The Matriarch
Born and raised in British Columbia, Sophia began traditional painting methods at 10 years old in watercolor and acrylic. She graduated with her BFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University in Montréal in 2014, where she discovered her love of oil painting. In 2015 she moved to the mountains near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here her practice evolved onto the stage with The 3 Painters, doing live performance painting. Sophia has helped design & perform in corporate shows from Tanzania to Panama & around the US. She also performs with the touring show Artrageous, which combines all of the arts in a one-of-a-kind immersive theatrical production. She has performed for thousands of people around the world, from half-time shows in the NBA to Carnegie Hall in West Virginia.
Sophia has won multiple awards for her art and has sold and shown work internationally. When she is not painting or drawing, she is studying music and is a multi-instrumentalist.
I have dedicated my creative passion to capturing the depth and beauty that colors the human spirit. Realistic portraiture has been at the center of my work since 2009, with a focus on naturalism. I view the creation of art as a fascinating and humbling game of light and hope that my portraiture inspires empathy and cross-cultural connections.
My desire to uncover a deeper meaning of life began at a young age after experiencing impermanence and suffering, coupled with exposure to Eastern religions and native mythologies. For me, realism acts as a vehicle to meditate through observation. I believe we are meant to remember ourselves, and thereby remember a deeper connection with each other and the world around us. I believe my artistic practice assists in this goal and I see art as a healing journey. Through visual art, I intend to create a moment of reflection by providing a mirror through which to view yourself. Ultimately, my goal is to inspire beauty & expand notions of possibility through art.
The Meeting Has Begun
Chun Wang is an artist, curator, and software engineer working across photography, painting, and creative web-based systems. Her practice explores memory, time, and the ways meaning is shaped through both material artifacts and technological mediation. Drawing from archival research, historical objects, and algorithmic processes, her work investigates how images and systems preserve, compress, and transform lived experience.
Chun’s projects often operate at the intersection of analytical structure and poetic observation. Whether through tightly framed photographic series, painterly studies of fragmented forms, or data-driven visual narratives, her work reflects a sustained interest in attention, residue, and the quiet persistence of memory. Technology functions in her practice not merely as a tool, but as a cultural material—one that influences perception, authorship, and collective imagination.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at PH21 Gallery, Harvard CAMLab, and SFMOMA-affiliated digital exhibitions. She has received multiple international awards, including the London International Creative Competition, the International Photography Awards, the Siena International Photo Awards, the International Color Awards, and the Passepartout Photo Prize. Chun is the executive curator of Negotiated Intelligence (2025–2026) and a curator for The Wrong Biennale. Her earlier curatorial project, IMMEMORY: ON COVID-19, received an Official Nomination for the Webby Awards.
This series of mixed media work began with a sense of quiet amusement. While studying ancient ceramic figures – objects meant to resist time – I was struck by how familiar, awkward, and gently humorous they felt. Their closed eyes, rounded bodies, and simplified gestures resemble not heroic monuments, but figures caught mid-pause, mid-thought, or mid-nothing.
In this series, I translate these ancient forms through painting and digital collage, placing them into contemporary, everyday structures: toilets, Zoom, work-related thoughts, etc. These elements are not punchlines but stages for modern ritual. Humor emerges through understatement and misalignment rather than spectacle.
I am interested in play as a way of loosening seriousness without abandoning meaning. By placing durable historical forms next to disposable, banal systems of daily life, the work leans into absurdity where ancient permanence meets modern triviality. The result is intentionally dry, slightly deadpan, and quietly comic.
Rather than presenting fun as brightness or excess, the series treats it as a mode of attention. These images invite viewers to slow down, smile briefly, and recognize themselves in moments that are usually overlooked.
The Merchant Of Venison
I was born in 1969 to a college art history professor and his wife. I grew up in Kennebunkport, ME. I have lived in NYC, Amsterdam, and outside of LA. I live in a science fiction post-pandemic junk drawer. Ik ben een vuilnisman. I weld and join materials together to create humorous deconstructions out of everyday objects. My pieces are essays about otherness, not otherness done in a Dadaist style. I am concentrated on the space between language and action. I take a gestural approach to conceptual art making. I have done over 115 group shows in my career.
My name is David Isakson, but my friends call me Izzy. I am neuro divergent. By way of an artist statement, I’d like to provide a text I used for an upcoming book.
Specifically, how does disability inform your work?
