 1980. Cellini's latest paintings are gestural and expressionistic, focused on incorporating the movements of the martial arts animals he studies. The process is important to his art making as he strives to invoke something direct and authentic. Carl formed Cellini Studios in 2014 which is a gallery space, studio space and houses a school of martial arts that he owns and operates in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

• Richard Metz grew up in Abington, Pennsylvania. He received a BFA from Temple University's Tyler School of Art and an MFA from Maine College of Art. He recently retired from a career as a high school art teacher. In addition to showing his work frequently and widely, he is a musician and writer, with an interest in radio drama. He has been an environmental activist for many years and remains passionate about protecting forests. He has been chosen to participate in artist residencies across the country for the last ten years where he creates ephemeral painted tree installations.

• Painting and drawing have been a lifetime pursuit for Mikel. Having grown up in Philadelphia, Mikel's art degree is from Philadelphia University of the Arts. In one chapter of his life Mikel went to work as a manager for famed jazz musician Miles Davis for several years. This experience helped shape and define Mikel for years to follow. Although Miles Davis was a renowned jazz musician he was also drawing and painting everyday while traveling the world. He convinced Mikel that he had the ability to be and do many things at the same time. Whether working in the art supply business, or in the past when he was working with Miles Davis or currently, painting and drawing in his studio Mikel is truly living the life of a full-time artist. In recent years his focus on Afro Centrism and world cultures has permeated his individual work.

Judy DeSimone
8, 2024
Acrylic
15" x 12"

Artist Statement

This is an abstract acrylic mono print using warm colors satisfying a moment during a printing session.

Artist Bio

Judy DeSimone is a retired K- 10th grade art teacher who earned a bachelor of science degree in art education at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For thirty-nine years she was a Jack of all trades in her classroom with pastels, markers, paints, metal, ceramics, paper-mache, Paris craft, printing, yarn, scenery painting etc. Judy currently pursues her own artistic musings in ceramics, painting silk scarves, printmaking and still paints scenery for her Catholic school. She shows her work at craft and art fairs.

Nanci Hersh
Cradle, 2015
Acrylic, spray paint, pastel on canvas
24 x 30"

Artist Statement
Initially inspired by the shadows cast by a welded sculpture of a large nest on a pedestal like a birdbath, Cradle continues to explore themes around home and family.

What we inherit, gather, retain, or release, along with the narratives we tell ourselves and how they shape, intertwine to mold our identities.

Artist Bio
Nanci Hersh is a contemporary mixed media artist. She creates dynamic, fluid paintings, collages, and sculptures that draw upon life and everyday experiences. Through the process of multilayered narratives, she explores themes of home, family, the natural world, and the intricate webs that bind us together.

Nanci is also a curator, illustrator, educator, arts advocate and former Executive Director of the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education. She has received numerous honors including three purchase awards from the State Foundation of Culture and the Arts, Hawai'i, and three Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grants. She recently completed and installed "Elemental Flow", a commissioned work of 20 paintings at Barbacane, Thornton, and Company in Wilmington, DE. Her work is included in the Public Collections of Museum of Encaustic Art, Johnson & Johnson, Leland Portland Cement, and OSI Pharmaceuticals to name a few.

Abel Dolby
997N 300W, 2022
Oil on canvas
21.5 x 29.5" (framed)

Artist Statement

Some of my fondest memories growing up in rural Indiana were moments of being borderline feral at my grandparents' farm. As a young adult, I saw the the farm change from that carefree oasis of my youth to a place where I didn't know if I'll would ever want to return. My intentions in the painting "997N 300W" were to reconcile my complicated emotions surrounding nostalgia and loss through the eyes of a middle aged man.

Artist Bio

I'm a Philadelphia-based artist who was born and raised (mostly)in Indiana. I received my BFA in Studio Art at Indiana University and my MFA in Studio Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. I have been invited and accepted to show my artwork nationally since 2008.

