Angela In RED

Nayana LaFond resides in Massachusetts where she is a multimedia artivist working in acrylic on canvas, rebar, glass, concrete, and more to create works that challenge what is considered acceptable in society and spark discussions about change. Nayana has also been a curator for over 20 years including chief curator for the Whitney center for the arts and sits on several boards including Artist Organized Art, Be The Change, and the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation among others.

Angela is a survivor.

In indigenous cultures, we believe that spirits can only see the color red. The possible never-ending painting series I began in 2020 is currently up to 90 portraits to raise awareness about the missing and murdered indigenous people’s crisis. Each is a victim, survivor, activist, or family member of someone who is missing or was murdered and they are all painted in black and white with red being the only visible color. I paint them the way the spirits would see them call the spirits home.

This project began as catharsis for personal experiences, as most of my work is. However, it has evolved into being about healing and medicine for my people. Families now come to me and I paint them or they are loved on for free and give them free prints and exhibit the originals to raise awareness and spark change. I always have a queue of at least 30 and don’t see an end for this project in sight. nayanaarts.com for more informatio

Anger – Krodh

Subodh Maheshwari was born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, North India where she learned folk art and classical music. She passionately believes: “In the threshold of my life, my present is the window to the past and a key to the future”. She acquired her degrees and studied art at Agra University, California State University of Fullerton, and the University of California Irvine. Subodh has won numerous awards, including the Regional Fellowship Award at UCI in 1986, the Bharat Gaurav Award in India in 2015, and the 60 Masters Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She is also registered in Marquis’ “Who’s Who in America”, the standard in biographical information. Her paintings have also won awards in a variety of categories including landscape, open, all women, nature, elements, seasons, and abstract.

Subodh is a diversified artist who enjoys telling stories through her artwork, whether it is through landscape, flowers, or abstract art. Her art is a fusion of Eastern symbolism and Western composition, influenced by 16th and 17th century Rajasthani and Mogul art, and accented by poetry, passages, and phrases in Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. She admires Georgia O’Keeffe for her floral influence, and Frida Kahlo for her courage. Whether it is the serene beauty of nature, her spirituality, or the current political climate, she finds inspiration. Having a life shared between India and America, she sees the beautiful similarities, like love which transcends all borders. Highly individual in her style, her works are described as emotional, mysterious, personal, spiritual, and humorous.

Anonymous In RED

Anonymous is a two-spirit and a survivor.

Answered Prayer

Alicia is a storyteller at heart and interpreting her visual tales, through her paintings, brings her great joy. These inspirations stem from Alicia’s symbolic imagination representing secret realms filled with magnificent depths of femininity and beauty. Alicia’s paintings are captivating, and her compositions are executed with intent and motive. “My portraits are linked together through precise and distinctive placements. I purposely fill the atmosphere with visual fragrances that linger in the air and connect with viewers as they personally identify with the unfolding narratives.”

I am convinced that each of us holds treasure hidden in the depths of our hearts. As a professional artist, it is my aim to provide images that help unlock these great treasures. The illumination of beautiful narratives has the power to resonate with the collector. The image reflects the truth, promoting a release of identity and value. As you view my work, take it in. Allow what might lay concealed to be realized.

Antardwadwa (Dilemma)

Nupur Nishith is a USA-based, award-winning artist inspired by Mithila or Madhubani paintings. Roots in Darbhanga-Madhubani, like any Maithil girl, Nupur inherited Mithila Art from her Mother, Dr Mridula Prakash, the first PhD in History of Mithila Painting. She did an MBA and pursued a career in Marketing and Banking with Bank of Baroda. Relocated to the US when her husband was transferred to the New York office in 2011. She rediscovered her art and developed her unique and distinct style in the contemporary art world with a traditional art form, using varied themes and tools. Works on various surfaces ranging from Paper, Canvas, Glass, Clay, Ceramic, Wood, Aluminum, Murals on walls, ceilings, and floors, and installations to Digital tools and software. Her painting Dheeya was awarded by a jury from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY. Her art has featured in United Nations, Consulate General Of India, NY, Disney family house, Dr Harvey Manes, Nassau County Museum of Art, NY, Asian Art Museum, SFO, CA, Gracie Mansion, New York Mayor Residence, CBS Sunday Morning News, ABC7 News, News12 NY, Huffington Post, Daily California, Indian National Award winning movie Mithila Makhaan among others. With more than 60 exhibitions in the US, she has 8 Solo exhibitions and around 6 Curatorial ventures. Art Ambassador to share dias as a Speaker for Art and Culture of Bihar with Hon. Consulate General of India, NY, and Emmy Nominated Host to some of the internationally acclaimed people, International Mithila Mahila Summit, Nupur is a great advocate of Mithila Art and Culture globally. Nupur actively supports other Artists as one of the leaders in various art organizations, including former Vice President, Pro Arts, the leading art group in New Jersey. She is the founder of Creative Mithila, which intends to promote Mithila Art globally.