Ultimately disability informs all of my work or as little as none of it. As I get older, I realize I am never separate from my own consciousness, it is the filter of everything I experience as a world. My work is about cognition, but my cognition is flawed or enhanced, I hear things that other people don’t hear, and I feel things, that other people barely notice. I would say that most of the metaphors in my pieces, have to do with the way I hear understand, and process information, screens, and keyboards. I am sensitive to changes and fluctuations in the social and political zeitgeist. It is unique to me, but I am one of probably tens of thousands of assemblage artists. I use language to point at the errors and anomalies I hear and understand.
The Mermaid
Liz G. Carey, M.S., Artist, Counselor, Dharma Practitioner
Take a breath and feel the mood of Liz’s work. You may feel calm, excited, or moved to dance. These are all reflections of her inner world of yoga, dance, dharma, and her spiritual path.
Liz’s inner reflections of the day or moment are what is found in her paintings. Years of international travel, work in the business world, and her own personal struggles and triumphs are the inspiration for her creativity.
As all art is intended, experiencing Liz’s work is in an embodied sense. Maybe you feel your heart pulled, or your stomach does a whirl, or your shoulders just relax and you can find space. This is Liz’s aim for her work and for your experience. Loosen the grips the world has on our hearts and minds, and find receptivity and openness.
Liz’s influences are unexpected for the art world – from her psychotherapist to her business mentors, to her teachers on the spiritual path. Her most potent influences are those who have simply encouraged her and found goodness in her work and who she is, just as she is.
Elizabeth hopes that her unusual art background and her artwork will help to demystify art and the world of abstract art. Her approach will cultivate the sense that art is accessible, open to one’s own interpretation, and an easeful expression of our human being-ness.
With Elizabeth’s art, we can remember that art doesn’t need to be or feel elite, unattainable, or intimidating. Art is a natural part of our life. Let’s enjoy it and allow it to nourish us in the way we each need in this challenging world.
The Metamorphosis Of Rosalind
I attended Cal Poly Humboldt to pursue a degree in Theater Arts with a minor in filmmaking. My love of film led me to black and white photography, and after college, I opened a part-time portrait studio specializing in hand painting black and white portraits.
I continue to pursue my love of photography while I expand my creativity by exploring new mediums such as painting on canvas, textiles, and felt artwork.
My artwork is a nod to all the women who rise – transforming their best selves by being the best partner, mothers, daughters, and friends. We are a beautiful changing part of the universe.
The Mona Titty Print
An award-winning, published, and self-taught artist, born 1/1/60 in New York of Lithuanian immigrant parents. Fluent in English and Lithuanian. Graduated from Mt. Saint Mary’s Academy in the Top 10%. Explored small-town America for many years while traveling the carnival circuit. I am known as MIRRORARTIST.
I am currently exploring what I call NEW AGE MIRROR! Simply refurbishing anywhere from new to used to antique mirrors. Channeling original creativity in oils. Creating a as unique as each individual who looks into it, an abstract expressionism experience. My carpentry skills are novice, so frames and backings may be a little irregular, but then again that’s part of the art. Original oil on mirrors is negotiable. Please note: Reflections are evident in photographs of my artwork, as these are of mirrors, not canvas. Originals are clear, crisp, and unique! I cordially invite you to think outside the box of mainstream oil on canvas and accept my self-illuminating artistic creations of oil on mirrors as a pioneer of “Individuality” artwork! And for those of you who simply can’t concede to my vision of art . . . no worries . . . fine paper and canvas prints are available. Look forward to new art being uploaded sometime soon!
The Morning Light
Mentwab Easwaran, known as Mentu, is a visionary artist and designer with over two decades of experience crafting soul-stirring visual solutions.
Hailing from the vibrant heart of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mentu’s artistic journey defied formal institutions. Her love for art and graphic design ignited at a young age, nurtured by the unwavering support of family and friends. In a society where ‘design’ often evoked architecture, fashion, and engineering, the world of fine arts and graphic design remained a mystical realm.
At 18, devoid of formal art education, Mentu embarked on a remarkable path. Commissioned by a non-profit, she created 28 captivating pillow cover designs, raising funds for a community of 800. Two years of skill honing led her to the United States, culminating in a Communication Design degree from Parsons School of Design.
Since then, Mentu has woven captivating visual tales for governments and businesses. Her evolving style remains deeply narrative, inspired by her surroundings and upbringing. Her boundless curiosity led her to experiment with materials, forging a style connecting her present to the natural world. Using acrylics, brushes, knives, and an array of materials like spray paint and jute, she infuses intense emotions into her canvases, exploring texture and depth.