Kurt Herrmann
Protozoan Rodeo, 2024
Oil on stone and sand on wood panel
20" x 15" x 2"

Artist Statement

About 20 years ago I made my first paintings on stone when I impulsively gathered up a pile of cinders from my studio rooftop and stuck them on a wood panel with roofing tar. That initial work from the late 1990's morphed from painting simply on gravel and stones to higher relief objects like wood scraps, found objects, toys, mannequin heads, and at least half a billion bb's. In this most recent series I have limited myself to oil paint on sand, stones, and rope, but we'll see where it all goes.

Artist Bio

Kurt Herrmann (b. 1972, Lock Haven, USA) is a painter from the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania who does both figurative and abstract work, but above all is a colourist at heart. Two of his recent shows were featured in Time Out Chicago and the Philadelphia Inquirer, with recent shows in Tasmania (Penny Contemporary) , New Orleans (Octavia Gallery), Auckland (12 Gallery), Philadelphia (James Oliver Gallery), and Charlotte (Sozo Gallery). His work is in prominent collections across the US, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, including Capitol One Corporate Headquarters (Wilmington, DE), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY), and Temple University (Philadelphia, PA). Recent commissions include large work for Hotel Del Coronado (San Diego, CA), and a line of beer labels for Elk Creek Café + Aleworks (Millheim, PA). Although his exhibition schedule is increasingly international, Herrmann's rural Pennsylvania roots continue to influence his work. "I'm very aware of the fact that even if a painting was initially inspired by something exotic, or an extremely personal event on the other side of the planet, all my work is filtered through my studio in the hills of Appalachia," he explains. "The colours, silence, space, seasons, landscape, even the rednecks impact everything I make. It's inescapable."

Tony Havrilla
Presidential Suite with Tomatoes, 2024
Oil on board
24" x 18"

Artist Statement

In modern society, where a new voyeurism exists online via social media, my work seeks an understanding of how our human desire to connect with others harms our psyche, stokes jealousy, and calms us. My paintings use a Fauvist approach, utilizing vibrant colors and gestural brush strokes, to paint figures in natural environments. Figures and environments painted are often sourced from social medias such as Instagram, X, or Facebook and then combined on my easel to create images that exist in a universe unto themselves. The importance of sourcing images from social media lends itself to the common desire to be seen, not only on social media, but in our lives. By gathering images in this way, I am exploring what we share and how it is shared to try and understand why we share. The resulting paintings evoke an exploration of an 'Eden' or the idea of a utopia devoid of problems (which social media platforms and influencers often portray their lives as). Through paint I am attempting to reconcile the dichotomy of this unreality online with the mundane human experience. My work contains basic human moments of whimsy, desire, objectification, and ultimately struggle as it copes with bridging these realities.

Stuart Lehrman
Basement Blues #2, 2021
Acrylic enamel and oil paint on a wooden panel.
12" x 24" x 1"

Artist Statement

My practice involves the dialogue between order and chaos. I am constantly experimenting with the physical properties of the materials. I am always looking for a new solution to the problem I have given myself. I embrace both addition and subtraction, making and unmaking. The art is partly made up (of mistakes or happy accidents), during the working process. It's a journey of exploration and discovery, each step an interplay of order and chaos, intention and serendipity. These 'mistakes' are useful to make because they may lead little by little to the small truths.

Artist Bio

Stuart Lehrman began his career on the West Coast, showing his work at galleries in San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, and Dallas. His early work focused on richly colored ceramics and painted wooden and found object sculptures. He relocated to upstate New York in the 1990s and worked as art director for the New York State Health Department. Twelve years ago, he moved to Philadelphia to teach design courses at Jefferson University (now retired). He lives with his wife and works in his home/studio in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Fran Lightman Gibson
A New Day, 2023
Charcoal and hard pastel
30" x 22"

Artist Statement

The Bridge
I watched the cold January night shift into the gray of dawn, the bridge looming as a gateway into or out of the city. Perspective creates its own reality. Ice had gathered along the edge of the river, helping chill the wind. Then the sun peeked over the horizon and the world changed. The cold gray bridge transformed into a warm golden orange. It was as if hope and joy were beaming their way into the city. The audacity of that light, the ice remained on the river's edge, the wind was no less chilly and yet I basked in the illusion of warmth and the reality of my survival.