I practice art inspired by Mithila or Madhubani folk art from India. I paint on canvas, paper, cloth, wood, ceramic, terracotta, glass, aluminum, along with murals on walls, ceilings, floors, and 3D installations. Even digital paintings for an even wider reach. I have evolved a unique style of art with an amalgamation of traditional motifs of ancient folk art with modern contemporary themes and tools with global appeal.

Mithila Artform is famous for the details in the paintings in a flat two-dimensional perspective with no shading or overlapping. Taking it to the next level, I draw inspiration for my art from my experience and surroundings. I visualize objects and situations in perspective to create the symbolic motifs and designs that make my art unique and distinct. Mithila paintings use natural and bright colors with symbolic distinct features, which I never hesitate to experiment with while conserving the essence of the art form. While a set of my paintings is inspired by the colors in the artform, mostly primary colors, the other set is mostly black and white or subtle use of a few colors in line work, also inspired by the artform. Paints range from various contemporary commercial paints to natural vegetable paints used with brush or dip nibs. I like to work mostly freehand without using any stencils or pattern tools on my projects.

I have learned through observation and everyday experiments. During research and production, new areas of interest arise and lead to the next body of work. So, every piece that I create has a story to tell based on the research and its process of development

Anticipate The Sunset

In my work, I explore the transformative power of abstraction; how color, texture, and form can combine to create something far greater than their individual parts. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, watching my mother paint. She taught me to paint what you know, and how you see and feel it. I add texture that pops off the canvas and tricks the eyes into feeling the bumpy tree trunk. I use my palette knife to paint just as much as my brushes. Unless I’m working on a commission, I rarely know what the end of my painting is going to look like. Experimentation is the most gratifying part of the painting process. Each painting begins with a variety of underpainting techniques, including alcohol ink, mixed media paper, texture, and sometimes oil pastels. After the underpainting sets, I finish my story with oils for a rich finishing layer of depth. The layers of texture invite viewers to see beyond the flat surface of a landscape or portrait. The gold woven into my paintings is a reminder of the beauty and magic found in unexpected places. My inspiration is driven by the colors of nature and the emotions of gratitude. I’d like to think each piece I create will give some warmth and brightness to whoever stands in front of it.

When we face adversity, whether it be loss, failure, or emotional upheaval, we are forced to confront vulnerabilities and weaknesses. It’s in this confrontation that healing and growth occur. Last year was a difficult year personally for me, as I lost my mother to cancer, and I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Through my treatment, I felt so overwhelmed by a range of emotions that eventually inspired my artwork. My current collection symbolizes the unique process of overcoming emotional trauma and evolving into a more resilient, gracious, and powerful version of oneself. Each piece is a visual and sensory narrative of my personal experience, a reflection of both the struggle and the eventual emergence of strength and clarity, or even a simple moment of gratitude for the earth’s gifts we receive. The works share not the grief and despair, but the rebirth and awakening of a new beginning by including imagery that inspires and connects with the viewers. My hope is to encourage, connect, console, and give hope to others who may need comfort in the notion that we are resilient creatures. Collaboratively, the collection of artwork is bright, expansive, full of vibrant colors, fluid lines, and forms that are whole or mended. Lavish underpaintings of mixed media and layers of emotion reflecting my personal evolution and a universal invitation to the audience to see the potential for resilience and hope in their own lives, no matter how difficult their journey may seem. “The Journey of Resilience” is a message of hope, gratitude, and perseverance to anyone sharing the same difficult path in life.