Starting each piece without a predetermined path, Mentu’s creations often circle back to three core themes: migration, the immigrant experience, and love. These themes, etched into her soul, fuel her artistic responsibility and unwavering commitment to telling these stories with honesty, devoid of embellishment. Her canvases offer a sanctuary for releasing anger and frustration, transmuting emotions into positive energy.
In recognition of her unyielding devotion, Mentu received the 36th Annual DC Mayor’s Bowsers Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts. Her soulful creations reside at EthioGallery.com, her online art sanctuary, and Coobaya.com, her marketplace, where they continue to inspire all who behold them.
In the tapestry of my day-to-day existence, I uncover life’s sweetest treasures in the small moments, where the essence of beauty resides. Among these treasures, I’ve unearthed a profound appreciation for the power of color—a force of boundless vibrancy and diversity that infuses our lives with enduring joy.
For African migrants, adrift in unfamiliar lands, color emerges as an indispensable solace amidst the complexities of adaptation. It is a kaleidoscope woven into the very fabric of art, nature, and culture, offering a reassuring embrace—a vivid reminder of the intricate path each soul treads.
These hues, far more than mere visual splendor, manifest as a wellspring of solace, connecting us to the breathtaking tapestry of our world’s diversity. Remarkably, they serve as a bridge, linking us to the cherished warmth of our distant homelands. This is why color has forever held a special place in my heart, for it possesses the remarkable capacity to soften the sharp edges of even the most challenging narratives, rendering them not only bearable but beautifully embraced.
The Motown Belt
Virginia Primozic was born in New Mexico, but has been nomadic since the age of six, her journey including Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and France. Virginia’s mother was also a professional artist, working primarily in oils, and it was through her influence that Virginia first began to consider paper as a primary medium.
Virginia’s condensed list of influences includes familiar names from the world of collage, such as Braque, Matisse, and Peter Blake. Closer to home, Virginia appreciates the way Edward Gonzales uses blocks of color, and the way Bill Baker doesn’t blend his pastels. She also draws inspiration from artists working in a variety of other media.
Virginia holds an Associate of Applied Arts in Gallery Management from Santa Fe Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. She has won awards in mixed media and recognition from the National Collage Society. Virginia’s work has also been selected for the permanent collections of public art at the Albuquerque International Airport, the McKinley County Courthouse, Central New Mexico Community College, and the Gallup New Deal Art Virtual Museum.
Virginia currently lives and works in Gallup, NM, on the southern edge of the Navajo Nation, surrounded by the beauty of the southwest’s high desert landscape.
I “paint” with paper, applied to canvas with clear acrylic. Sometimes a paper is just the right shade; otherwise, multiple layers and combinations are required to achieve the right hue and intensity. Organic papers, infused with natural colors and fibers, add their own beauty―some thin enough to function as a glaze, others heavy and difficult to control. Each work is an experiment, as I layer combinations of the various papers’ unique textures, weights, and colors. While influenced by historical figures of collage art such as Matisse and Peter Blake, I am focused on using paper to create the effect of paint on the canvas. The process is both challenging and satisfying.
Paper unifies my work, no matter the subject. I choose motifs that are meaningful to me, impress me with their intensity and depth of color, or that communicate simple truth, goodness, and beauty. I hope to draw my viewers into a shared moment, memory, or emotion beyond the rendering on the canvas.
The Mysterious Woman
Carmen Cecilia Rusu is an artist born in Dej and has recently established herself in the field through numerous painting exhibitions in which she has actively participated. Since 2014, the artist has rekindled her childhood passion, namely painting, and has, to date, taken part in 46 national exhibitions and 168 international exhibitions spanning Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Germany, England, Switzerland, France, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, and the U.S.A. Furthermore, she has held four personal exhibitions in Florence, Italy, and Turda, Cluj, Romania.
Throughout her exhibitions, Carmen Cecilia Rusu consistently introduces new works and fresh perspectives. Each time, she presents a different theme and stylistic approach, yet there exists a common thread that unites all her artworks. Whether through her unique approach to texture and painterly materials or her ability to infuse images with a certain compelling force, she strives to translate subjects into a pictorial language and convey the energy inherent in the materials.
To gain a deeper understanding of her artistic world, one can consider the following statement regarding her work: “Indeed, her works are atypical, and I believe her success can be attributed to the absolutely original and unmistakable style, characterized by the interplay of colors, where one hue is based on another—a chromatic tandem rich in symbolism.” – Felicia Racean
Through painting I see beyond the limits of the existential, I see everything. I discover mysteries and create new ones. The presence of the mystery and the need to elucidate it causes the viewer to travel in the universe created by me and made available to those who have the desire to escape from it. That means ART!