Every Breath You Take
Julie Harris has been included in over two hundred regional, national and international shows. Highlights include a solo exhibition at BSB Gallery in Trenton, New Jersey, and three traveling shows; Contain Your Fear Art Exhibit, initiated in Chicago, A Complex Weave: Women and Identity in Contemporary Art, initiated in New Jersey, and Underneath it All, initiated in Washington D.C. Underneath it All, exhibited in Soho New York City in 2014 at ISE Gallery where Julie lectured about her creative work. Currently, she is the Head of Printmaking at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, in close proximity to Manhattan. She continues to work primarily in intaglio printmaking, silkscreen handmade paper, and book art. At present, her creative work focuses on the dysfunctional family and the effects caused by this narrative.
I am interested in materials that are old, used, and worn. The “Memory Threads” are made from thread and ephemeral materials abandoned by old photographs and clothing. I am interested in the stories that materials hold and who has touched them. I also love the fragility of the materials and how they must be handled with care. The “Memory Threads” are memory catchers, something to hold onto and look after like the significant memories you don’t want to lose. These remind me of fragments of memories that get lost. I believe that our memories are what make us individuals. I also enjoy how fragments of words can be seen in the “Memory Threads”. I am starting to understand more about my own art-making as time goes on, and that art-making is a ritual with transitory abilities. Objects can be transformed in the act of making. My approach to my work is organic, a response to both emotions and material. I let the pieces grow from the initial response and I enjoy watching them as it unfolds.
Everybody Has A Subway Story; Don’t Become One.
Michele Matthews (B. 1989) grew up and currently lives on Long Island, New York. She received her BFA from Adelphi University in 2011 and was awarded the Hugh A. Wilson Award for Excellence in Abstract Painting that same year. In recent years, she has received several merit scholarships from Urban Glass Studio in Brooklyn, allowing her to study and explore light, color, and the urban landscape using glass. The structures and subway system of Manhattan have intrigued her as she grew up and influenced her art greatly, becoming the focus of her art. Michele enjoys using gouache, acrylic, and flashe paints on paper and canvas, while also begging to incorporate glass as a new medium to further experience color, light, and the urban landscape of Manhattan.
The Manhattan skyline is filled with complex elements that are in a constant state of evolution & continues to expand before our eyes. On the surface, buildings grow as tall as trees, overlapping each other with size and design; while trains mix & mingle in the rivers of tunnels down below, burrowing deep underground connecting the populous of Manhattan. Often focusing on quick snapshots taken around the city, observing the relationships of the everyday people & objects existing within the larger world of Manhattan. I enjoy mapping out the shapes & colors I see, working from photographs taken on site. Through quick studies & sketches of each scene, the image becomes a narrative, presenting to the viewer a quick snapshot of the city. The quick narratives & interactions presented in my work, combined with the expression of color and light that is unique to the Manhattan landscape, aid in the expression that few may experience while they are exploring themselves.
Everything Is Temporary
Before she could even drive a car, Kira Evans would jump on her bike and suffer the blazing sun to ride to a local comic book store to grab the latest issue of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Growing up in West Texas, this monthly look into New York sparked her interest in type, image, and art at a young age.
Using Interview, National Geographic, and Time magazine, Kira created decoupage collages on anything within reach, yogurt containers, small trash bins, and even her bedroom door.
After earning a degree in Advertising & Public Relations with a minor in Graphic Design from Texas Christian University, she studied Intercultural Communications at Oxford University in England.
Over the years, she has worked as a graphic designer, art director, creative producer, and strategist in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Each stop along the way has widened her experience as well as allowed her to continue learning new skills such as printmaking, photography, and large-scale projections.
While working on an album cover for a jazz artist, Kira returned to creating collages, deploying the ephemera and materials that she has collected to create stunning new works.
Learning to work without a creative brief and a client has been a welcome challenge as I tilt my attention to fine art from design to commerce. With every piece I create, I get closer to finding my own voice. My work is abstractly made from analog cuttings from the best photographs from fashion magazines.
I gravitate to the pieces on the edge of the subject, the lighting, and the way when the piece is removed, it reveals its own ability to convey a mood and a sense of place. My works are about creating bold, cinematic abstract atmospheres that represent places I want to see and feel I want to feel. These pieces are analog, hand-cut papers, assembled, and photographed to make large printmaking possible.
