Wonderland International Juried Exhibition
Wonderland welcomes an array of media, including digital media, painting, collage, textiles, and installations. Wonderland reimagines the Trolley Barn 3,000 square foot gallery as a transcendental empire of cosmic expansion and ephemeral fascination. We find excitement in the curious. We invite work that disrupts standard notions of reality by exploring the Wonderland we create for ourselves. We ask – we recklessly ponder – how can your art help us reimagine our reality and create positive change in our community?
The Trolley Barn Gallery brings together an international roster of vital voices; presenting thought-provoking artwork and ideas in a renovated industrial space that is the hub for the area’s thriving arts scene. The Wonderland International Juried Exhibition was the point of entry to the PKX Wonderland Festival, September 15-17, 2022. The PKX Wonderland Festival will attracted hundreds of visitors and featured the unveiling of original public art commissions, performances, and creative activities in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery.
Curator, Allison M. Glenn in collaboration with youth from The Art Effect’s Curatorial Program
Allison Glenn works collaboratively with The Art Effect’s Youth Curatorial Team to curate the Wonderland exhibition, selecting artworks from submissions from around the globe. Glenn received substantial critical and community praise for her curatorial work in the groundbreaking exhibition at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky titled, Promise, Witness, Remembrance, an exhibition that reflected on the life of Breonna Taylor, centered on her portrait painted by Amy Sherald. The New York Times selected the exhibition as one of the Best Art Exhibitions of 2021.
Gallery Hours
Exhibition: September 15 – October 20
Wednesday-Friday: 2-5PM • Saturday: 12-4 PM
(during exhibitions only) (Open Saturday, October 1, 6-8pm)
Virtual Artist Talk
Wonderland Virtual Gallery
This Is Just a Chandelier, Harrison Brisbon-McKinnon • Photography, $300
“My art is a manifestation of my perceptions of the world. I strive to make space for my own opinion and give weight to my ideas. There is power in displaying one’s thoughts. I create to step into power.”
Abstrcting Eternity – Veil Nebula • Jin Zixiong, $1,425
“During the tough time of the pandemic. I decided to take a year off and moved from Seattle to western Texas to work on my one-year astrophotography project. I spent over a year camping near the border between the United States and Mexico because of its great weather condition. I used a telescope, a monochrome cooling camera, an equatorial mount, and a motorized optical filter wheel that included Hydrogen-Alpha, Oxygen-III, Sulfur-II, Red, Green, Blue, and Luminance filters to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe.”
Eleanor in a Witchcraft Scene II: The Dance • Eleanor Olson, $1,200
“From my studio I gaze upon a collection of objects- a human skull, a moose scapula, a pinned butterfly- and I muse on what it means to be a person in a world divided into human and animal. Utilizing a surrealist approach, I combine scientific investigations with classical oil painting creating tableaus exploring my personhood in the anthropocene. I paint figurative compositions, make artist books and performative installations. My paintings utilize a contemporary color palette and a variety of visual languages ranging from romantic to scientific. My implementation of digital collage sketches emphasizes surreality through jarring scale shifts, misplacement, and hard edged collaged remnants while allowing me to cohesively blend some areas.”
Wonder • Jessica Libor, $300
“My work is about the feminine protagonist creating her own personal mythology and meaning. In life, our choices help us discover who we are and who we are going to be. It is through this process of self discovery that we begin to know ourselves. Through using the symbology and tropes found within fairytales, I explore the concept of the virgin’s promise: the process of self discovery that the heroine faces that forces her to turn inwards and to find her own identity; making choices all her own against prevailing odds. It is through strengthening her own sense of self and ownership of her destiny that the protagonist creates the ability to improve her own life and the lives of those within her kingdom. Other concepts that relate to my work are the reflection of nature mirroring the feminine biology and spirit, the use of costuming and fashion to create identity, and animal symbology. My mediums include oils, mixed media, precious metals, dry mediums such as pastel and charcoal, and sometimes film and installation. I love the idea of making a precious object, such was created historically with the use of precious materials. When I use gold and silver leaf, I am conscious of this alchemical and sacred history as I create my own precious object imbued with ideas and meaning.” Jessica Libor is an American artist who received her Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2014. She works in her studio in Philadelphia, and also serves as an art professor at Harcum College. She is also the host of the Inspired Painter Podcast, teaches at the Visionary Artist’s Salon, and curates at Era Contemporary Gallery.”