Artist Bio

My paintings are about the visual and psychological energy of the city expressed through the angularity of its architecture and infrastructure, painted with live, rapid, interesting brushstrokes. This high energy is sometimes offset around the edges of the urban landscape by a very different treatment of trees, bushes, and grassy areas as an impression of dabs, dashes, lines, and scumbled paint.

Although these paintings straddle and integrate impressionist and expressionist ethos, they represent two different stylistic trends. One is more expressionist, bold, and brushy. The other is more linear, graphic, and refined. These paintings beckon the viewer through dramatic perspective and suggest a curiosity and a journey. Landscape or Cityscape, the metaphor of "Take Any Road," is usually close at hand in the work.

Finally, there is a tease in these works to see the next level of detail, but the attempt is to have the viewer create that detail while viewing the paintings.

Carmen Console
Santa Ana Wind, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
36" x 18"

Artist Statement

This painting was inspired by the awful fires in Southern California.

Artist Bio

Carmen Console has worked full time as an artist since 1978 when he finished art school. Born and raised in South Philadelphia. He was an Illustrator for 45 years working for The Franklin Mint, and then many ad agencies and national brands, then retired to begin a painting career a few years ago. Since that time he has created dozens of works, some commissioned, most inspired. Carmen now lives and works in his studio in South Jersey.

Timothy Gierschick II
Strawberry Nautilus, 2019
Latex on paper
26" x 34"

Artist Statement

Strawberry Nautilus was birthed from a period of contemplating the geometry of a chain-link fence. In the manner of a nautilus, the diamond pattern folds in on itself, when you view it clockwise, and back again looking counterclockwise, in a double spiral. Strawberry refers to the color yes, but also to the fact that various seemingly disparate elements of nature share very deep connections: the placement of strawberry seeds is, like the pattern of the nautilus, according to an innate geometry.

Artist Bio

Timothy Gierschick II (b. 1976, Reading, PA) is an artist living and working in Philadelphia, PA. His paintings and works on paper have been exhibited and collected both nationally and internationally, including by Duane Morris LLP offices worldwide, and Capital One Bank NA. Timothy earned his Bachelor of Arts, concentrating in Printmaking, from Messiah College in 2000. He is also employed by the Barnes Foundation as preparator.

Rona Fisher
Garlic Cloves, 2025
Oil on canvas panel
12" x 15"

Artist Statement

Simplistic, dramatic and graphic, the common objects become important, demanding our attention. Being shown partially, rather than rendered in their entirety, they look big and bold in their small space. The values are rich black through creamy white creating a stark and oddly welcoming landscape. The hues are limited and subtle. The objects themselves create dualities- soft vs sharp, fragile vs strong, transparent vs opaque, familiar yet extraordinary. They are somber yet invitingly full of light.

Artist Bio

Born into a middle-class family in the Philadelphia suburbs to an accountant and an art teacher, my mom, being the art teacher, was an excellent draftsperson and loved making things, but discouraged me from becoming a professional artist. As a young adult, I had one thing in mind only, and that was painting.
After graduating from University of the Arts in 1980, I went along my artistic way, first to San Francisco for 4 years, where I drove a cab and tried to figure out how to have a creative life. I thought, I will need to find a different medium- one that I can support myself with. After experimenting with various mediums, making jewelry became my new passion. After coming back to the states after living in Munich, Germany for 8 years, I spent the past 30 odd years doing just that.
In 2022 the urge to paint again became so strong, it was not to be ignored.
Currently, I am transitioning back to being an artist, soon to be full time.
My kitchen is my painting studio. There I find common objects that pull me in, begging for me to allow them to be shown as something special, even if for just a moment. That is my new mission- through painting to help those who see them to appreciate the seemingly insignificant things, to see them as something rare and beautiful.