Antigua Handicrafts

Karen Safer is an international, award-winning photographic artist and poet with a musical bent. A Los Angeles native, born to creative, scholarly-minded parents who encouraged her world travel (230+ countries/territories visited).

Early on, she was greatly influenced by movies, music, books, and plays, and as a student of art and history, inspired by ancients to moderns – Assyria to Cindy Sherman. She has a bachelor’s/master’s degree in Art from UCLA and California State University. She is a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, IAA-USA, Women United, Praxis Gallery, LACMA, MOCA, IAA-USA, in Who’s Who of Professional Women, ArtTour Magazine (NY), AATOLAU interview, Artist Talk Magazine (UK), Lens Magazine, etc. She was given a camera and crayons at 3 and exposed to/inspired by California motifs: light, trees, the ocean, music, and vernacular architecture that defined/influenced her left-handed aesthetic. She began taking pictures of family and friends, progressing from painting to developing black-and-white photos in college. She was fortunate to begin a life of travel as a teen that shaped her love of the exotic paired with an eye for the formal, accidental, and unusual while subliminally seeking the “beautiful” that jiggles the lens/frame of my eye.

She is featured in magazines, catalogs, and books and exhibited internationally in over 80+ galleries/museums with over 370+ exhibitions from London, Rome, Berlin, Glasgow, Budapest, Athens, Prague, Paris, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Sao Paulo, from California to New York, winning 360+ First and other awards – most recently: Black & White SPIDER Awards nominee, 21st Julia Margaret Cameron Awards in Abstract and in Architecture categories, Botticelli International Prize in Florence, LA Art Show 2024, 17th Annual Color Awards and soon in Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Art Expos in Basel and Armenian Modern Art Museum in Yerevan.

“A photographer has the whole world big or small to capture.” – kjs

Influences: I am a student of art, architecture, history, literature, film, and music. I have been heavily influenced by so many sources but here I’ve chosen to highlight art and photography influences from Hopper to Cartier-Bresson and from Atget to Cindy Sherman. So many influences on life from cities to nature to music and art. I love color and all its vibrance while I venerate black and white. I embrace all the many influences that have touched my art and my life deeply.

Anxiety

Born in Copenhagen on November 5, 1973, Jasper is an artist who trained herself from the ground up. As a child, Jasper felt the liberation and delight of creating art. He had experience as both a carpenter and a construction architect. He had returned to painting as an expressive, enjoyable, and freeing activity. He became more well-known for his work in 2018 after joining an art club. Major art galleries all around the world have hosted his exhibitions, such as Zenith Art & Fashion, Miami, USA, VAN GOGH Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain, Capital Culture House, Madrid, Spain. He has been featured at the M.A.D.S Art Gallery, Milan, Italy, Artifact, NY, USA, Artio Gallery, NY, USA, HMVC Gallery New York, NY, USA, World of Crete, Greece, The Holy Art Gallery, London, UK, and ArtSpace Innovations, London, UK. He is featured online on PLOGIX Art Gallery, London, UK, TRiCERA Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, Artavita, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, Artifact, NY, USA, HMVC Gallery New York, NY, USA, Singulart, Paris, FR, and Circle Foundation For The Arts, Lyon, FR. He won the coveted International Prize Donatello, Florence, Italy, Top Artists The Protagonists of Contemporary Art, Venice, Italy, Creative Excellence Award 2023, Artistic Excellence Award 2023, Masterful Mind Award 2024, and Honorable Mention Award 2024, Circle Foundation For The Arts, Lyon, FR. A participant in The European Art Guide 21/22, Bellamonti Art, Helsingborg, Sweden, Art Anthology III 2021, Art Anthology VII 2024, Guto Ajayu Culture, Madrid, Spain, Art in America Annual Guide 2023 and 2024, Artifact, NY, USA, Masterful Minds Digital Magazine Vol. 1 and 2, 2024, Circle Foundation For The Arts, Lyon, FR, The Holy Art Gallery Magazine 2024, London, UK. Interviewed in 2024 by Aatonau, Osaka, Japan, and in 2020 by The Magazine of Contemporary Art, The MoCA, LA, USA. He took over the 2020 @10011mag Instagram account for 24 hours, where he shared his personal artworks, experiences, and studio via live stories and posts in NY, USA.