Immaculate Conception • Katie Cerato • Inquire About Price
“My work explores the underlying spirit force which unites the universe. With our limited lifespans, human beings live mini and simultaneous narratives; our finite vision precludes us from seeing the interconnectedness of all things.
Consequently, my work seeks to synthesize an elusive alchemical principle: the presence of the whole within the part. Within our limited individual experiences of reality we are each constituted of the same particles of infinity, to which we will someday return. The foundation of my work is polarity; the unification of opposites (holding together a paradox within one’s own mind) is a powerful, magical thing.
I focus on minerals because their formation embodies the universe’s profound organization on the most fundamental atomic level. The growth of a crystal involves the exact arrangement of more than ten billion molecules a minute– a self-regulating assemblage of the universe’s most basic building blocks. The intersection of minerals’ ever repeating patterns are the places where science meets magic and nature inspires technology.
My process is one of intuition and induction. My practice oscillates between part and whole, concrete and abstract, accumulation and dissolution. Like crystallization, I work inductively: moving from the details of the micro to the broader structure of the macro, while the beholder may only enter from the outside inward.
At all stages of my process, I construct my work intuitively in layers— some visible, others obscured– each charged with intention. Like the layers of rock from whom we have developed our scale of geologic time, traces of this process always remain: the manifestations of weathering as temporal evidence of past conditions. These remnants invite the viewer up close to study the materiality as well as the meaning of the images’ arrangement. I hope to evoke an experience that mirrors my sensation of existing in a universe inundated with deluges of information— both psychic and physical.”
Untitled #3 • Joseph Gattulli, NFS
“I’m Joseph Gattulli, an artist based on Long Island, New York.
My work centres around the key themes both healing and closure. The body of work is an expression and representation of my own internal healing process.
The individual marks, patterns and shapes both intentional and accidental are an artistic expression of an emotion I am either healing from or manifesting within the piece.
My use of color is intentional and representative of various emotions. Passion and energy are conveyed through the use of red hues. Darker hues such as black symbolise ignorance, sorrow and evil – both experienced and felt. The use of white hues is for innocence and the feeling of fear.
The physical shapes within my work are also symbolic; the key one being circles. I am drawn to geometric shapes without divisions or are uniform and complete. This unity, without a clear beginning or end is much like life and our experiences – we don’t always need to know where we are starting and where we are going to.”
Town Hall • Lydia Dildilian • $950
“My work explores the complicated relationships between land and American identity by recontextualizing, examining, and investigating the idea of the American Dream with the contemporary and historical visual representations of land or landscape imagery. This leads my work into a Venn diagram circling the history of American landscape imagery and contemporary social issues like fourth-wave feminism, pop-culture, identity, and issues surrounding climate change. These new viewpoints present critical insights to viewing Western land, its use, and the dissolution of the American Dream. Through my mixed media paintings, I plan to explore these themes and research with a newly imagined American landscape that is fractured, higher-real, and reworked. The content will pull visual references from Google maps, screenshots from the Fallout franchise video games, science fiction television series like Raised by Wolves and Star Wars, and peripheral pop culture content such as memes, commercials, or Tik-Tok videos.”
Master • Egor Shokoladov • $540
“I create graphic art by variety of visual art processes like pencil, pen and marker drawing, oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, and printmaking technique called etching. In fact, I often mix several of these methods and media in my artwork to better express my thoughts and impressions. I work in a variety of genres, which are dictated by the story in mind and the chosen angle. Some of my images can be compared to a riddle or mystery of some kind – one can “read” the story behind them similar to how one would read a story in a book. My creations show my mood and my mental state at a given moment, which can range in a spectrum from irony and humor to serious and reflexive. Personages and situations illustrated on my paper and canvas or engraved on zinc plates are easily relatable to and bring positive vibes into the world. I pay close attention to details attracting the viewer to explore all parts of the story behind each of my artistic pieces with me. My style has noticeable European shade as I am a recent immigrant from Eastern Europe.”