Estelle Carraz-Bernabei
Through the Clouds, 2024
Oil & acrylic on canvas
12" x 12"
13.5" x 13.5" (framed)

Artist Statement

"Through the Clouds"
The sun shining through the clouds is a symbol of hope, freedom and limitlessness : a visualization of the vastness of the heavens.

Courtesy of Balance Gallery

Kathran Siegel
Snapper, 2024-2025
Acrylic paint on wood
19" x 16" x 4"

Artist Statement

One in a series of works inspired by Asian fans. Mixing 2 and 3 dimensional vocabularies within a culturally familiar format. I saw in these a shaped, uniformly undulating shape against a more dimensional handle.

Artist Bio

Born and raised in New York City, Kathran Siegel attended Bennington College, where she studied painting with Jules Olitsky and Paul Feeley, sculpture with Anthony Caro and David Smith, and printmaking with Vincent Longo. She worked towards an M.F.A. at the University of New Mexico, but at the invitation of Newton Harrison and Paul Brach, (shadow wives: Helen Harrison and Miriam Shapiro) stopped her studies to help develop the program for a new art department at the University of California at San Diego.

While working on an MEd., Siegel took a woodworking class, which led her into 25 years of making studio furniture and other carved and turned objects. Until her retirement from teaching in 2011, she combined her studio practice with teaching art in Florida and in and around Philadelphia, where she currently lives. Her work is in several regional museum and public art collections. She was awarded an NEA Ventures Grant and later an Andy Warhol Foundation Grant. She has published a monograph on the artist, Mildred Thompson, as well as articles on the arts and arts education. Siegel is currently a member of Muse Gallery in Philadelphia.

Edith C. Zapata
Alley, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
28" x 22"

Artist Statement

Alley is 1 of a 7-piece SHELL COLLECTION , inspired by the trip to my native country Caracas Venezuela after 7 years as an immigrant. It is a reflection of the fears, hopes and desires every morning as I begin my journey to work, which would be responsible for paying for my career as a Graphic Designer. Upon returning, stopping at the beginning of this alley, feeling gratitude and admiration for the achievements and different perspectives on life after experiences that would mark my career as an artist.

Artist Bio

Multidisciplinary artist from Venezuela, based in Philadelphia.

Her work is based on generating creative ideas through art and design. His style combines contemporary elements, achieving authentic abstract and expressive works, whether inspired by nature, everyday life, human emotions, or under the instructions of a brief.

Sandi Neiman Lovitz
I Hear Red, 2023
Acrylic and red sand on gallery wrapped canvas
24" x 24"

Artist Statement

I was only five years old when I started my journey as an artist. The color of that gorgeous blue robin's egg passed through me like a lightning bolt and opened up my passion for color. My box of crayons became my treasure chest.
That lightning bolt struck again eleven years later when I saw, in person, an abstract painting by Franz Kline at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The power and expression of that painting gave me the
freedom and permission to see beyond the traditional realism I had been taught and explore and push boundaries I never realized were possible.
I paint spontaneously. I react to that first burst of color that I put on the canvas. Further marks and colors are influenced by my visual language, which empowers me to go where words cannot in expressing who I am at my core.
"I paint layers of colors and rhythms that breathe life into my paintings and open up stories for the viewer's imagination and curiosity."
When I paint I feel alive and connected to my true self.

Artist Bio

Sandi Neiman Lovitz graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor"s degree in Art Education and taught art in the Pittsburgh Public School for a number of years before moving to Philadelphia.
Sandi continued to teach private classes and exhibit her paintings. Her passion for art led into various businesses that all involved the creative process.