Eviscerate
Craig Garner
Marina del Rey, CA
Born and raised with music and art around me, at the age of 22 I forwent the arts and pursued an entirely different path. After a decade down this road, I needed to escape. Believing I had found sanctuary, I proceeded with reckless abandon on a dangerous path. Fortunately, the art followed. And just like hope’s choice to remain in Pandora’s box, art did not abandon me. From a distraction to a passion, art endured. My chosen profession offered little practical guidance, but it is where I found inspiration. A handful of paintings soon become dozens which now have become hundreds. And I finally have the opportunity to refine and share.
Evolution
Michael W. Surber is an award-winning Ohio-based artist known for his paintings and murals. From a young age, he has always had a desire for art. Michael graduated college with a degree in Graphic Design. Michael is also a member of the Dayton Society of Artists in Ohio, Preble Arts, and the Springfield Museum of Art. His work has been in galleries all around the world, and he has had his work curated by Anthony Fawcett (curator for Andy Warhol and John Lennon). Michael’s artwork has been sold all over the world. Michael’s artwork has been described by collectors and curators as poetic, essential, experimental, primal, colorful, and storytelling. A curator from Milan, Italy, even went so far to compare his technique and creative process as “similar to Master Picasso”.
My motto has always been “Dream in Color”. It’s on my shop site and was the title of one of my solo exhibits. Dreaming in color is like painting the canvas of your imagination with vibrant hues of possibility. It’s about embracing the richness of life’s experiences, infusing each moment with the brilliance of your dreams and aspirations. When we dream in color, we awaken the creative forces within us, allowing our minds to wander through landscapes of endless potential. Every thought becomes a brushstroke, every idea a splash of color, as we explore the boundless depth of our imagination. In a world often painted in shades of gray, dreaming in color is a rebellion against monotony, a celebration of the extraordinary. It’s about daring to envision a brighter tomorrow, to see beyond the ordinary, and embrace the extraordinary.
Evolution II
Immediately after Secondary School, she took various painting and painting sculpture lessons, followed for several years by painting lessons in the Stedelijk Museum with the painter Peter Schenk.
She also followed and completed the evening academy at the “Kleine Academie” in Amsterdam, lined up at the Rietveld Academy. Marianne also followed a teacher training in drawing and textiles. At that time she gave lessons at a school in Amsterdam.
She initially worked with various materials such as oil paint, pastel, watercolor, gouache, etc. The last few years mainly with acrylics. She works from her own studio.
Marianne also makes and paints objects. She regularly works on assignments and exhibits at home and abroad, in both galleries and museums. She has won several prizes, both nationally and internationally. Marianne is a member of the VAK.
Marianne signs her work under the name MARFEL
How I experience the world, life, my contact with people, and nature around me is the starting point for connecting with this through my art. I express this emotionally through the colors and shapes in my work and the title that ultimately gives my paintings.
Through my art, I try to express the feeling that lives inside and outside me and to convey this to the viewer, and visitors of my work and in that way make connections
I also want to make people happy with my art.
Exasperate
Vince Quevedo is an esteemed designer and artist widely recognized for his exceptional contributions to fashion design, wearable art, art quilts, and innovative teaching methodologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Clothing and Textiles, a Master of Science in Workforce Education and Development, and a Master of Fine Arts in textiles/fiber from esteemed institutions. With 35 years of experience, Quevedo has garnered acclaim as a finalist and winner in the American Quilter’s Association’s design competition for twenty years. His designs have graced the renowned Bernina Fashion Show, and he holds four patents in functional and aesthetic design. Furthermore, he is the proprietor of Vinci Design Studios, which provides complimentary equipment, fashion education, and consulting services to various organizations. Professor Quevedo’s exceptional expertise and numerous achievements distinguish him in his field.
My artistic journey is a vibrant tapestry intricately woven from the threads of human experience, reflective practice, and the joy of creating. Through the delicate art of quilting, the warmth of handcrafting, and the lens of photography, I delve deep into the diverse layers of contemporary culture and society.
Nestled within the realm of arts and culture, my work celebrates the boundless imagination of the human spirit as expressed through art. Design thinking is the compass guiding my creative exploration, allowing me to transform personal insights and fleeting ideas into tangible works of art that resonate.
In my quest for innovation, I embraced digital technology, breathing life into my concepts and crafting a unique, captivating narrative for viewers to immerse themselves in. Each piece invites an interaction, sparking conversation and reflection as I share my vision of a world seen through my eyes.