Candy Shoe • Elizabeth Caputo • $450
“When I first thought of Wonderland, I immediately thought of Willy Wonka. That scene in the original movie when he sings about imagination and a big gummy bear drops on a little girl. Then I contemplated what kind of candy and right away came up with a candy shoe. I loved the concept of edible clothing with most of my favorite candy. I constructed the outer frame, then I attempted to make each little piece of candy, aiming to resemble real candy. For my painting, I would love to live in a place with purple skies and dreamy landscaping. Add in a few media showers and that feels pretty dreamlike.”
Natural Plastic Environment – Doggie Poop Foliage • Theda Sandiford • $5,000
“People often touch my hair without asking first, which makes me feel like merchandise on display. The weight of these interactions underpins very real consequences… stress, frustration, and ultimately feelings of powerlessness. Using racial injustice as a starting point, I weave fiber sculptures, juxtaposing recycled fiber and found objects using free form weaving, coiling, knotting, wrapping and jewelry making techniques. Meticulously curated materials, transformed by their collective memory become “social fabric” weaving together contemporary issues and personal narratives in an effort to dispose of emotional baggage. Extensions of rope, impeccably wrapped, woven, tied and embellished with recycled beads, zip ties, ribbon, lace, tape and bottle cap bobbles lure the viewer into a hue-imbued, installations deconstructing microaggressions. Bold whimsical sculptures, gingerly invite the viewer to participate in off the-wall conversations about stereotypes and implicit bias.”
Jupiter Terrace • Alexandra Farber • $800
“As a multidisciplinary artist, I combine my lifelong study of ballet and movement with my studies of collage, composition, psychology, and form. The idea of a ‘wonderland’ is found within the forest that is these separate yet connected aspects of the human experience and my personal journey: wandering through the different shades of self-hood and conveying abstraction and narrative through the bleed of colors combining. Even the most mundane experience can be one of wonder, whereas sometimes the planned and ornate can completely lack luster- it is finding the personal spark in everyday things that creates a wonderland. My ‘Travelers’ series, of which ‘Jupiter Terrace’ and ‘By Moonlight’ are on display, use shapes and compositions to turn vintage stereograph cards into a minimal but powerful exploration of these ideas.”
Her Idea of Time • Cory Spraker • $3,500
“I create graphic art by variety of visual art processes like pencil, pen and marker drawing, oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, and printmaking technique called etching. In fact, I often mix several of these methods and media in my artwork to better express my thoughts and impressions. I work in a variety of genres, which are dictated by the story in mind and the chosen angle. Some of my images can be compared to a riddle or mystery of some kind – one can “read” the story behind them similar to how one would read a story in a book. My creations show my mood and my mental state at a given moment, which can range in a spectrum from irony and humor to serious and reflexive. Personages and situations illustrated on my paper and canvas or engraved on zinc plates are easily relatable to and bring positive vibes into the world. I pay close attention to details attracting the viewer to explore all parts of the story behind each of my artistic pieces with me. My style has noticeable European shade as I am a recent immigrant from Eastern Europe.”
By Moonlight • Alexandra Farber • $800
“As a multidisciplinary artist, I combine my lifelong study of ballet and movement with my studies of collage, composition, psychology, and form. The idea of a ‘wonderland’ is found within the forest that is these separate yet connected aspects of the human experience and my personal journey: wandering through the different shades of self-hood and conveying abstraction and narrative through the bleed of colors combining. Even the most mundane experience can be one of wonder, whereas sometimes the planned and ornate can completely lack luster- it is finding the personal spark in everyday things that creates a wonderland. My ‘Travelers’ series, of which ‘Jupiter Terrace’ and ‘By Moonlight’ are on display, use shapes and compositions to turn vintage stereograph cards into a minimal but powerful exploration of these ideas.”
Abstracting – Eternity Heart Nebula • Zixiong Jin • $1,425
“During the tough time of the pandemic. I decided to take a year off and moved from Seattle to western Texas to work on my one-year astrophotography project. I spent over a year camping near the border between the United States and Mexico because of its great weather condition. I used a telescope, a monochrome cooling camera, an equatorial mount, and a motorized optical filter wheel that included Hydrogen-Alpha, Oxygen-III, Sulfur-II, Red, Green, Blue, and Luminance filters to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe.