AYGZ (Eg-z)
Schrodinger's Candle, 2024
Painting on canvas
42" x 35"

Artist Statement

The desire to connect to something spiritually grater than yourself through liturgy, but not being certain as to what you are in search of

or

The attempt to connect to some TV big larger than yourself spiritually, not knowing fully what's on the other side.

Artist Bio

A graduate from Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, under the pseudonym AYGZ (Eg-z), Jesse Weinstein has developed a visual language across a wide range of platforms from painting, printmaking, both analogue and digital illustration, has realized two comic books, and his prints have appeared on limited-edition T-shirts and hoodies. He has been profiled in The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Jewish Exponent. He is a recently welcomed member of Inliquid, a gallery and organization having just celebrated 25 years of its contributions to the Philadelphia art scene.

Erin Elman
Archaic Amphora II, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
20" x 16"

Artist Statement

As a lyrical abstractionist, I incorporate spontaneous expression and illusionary space with obscured objects and implied imagery. I continually seek the moment in my paintings and I am influenced by a pantheon of artists that explore the full range of human emotion and history using color and process that is universally relatable. My practice allows me to balance numerous contradictions I encounter in my daily life: intentionality vs. spontaneity; gesture vs. control; conscious vs. subconscious; materiality vs. the ethereal; representation vs. the evocative; contrived vs. authentic. The works are the evidence of my internal struggles and conversations - languaged through composition, marks, gesture, and color.

Artist Bio

Erin Elman was born in Brooklyn, NY where she was raised by two remarkable New York City public school teachers who exposed their daughters to all of the great art and culture of New York City. She received a BFA in Art from Carnegie Mellon University and also studied in Rome where she fell in love with Etruscan art and ruins. She received an MA in Art Education and an MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking, both from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Elman has artwork in numerous public and private collections, including the Tate London. She lives in a stone cottage in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia with her family.

Jed Williams
Oshun's Lair, 2024
Oil, acrylic sharpie/mixed/collage on canvas
32" x 42"

Artist Statement

This work, "Oshun's Lair"was part of an exhibit at my studio (JWS) focused on the spiritual aspect of Yoruba culture. I first became interested in the Yoruba culture because I have several friends in Philadelphia who are of Yoruba heritage; moreover a philosopher friend of mine shared an essay inspired by aspects of Yoruba culture, gods and beliefs. This essay dovetailed with my fascination with mythology, legends, and spirituality in general. I should also like to inspire viewers to start their own inquiries and research into African cultures and the legends previously unknown to them.

Artist Bio

Jed was born in Philadelphia, USA, in 1975 and brought up in Paris, France; he is a French and American dual citizen now based in Philadelphia, USA. Jed comes from an artistic background-his father was the celebrated poet C.K Williams and his mother is a jeweler. A noted and prolific Philadelphia painter, Jed graduated from the University of the Arts (BFA in Painting and Drawing, 2000) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Certificate in Painting, 2005), both located in Philadelphia. Since graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy he has been exhibiting his work in both solo and group capacity in many different venues in Philadelphia, Phoenixville , New Jersey, New York City, Brooklyn, Miami, Portland OR and other cities. Jed also has had work in private collections in the US, France and Eastern Europe; and one of his paintings was acquired Ruttenberg Center for Autism.And, from 2010 to 2020.

Bethanne Frazer
Red Swingline, Ode to Milton, Paradise Found, No.1., 2025
Conte crayon, Block printing ink, blood, acrylic paint, acrylic medium varnish on Gessoed wood pane
10" x 8"

Artist Bio

Bethanne Frazer is a native Brooklyn, NYer and has resided in Philadelphia for the past 10 years. Frazer attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Thomas Jefferson University and CUNY Brooklyn College. Bethanne is a visual artist, painter, printmaker, photographer and videographer. Bethanne is a psychotherapist and art therapist in private practice.