Exhausted Youth Valletta
Karen Safer is an international, award-winning California photographic artist, writer, and poet. As a native Angelino, she was given a camera and crayons at 3 and exposed to dominant California motifs: light, palm trees, the ocean, music, and vernacular architecture that helped define and influence her left-handed aesthetic. Being fortunate to begin a life of travel as a pre-teen, it shaped her love of the exotic, accidental, and unusual that jiggled the lens/frame of her eye; subsequently, she has traveled and photographed in over 230 countries and territories. She was influenced by her dad, who developed black & white photos in their washroom/turned darkroom, and by her mother’s thirst for knowledge and travel. She has a master’s degree in art cum laude, a career in design and architecture, and is principal of ArtFocus International. She’s been in 14 solo shows, exhibited in over 500+ international/national venues, received over 430+ awards, is in private collections, featured in over 100 publications, including Who’s Who In Professional Women, and is a self-described “romantic soul” with intellectual cravings living in a digital world.
Influenced by everything, she has been honored with TIFA, Tokyo International Foto Awards 2025 PISPA (Paris International Street Photography Awards) 2024, ReFocus and Exposure One B&W Awards, National Photographic Society Awards, Julia Margaret Cameron FotoNostrum Awards, B&W Spider Awards, Botticelli International Prize (Florence), International COLOR awards; featured in Dodho, Docu, LENS, Women United, Spotlight, ArtTour and Artist Talk Magazine, The Holy Art, etc.; and continues exhibiting in Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, Barcelona, Paris, London, Glasgow, Rome, Berlin, Basel, Dubai, Venice, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, etc. from California to New York, member of IAA-USA, LA Art Association, LA Center for Photography, etc.
I’ve always been an artist. I embrace the natural world and man-made as well. I am influenced by everything from the ancients to Cindy Sherman, and while I embrace color, I revere black and white. I am a student of the universe, history, art, architecture, music, literature, and all the arts.
I got a camera and some crayons as a kid,
journeyed along a path in life – far from what I’d expected,
moved from youth to middle age,
did some work, had some fun, got high, got low,
and just continue doing it – never tiring of the next visual surprise.
– Life is still a mystery, after all. – kjs
Motos: “A photographer has the whole world, big or small, to capture.” kj safer
And wherever I am in the world, it’s my favorite place!! kj safer
Exhibit C Proud And Free
Boe Beryl is a mixed media artist based in San Diego, whose work spans abstract compositions, sculpture, and multimedia installations. Her art is deeply rooted in exploring the complexities of identity, with a particular focus on intersectionality; race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion. Boe’s work draws inspiration from the rich legacy of Black artists across generations, such as Clementine Hunter, Faith Ringgold, Kara Walker, Genesis Tremaine, Norman Lewis, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. These artists, with their diverse interpretations of the Black experience, fuel her creative process and contribute to her reflections on politics, societal issues, and the struggle for self-determination. Through a unique fusion of textures, materials, and mediums, Boe invites viewers into a conversation about the layered realities of identity and belonging. She has exhibited in various galleries, continuously challenging the boundaries of traditional art forms, and fostering meaningful dialogue around the dynamics of identity, power, and representation.
My work explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, navigating the complexities of identity through layered forms and narratives. I examine how these dimensions shape personal and collective experiences while contending with external forces that seek to define them. My art confronts societal pressures, inviting viewers to question the roles that politics, sexuality, and culture play in shaping identity.
Part 1 – The Diaspora in America: Outward Reflections and Intimate Expressions focuses on the experiences of the African diaspora in America. The white canvas surrounding the images highlights the tension between how marginalized identities are viewed externally and their intimate realities. The varying amounts of white paint symbolize the influence of mainstream society on different subgroups within the Black diaspora. Jagged lines and fragmented shapes capture the discord of navigating a world that attempts to define Black identity through narrow lenses.
The centerpiece, a Peinture double face, reflects the imposition of white narratives on Black spaces and psyches, stripping away agency and culture. Yet, Blackness stands resilient at the core, reflecting the white gaze back on its owners and purging stereotypes. The subject is surrounded by a red background, symbolizing the lifeblood of the Black experience. Throughout my work, there is a level of pride – cast through the subjects looking directly at the viewer.
Through my pieces, I explore vulnerability and resilience, reflecting on the ongoing struggle for self-determination amidst a world that often confines marginalized communities. My art is not just a reflection but a celebration of the richness of layered identities.