The series of these images include different types of nebulas and galaxies with different fields of view and has won many world-class awards this and the past year. While capturing images under the sky of stars, I realized that the only thing that had never changed during the pandemic is outer space, which is beyond our atmosphere. They remain the same for more than millions of years, but our world of the earth has changed greatly due to the pandemic.”
Rest stop at the dam • Mark Neumann • $1,650
“My photographs incorporate prefabricated HO scale figures (often used by model railroad hobbyists) placed in natural and constructed site-specific landscapes. The images are akin to dioramas, but created in actual places. These photographs are not a result of superimposing existing images into a compositional collage. Instead, they result from traveling to places and setting up scenes using miniatures, sometimes constructing my own props, and relying on available light. Since the small-scale figures are less than one inch in size, photographs are the only way to see the “scenes” depicted in these temporary dioramas.”
Life Flows Calmly Like Celestial Beings • Amy DiMare • $700
“For me wonderland isn’t just an imaginary place where kids go to dream. Wonder and
the wonderland is an idea that drives most artists to create. It’s the thing that makes people
travel, it’s what gets us excited. I grew up in a time of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan’s
Never Never land and was raised in a landscape filled with aw and amazement. A time for
endless dreaming, and fairy tales. When I was young using photography to share with others,
images of the desert, and places that are special to me was pivotal in my art journey but with
the digital era upon us, I became bored with photography. The lack of creating with my hands
and manipulating art with physical techniques was lost.
That’s when I took to my photos with a knife. I started cutting out the most interesting
parts of my photographs and collaging them together creating what I now call imaginary
landscapes. Creating art that reflects both the land I feel at home in and portraying
dreamscapes or mystical lands far away. Almost as if I were returning to those childhood fairy
tales. The act of using photos I’ve taken and creating something or somewhere that no one had been, brought passion back to photography for me. Making radically different landscapes flow
together was a creative avenue I wanted to explore more of.
Imaginary Landscapes is a project I’ve been working on for many years now and it’s
always evolving and changing, much like the world around us. It’s about creating a place that no one has been but feels like home at the same time. Each piece has something we can all relate to. It’s your backyard, the trip you’ve always wanted to take or the old house you grew up in and a place for your eyes to rest while your imagination, life experiences, and emotions take you on this journey I’ve created for you. Where you can be Alice in this wonderland or travel to your own private Never Never land.”
Solitude • Romessa Khan • $325
“I am a visual artist and an inveterate dreamer. I create my artwork by tapping into my subconscious mind where realities exist with the absence of any restrictions or barriers.It allows me the perspective of many lives lived. This illusion then becomes firmly rooted within and emerges as art. By banishing from the mind anything that may impose limitations I allow myself to create augmented realities. My artworks are a combination of photography, oil, plaster and acrylic on canvas to create enhanced textures and emphasis on story telling. The subconscious mind can be used to visualize problems that need solving. Sometimes the noise in our heads drowns out the simplest of solutions. I find myself drawn to the surreal world in the depths of my mind where I hold the power to manipulate reality and find a clear path. A world that rejects the conventional enables creative problem solving. My aim is to strike the viewer with the absurd realities that exist within the imagination and to see the stories of many lives from the surreal world surface on to the realms of reality.”
Abstracting Eternity – North America Nebula • Zixiong Jin • $1,425
“During the tough time of the pandemic. I decided to take a year off and moved from Seattle to western Texas to work on my one-year astrophotography project. I spent over a year camping near the border between the United States and Mexico because of its great weather condition. I used a telescope, a monochrome cooling camera, an equatorial mount, and a motorized optical filter wheel that included Hydrogen-Alpha, Oxygen-III, Sulfur-II, Red, Green, Blue, and Luminance filters to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe.
The series of these images include different types of nebulas and galaxies with different fields of view and has won many world-class awards this and the past year. While capturing images under the sky of stars, I realized that the only thing that had never changed during the pandemic is outer space, which is beyond our atmosphere. They remain the same for more than millions of years, but our world of the earth has changed greatly due to the pandemic.”