Donna Backues
Mountain Spirit, 2016
Acrylic, watercolor, ink, gouache, graphite on birch board
26" x 26"

Artist Statement

Imagined Landscapes

This peice is part of a larger body of work titled Imagined landscapes. These are inner landscapes of the mind and memory but still inspired by real places in the world. Mountain Spirit was painted after a trip to Taos, New Mexico. In the sky there is a reference to Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Artist Bio

Donna Backues has a BA in Studio Art & Graphic Design from Southern Illinois University, an MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MA in Urban Studies and Community Arts from Eastern University. Donna lived in Indonesia for 18 years working as an artist, a teaching artist, and as a grassroots community development practitioner using her art in various capacities. Her work included founding a community preventative health training program and partnering with local artisans to design indigenous products for export to support small home industries.
Since moving to Philadelphia, Donna has worked as a painter, illustrator, community artist and teaching artist. Currently she is the Community & Family Wellness Coordinator for a non-profit working with the Asian immigrant and refugee population in Philadelphia. Donna taught for The Mural Arts Program and The Village of Arts and Humanities. She has been awarded artist residencies through the Philadelphia Art Museum's Delphi Art Futures & Art Partners program, Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, Fleisher Art Memorial and Spiral Q.

Orlando Saverino-Loeb
Tile Study #3, 2003
Acrylic and charcoal on canvas
13" x 27"

Artist Bio

Orlando Saverino-Loeb is a Philadelphia born artist. His work is influenced by surrealist imagery, the compositions in 19th century Romanticism paintings, and extended stays in Italy. He deconstructs the environments he's experienced, and rebuilds them as reflections on humans and their activities. He uses characters, symbols, and visual metaphors to create a sense of familiarity that facilitates the creation of unique new ideas and insights in the mind of his viewer.

Christina Penrose
Picasso and his shelved wives and mistresses, 2017
Gouache/ Japanese paper, photography, collage on canvas
12" x 12"

Artist Statement

My paintings are subconsciously motivated images provoking a beginning. "If you know exactly what you're going to do, what is the point of doing it?" is a quote from Picasso, which I very much agree with. My imagery and color are a result of experimenting with various transfer methods, collage and paint application. This process inspires underlying themes, which are at times autobiographical, political, environmental, or mystical. Another source of inspiration comes from painting the landscape, especially when I travel. Painting the landscape keeps my eye in tune with the natural elements, and in turn is revisited later as a resource for work in the studio.

Artist Bio

Born in São Paulo , Brazil
PAFA 1975-79
Cleveland Institute of Art (Lacoste, Provence. France) 1981 1883
University of the Arts (BFA) 1990

@tinux301

Su Knoll Horty
Color Pops 18, 2016
Oil on canvas
16" x 20"

Artist Statement

The sensation of color, the lushness of oil paints, the thrill of creating, and the surprise of abstraction are what drive me to paint--Add drama to the canvas, and I'm hooked!
At the inception of my paintings, I select colors inspired by nature, random places, or other artists' paintings, whatever catches my eye, stirs my curiosity, or challenges me.
I explore fluidity, in all its measures: organic form, undulating movement, saturated 'liquid' color, and stylized gestural marks. It's through this fluidity that I find color to be most expressive. Color relationships are very important to me, as are tonal variations. I place color next to color, with the goal of finding just the right combination so that each will make the other shine, or as in this series, "Pop!"

Artist Bio

In 2012, Su completed the CE Core Curriculum Program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Pafa). Su continues to study with Abstract teachers, Kassem Amoudi, and various instructors at The Art Students League of New York. Su has been published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wild Roof Journal, The Woven Tale Press, as well as being interviewed on ArtWatch and Morning Edition radio.
Su is a member of The Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Su is also a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club where she received two Honorable Mention awards for her entries in the Absolutely Abstract shows, in 2012 and 2013, as well as being a juror in the 2015 Absolutely Abstract show.
Su exhibits regularly and has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows.