Shapes and colors represent my aspirations, fears, and inner monologues. Instead of praising achievements, I highlight qualities like sweetness, honesty, empathy, and love. My life story is incomplete without love. I came from a world where men are wicked, egotistical, stupid, harsh, and dishonest. Because of them, I transitioned from being a happy, loving person to developing a mental disorder and experiencing feelings of social anxiety and frustration. From a young age forward, this occurrence made me afraid of women. For males, having sex with women is the ultimate fulfillment of their dreams. When love is absent, jealousy and malicious intentions flourish.

I hope that individuals might become more honest, authentic, accepting, loving, and courageous by seeing the parallels between fake looks, living masks, being oneself, and cool performances. The tribal way of life is quite like the loving way of life, yet love promotes harmony, peace, and happiness, and my goal is to bring these things together somehow. I promote liberation, simplicity, tolerance, calm, self-expression, and a love revolution through the iconography of Indigenous people and my sweet, loving artwork. I banish evil and fear, paving the way for love, harmony, and peace so that people are happy and fulfilled in every aspect of their lives.

AOC

When I was in grade school and high school, I did a lot of art. I like to think it offered me an incredible foundation for what would come much later. In high school, I studied under Walt Bartman, doing oil painting primarily. I was accepted into the Maryland College of Art and Design on a figure drawing scholarship program that they offered to high school students when I was 16. After high school, I went on to pursue my other passion — helping people. I’ve spent the last 25 years working as a psychotherapist. Sometime in the middle of all of that, I had kids (twins), and eventually came back to drawing in 2017. What I do now is primarily self-taught, though I do feel my training and education as a child have created an invaluable foundation for my work today. I’ve watched countless hours of slowed-down YouTube videos and tutorials, and have spent thousands of hours drawing, practicing, and improving. It’s been a wonderful and challenging journey, and I’ve loved every minute of it! My goal moving forward is to continue to learn and challenge myself as I transition to art full-time. I feel the next step is to get my name out there to the art world. I have just recently started applying to calls via café, and have been accepted into a small handful of international juried shows. My goal as an artist is the same as my goal as a human — connection. I work to find the place where we all meet; that place where our differences recede, and we can settle in. That’s why I draw, to find that snapshot moment where someone can look at my art and go, Oh, yes. I know that feeling.

My artistic practice centers on portraiture—on drawing out the unseen essence of a subject and translating it through the delicate control of graphite. I explore the quiet power of detail—each mark is an invitation to slow down, to look closer, and to witness what is often overlooked. Every drawing is a form of deep listening, an act of attention that honors the emotional and psychological presence of the individual.

I believe hyperrealism, when pursued with discipline and sensitivity, becomes more than a replication of the visible world—it becomes a mirror, a bridge, and sometimes, a wound made visible. I’m fascinated by the complexity of the human face and the subtle interplay of light, texture, and expression that gives a portrait its emotional charge. As a psychotherapist, I’m naturally attuned to nuance, which shapes my artistic philosophy: that realism can reveal as much about the internal world as the external one. It allows me to build tonal depth slowly, almost sculpturally, honoring the patience, presence, and attention each subject deserves.

My goal as an artist is the same as my goal as a human — connection. I work to find the place where we all meet; that place where our differences recede, and we can settle in. That’s why I draw, to find that snapshot moment where someone can look at my art and go, Oh, yes. I know that feeling.

My style has evolved over the last eight years to a refined form of realism that balances technical control with expressive intent. I see art as a language, and my goal is to create a sense of atmosphere and feeling. I’m currently exploring new directions, including the integration of charcoal for its expressive depth and contrast. I’ve just completed my largest piece to date—a graphite portrait measuring three feet tall and two feet wide—which has expanded both my physical and emotional engagement with the medium, allowing space for story, intimacy, and connection.

My goal is to create drawings that don’t simply replicate life but evoke it—quietly, powerfully, and with honesty.