Sumo and Spirit find water in the desert • Mark Neumann • $1,500
“My photographs incorporate prefabricated HO scale figures (often used by model railroad hobbyists) placed in natural and constructed site-specific landscapes. The images are akin to dioramas, but created in actual places. These photographs are not a result of superimposing existing images into a compositional collage. Instead, they result from traveling to places and setting up scenes using miniatures, sometimes constructing my own props, and relying on available light. Since the small-scale figures are less than one inch in size, photographs are the only way to see the “scenes” depicted in these temporary dioramas.”
Abstracting Eternity – Elephant Trunk • Zixiong Jin • $1,425
“During the tough time of the pandemic. I decided to take a year off and moved from Seattle to western Texas to work on my one-year astrophotography project. I spent over a year camping near the border between the United States and Mexico because of its great weather condition. I used a telescope, a monochrome cooling camera, an equatorial mount, and a motorized optical filter wheel that included Hydrogen-Alpha, Oxygen-III, Sulfur-II, Red, Green, Blue, and Luminance filters to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe.
The series of these images include different types of nebulas and galaxies with different fields of view and has won many world-class awards this and the past year. While capturing images under the sky of stars, I realized that the only thing that had never changed during the pandemic is outer space, which is beyond our atmosphere. They remain the same for more than millions of years, but our world of the earth has changed greatly due to the pandemic.”
Boho Mod Hip • Joseph Kosdrosky • $700
“In my work, I create ‘animals’ that do the best they can to endure the modern world. My animal characters navigate the circumstances they find themselves in using determination, a certain flourish, and a sense of humor. These characters inhabit a color-saturated world of imagery culled from retro design, vintage children’s books, and catalogues of outdated products and technology. The silent though animated creatures invite the viewer to connect and invent a narrative for them as the protagonists of the story.”
Super Connector • Joseph Kosdrosky • $700
“In my work, I create ‘animals’ that do the best they can to endure the modern world. My animal characters navigate the circumstances they find themselves in using determination, a certain flourish, and a sense of humor. These characters inhabit a color-saturated world of imagery culled from retro design, vintage children’s books, and catalogues of outdated products and technology. The silent though animated creatures invite the viewer to connect and invent a narrative for them as the protagonists of the story.”
Sleepwalker • Mark Neumann • $1,700
“My photographs incorporate prefabricated HO scale figures (often used by model railroad hobbyists) placed in natural and constructed site-specific landscapes. The images are akin to dioramas, but created in actual places. These photographs are not a result of superimposing existing images into a compositional collage. Instead, they result from traveling to places and setting up scenes using miniatures, sometimes constructing my own props, and relying on available light. Since the small-scale figures are less than one inch in size, photographs are the only way to see the “scenes” depicted in these temporary dioramas.”
Abstracting Eternity – The Lunar Color • Zixiong Jin • $975
“During the tough time of the pandemic. I decided to take a year off and moved from Seattle to western Texas to work on my one-year astrophotography project. I spent over a year camping near the border between the United States and Mexico because of its great weather condition. I used a telescope, a monochrome cooling camera, an equatorial mount, and a motorized optical filter wheel that included Hydrogen-Alpha, Oxygen-III, Sulfur-II, Red, Green, Blue, and Luminance filters to capture all kinds of color and luminance in the universe.
The series of these images include different types of nebulas and galaxies with different fields of view and has won many world-class awards this and the past year. While capturing images under the sky of stars, I realized that the only thing that had never changed during the pandemic is outer space, which is beyond our atmosphere. They remain the same for more than millions of years, but our world of the earth has changed greatly due to the pandemic.”
Power Puff with Black Racing Stripe • Theda Sandiford • $10,000
“We all carry emotional baggage. Naturally; this manifests differently for each of us. Some of us push shopping carts of pain and bitterness while some of us just have a backpack. I carry a lifetime of racial trauma.
How we choose to handle our baggage makes a difference. We have the choice to let it define us or to let it go and move forward.
I choose Joyful resistance.
These black doggie poop bags, plastic New York Post newspaper and grocery plastic bags woven onto gold spray painted recovered shopping cart transform BAD NEWS into Joy.”