Sharon Bloomfield Hicks
Yin and Yang 9, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 20"

Artist Statement

"Yin and Yang 9" is a work from my yin and yang series which includes paintings, fiber, and mixed media works. The project began when I noticed that shapes in my paintings resembled those in the yin/yang symbol. At the same time, I noticed my creative process alternated between opposing periods of struggle and periods of ease which related to the push and pull of yin and yang energies running parallel in my health and life. The relationship of yin and yang is one of opposites. According to Chinese medicine health requires a balance of yin and yang energies, or harmony. For the project, I alternated between painting and fiber, hand-stitching and tufting machine, slow and fast, intuitive and planned processes. When each work was complete every color and shape belonged, creating a new balance and harmony.

Artist Bio

Sharon Bloomfield Hicks is a Philadelphia-based artist and member of the Portuguese-Jamaican diaspora. Her work is distinguished by bold color combinations, large shapes and active figure-ground relationships. While informed by in-depth studies at the Barnes Foundation including paintings by Matisse, Modigliani, and Picasso; her aesthetic sensibilities often reflect her Caribbean roots. Training at the Fabric Workshop and Museum plus graduate studies at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science contribute to the graphic nature of her style. Adhering to a belief in the interconnection between art and healing, she uses fiber and paint to create fresh uplifting work which expresses the harmony and well-being she desires to see in the world.

Bettina Clowney
Teapot
Watercolor and pencil
13" x 18.5"

Artist Bio

Bettina was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1946, the daughter of Air Force colonel Stewart Scull and office manager Helen Balmer Scull. She fell in love with painting and art history as a child. She graduated from Temple University's Tyler School of Art and went on to exhibit new work almost every year of her adult life. Bettina often said she painted because she had to. In mid-career, she spent 14 years studying iconography from a Russian master, and subsequently created traditional and modern icons for churches and collectors alike. Her work is in collections around the globe.

Shanti Hands
BURLS, 2024
Acrylic on fabric
15.5" x 13.25"

Girija Kaimal
Winter, 2020
Acrylic on canvas
15" x 18" x 2"

Artist Statement

Poppies is a mixed media work that integrates clay, acrylic, metal nails and reclaimed plywood. All the materials were found objects that were integrated into this 3-D diptych. The piece represents the artist's ongoing practice of reimagine discarded objects and media to create images of intense color and joy.

Artist Bio

Dr. Kaimal has a doctorate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Master of Arts from Drexel University and Bachelor's in Design from the National Institute of Design in India.

RM Cimini
Garden Reflections, 2024
Oil on cradled board
10" x 10"

Artist Statement

I specialize in atmospheric paintings that evoke emotional spaces. My long-standing meditation practice informs my work. The paintings that connect with viewers through our shared consciousness open the door to a spiritual world, offering a sense of transcendence, a glimpse into an existence apart from everyday activities.
The pieces on paper that have been submitted are ink-wash, watercolor, or acrylic paint. In each case, I was striving to incorporate the properties of the medium into the painting itself. For all of these, I was committed to the fundamental challenge of producing something alive, something that communicates to others, and something that exists in the world for the first time. Throughout the work, I sought a state of automatic flow. While I'm conscious of my choices-observing what emerges and deciding what comes next-I was seeking an ideal state of pure creation where I would simply follow the work's inherent energy.

Artist Bio

RM Cimini, a fine artist lives and works in Delaware. Featured in multiple group and solo exhibitions, her work was notably included in an exhibit at the Belskie Museum in Closter, NJ, and the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft, NJ. She served, from 8/2016 until 6/2019, as President of Studio Montclair, a non-profit visual arts organization. An inducted member of the National Association of Women Artists, she holds an MFA in painting and sculpture from Bennington College. Her work is held in private collections in the United States and abroad and in the public collections of Atlantic Health Systems, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the MC Hotel.