Donda Fresh Direct: Baggage Cart • Theda Sandiford • $15,000
“Made while working with Kanye West on the roll out of his album Donda over the course of a 6 week sprint, through three livestreams, track revisions, cover art changes and marketing rollout. This emotional baggage cart contains the frenzied manic energy of this album release cycle.”
Seagull Hangs At The Base Of A Volcano • Charles Compo • $20,000
“I find myself deliberately arranging items with or without so-called symbolic significance in a way that may or may not be affecting emotions and intellect. If I sit and stare at a painting that I am working on in my studio long enough or from enough different angles, forms begin to emerge. I play with the brush and the paint on the canvas. With each stroke, thoughts emerge and find their place in the collective hallucination known as reality. I’m engaged in the ritual of exploring the boundaries of my imagination and passing the hours dedicated to an activity that has no practical use in the world other than the elevation of life.”
The Resting Goddess • Alia Bensiman • $2,000
“I’m a wife and mother of two kids. I have been interested and attracted to art and drawing since my early childhood. I grew up in Tunisia, North Africa and graduated from a fine art school in Product Design. Tunisia is at a crossroad of eastern and ancient art and cultures on one hand and western more contemporary art on the other. My art reflects a fusion of east and west with a penchant for North African and Berber art. My artwork is contemporary art drawings that reflect my view of life and my sentiments about the current state of our society, socio political issues, taboos, religion, relationships, health, and human rights. It is also a depiction of my past experiences and how they have influenced me. My artwork is also a sort of diary of my everyday life. I like to use a combination of intricate lines, shapes and repetitive patterns that I usually enhance with colors, ink, gold and silver paint and watercolors to create the desired textures and intensity mostly on Arch paper.”
Butterflies Save the Day • Jennifer Black • $350
“For me, reality is not far off from a Wonderland, especially with a mental health diagnosis. Our
brains are powerful, and sometimes frightening places. It’s weird, thrilling, mysterious, and
wonderful that we also exist on this planet in a galaxy upon millions of galaxies, where hydrogen
and oxygen squished together to make water, which then makes up 90% of our blood. When
dreams are added to that, it’s even more wild.
In "Butterflies Save the Day", I embrace the dreamworld and weave it into the real world. The
deep hue of the sky and the lightning storm, as well as the startling eyes of the foxes, keen to
make mischief, create a mood that is tense, yet playful. The sign on the male fox, “Realm of
knowledge and silence,” could apply to the dreamworld, the real world, or the bridge between
the two. The overwhelming number of the butterflies alleviate the tension and provide safety,
creating a feeling of relief.
Often dreams, mental health, and the times we live in are scary, but there is also beauty and
wonder. Creating that beauty and experiencing that joy are my core reasons to live each day.
Anything can happen in our Wonderland, and I don’t want to miss it.”
Even Flow • Romessa Khan • $890
“I am a visual artist and an inveterate dreamer. I create my artwork by tapping into my subconscious mind where realities exist with the absence of any restrictions or barriers.It allows me the perspective of many lives lived. This illusion then becomes firmly rooted within and emerges as art. By banishing from the mind anything that may impose limitations I allow myself to create augmented realities.
My artworks are a combination of photography, oil, plaster and acrylic on canvas to create enhanced textures and emphasis on story telling.
The subconscious mind can be used to visualize problems that need solving. Sometimes the noise in our heads drowns out the simplest of solutions. I find myself drawn to the surreal world in the depths of my mind where I hold the power to manipulate reality and find a clear path. A world that rejects the conventional enables creative problem solving. My aim is to strike the viewer with the absurd realities that exist within the imagination and to see the stories of many lives from the surreal world surface on to the realms of reality.”
The Collector • Elisabeth Ladwig • $1,550
“I was eleven when I decided adults were wrong: magic does exist. As I lay in the grass watching pre-tornado skies, I realized it was all around me, hidden behind the sciences of meteorology, botany, astronomy… the warmth of miracles overshadowed by equations and proofs. It became clear that the beauty of science, nature, and magic was one and the same, and it saddened me that the miraculous nature of it all had been dismissed so irresponsibly over time. Nature is full of stories of creativity, courage, and survival, inspiring me to be more aware of how I might craft my own life. Photo compositing allows me to create metaphorical reminders of the magic and miracles all around us in an attempt to bring humanity back home to its roots: kin of the Earth. So with a nod to Mother Nature and her fairytale existence, I work to seek out equal beauty in the storm as in the sunrise.”