Jean Broden
Broken Fences, 2010
Oil on canvas
24" x 20" x 1.5"

Artist Statement

All of my paintings are created with the idea of bringing viewers back to a specific place from their lives. Whether they are cityscapes or of natural places, I want people to feel connected, maybe to something from their past, or perhaps a place important to them in their current lives. I want the images to feel like comfort food for their souls.

Artist Bio

Jean Broden is a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, as well as a lifelong artist. She is a graduate of Moore College of Art, and worked in advertising, illustration and art education. For the last twenty years, Jean has focused on oil paintings as her primary medium, which she sells at festivals and galleries in the Philadelphia area.

Hugo De La O
The Brown eye Blue eye experiment, 2020
Oil on canvas
12" x 15" x 1.5" (framed)

Artist Statement

This painting is about Jane Elliot's experiment in 1968. To teach her white students she decided to base the experiment on eye color. Where blue eyed students were treated better and had more opportunities. Then changing the privileges to brown eyed students. The out come is astonishing.

Artist Bio

Hugo, a sculptor-painter and co-founder of The Creary De La O Family Foundation, draws deeply from his roots as the child of immigrants who fled the El Salvador Civil War.

Since graduating from PAFA, Hugo has been an active member of the Philadelphia artist community-working on commissions, exhibiting his work at RASCO Gallery in Philadelphia, designing theater sets, and participating in projects from the Mural Arts of Philadelphia. Hugo aims to exhibit his artistic skills and passion further by engaging deeply with the Philadelphia community.

Andrea Bartine Caldarise
Cairn near road, 2023
Oil paint on canvas
20" x 20"

Artist Statement

Andrea Bartine Caldarise's art explores the psychological connection between people and their environment. Drawing inspiration from field trips and research deep dives into ecology, folklore, and geological histories, her compositions chart real and imagined locals, diagramming where multiple realities converge.

Artist Bio

Andrea Bartine Caldarise studied at Tyler School of Art, Temple University (BFA, Painting/Art History, 2009) and at the University of Pennsylvania (MLA, Arts Administration, 2013). In her studio practice, Caldarise centers an intuitive making process. She has collaborated with dance company, RealLivePeople (2010-2013) to create artworks centered on first-person accounts, engaging audiences with interactive dance. Upon moving to New York, Caldarise became an artistic collaborator with theatre group, Exquisite Corpse Company (2014-2019) where she built environments for immersive plays. These plays, produced on Governors Island examined a variety of themes from manifesting memories around ambiguous loss to climate change.

Emily Potts
Ultrasound, 2025
Gouache and charcoal on watercolor paper
11" x 14"

Artist Statement

Through my artmaking process I explore the relationship between the brain, the mind and the body through internal and external systems that regulate and process mental and bodily pressure and stress. I work to overcome the assumption that in order to heal something has to be completely resolved within the self. Instead, I offer that healing is an indescribable area, that is unmeasurable, and it is forever evolving and never finished. My overall vision for my work is to simulate the gesture and sensibility of a figure into systems that extend outside of the body but still allude to it in an unrealistic, imperfect, and nonfunctional way.

Artist Bio

Emily Potts (b. 1996 Houston TX, USA) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice gives material form to invisible and chronic conditions. Emily's research focuses on the relationship between the brain, the mind, and the body in connection to function and disruption of internal and external processes. Her work has been exhibited at notable institutions regionally and nationally such as New York Academy of Art New York, NY, Mid-South Sculpture Alliance's Confab 2023 at the University of Oklahoma School of the Visual Arts, Norman, OK, the SAA Visual Arts Center, Springfield, IL, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights IL, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA and LHUCA, Lubbock, TX. Emily graduated with her MFA in Sculpture in the Spring of 2022 from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. Emily now lives in Howell, MI and works in East Lansing, MI. She teaches at Michigan State University as a Fixed-Term Assistant Professor in Foundations.