Kunda • Anna Myers • NFS
“Art exists to elevate the average human’s experience… a sacred realm serving as a gateway through which any person can transcend the
mundane. By means of stygian outré images, this artist hopes to evoke that transcendental experience.
In keeping with the traditions set by the Symbolists, charcoal depictions present the audience with a glimpse into a totally foreign domain. Set in a gloomy twilight dimension, unrecognizable figures desperately reach for
the faint glow of dimming celestial bodies.
With the passage of time, these environmental manifestations have been
transformed. Extracted from their picture plane sanctuary, they have been adapted for corporeal interaction. These effigies bridge the gap between two diametrically opposed worlds.”
Odilon on repeat • Anna Myers • NFS
“Art exists to elevate the average human’s experience… a sacred realm serving as a gateway through which any person can transcend the mundane. By means of stygian outré images, this artist hopes to evoke that transcendental experience. In keeping with the traditions set by the Symbolists, charcoal depictions present the audience with a glimpse into a totally foreign domain. Set in a gloomy twilight dimension, unrecognizable figures desperately reach for the faint glow of dimming celestial bodies. With the passage of time, these environmental manifestations have been transformed. Extracted from their picture plane sanctuary, they have been adapted for corporeal interaction. These effigies bridge the gap between two diametrically opposed worlds.”
Celebration • Monica Banks • $6,500
“All moments, whether they’re spent in pain or pleasure, deserve a tribute, so out of respect for this exquisite spectrum, I make cakes out of clay to honor them. The prettiness of the cakes and their corresponding plates are an invitation to explore the emotions evoked by unexpected elements I add to them. They are a series of domestic monuments to life’s enchantments and perils.”
Eggs for Breakfast • Kate Zhang • NFS
Simple notions in life hold such invaluable meanings for the society that many take for granted. The world that we live in comprises millions of networks, acting as the glue between different kinds of people, the environment, and every existing thing. While there is an evident hierarchy among beings and objects on Earth, mutual interaction is inevitable as there is no way to exist without one another. Surface-level as it may seem, humans need so-called “insignificant” things such as insects to function, and they too, need us. The world is connected in ways that we often just pass over and disregard, not fully understanding the worth and importance. My work is an examination of this relationship seen in society through unusual connections that may not always be clear. “Eggs for Breakfast” is a painting in which I depict the overlooked tie between us humans and one of the most basic animals that we rely on: chickens. Despite how trivial the presence of these creatures may seem to us at first glance, they hold an irreplaceable role in our needs. Among those is that they supply us with one of humankind’s most precious sources of nutrition. We raise and protect the chickens, and in return, they provide us with the profit we need, creating a repetitive chain of life that can be seen in my piece. Interconnectedness remains one of the most disregarded yet valuable things in our world. We must be aware of this relationship and think about what can be done for one another to make this community as reciprocally beneficial as possible. Our ecosystem is simple yet complex, connecting one to another with invisible strings not always clear in the initial image.
In The Wink of An Eye • Donna Faranda • $1,200
“I have created works on paper for the past 30, but have not utilized a paint brush since I discovered that I could create art work on my computer. The computer, scanner, and computer software have become the tools of my medium. I use Corel Painter, a raster-image program, which allows me to place dots as brush strokes, and create my pointillist pieces. Through the use of these programs, I have found a means in which to fulfill my desire to construct and organize my world Through the use of a computer painting program, I can render the nobility of womankind. While working, I employ elements of collage in my paintings to conjure up images created from a mixture of fantasy, mood and symbolism, blended together in a variety of ways to create my own world. I try to communicate through these images, paintings that reflect these women’s inner stories as well as their inner beauty. Most of my art work celebrates mythic women and the valor they have displayed when faced with adversity. They also encompasses the many facets, of womanhood as my paintings personify all that makes up their challenges, their heroic experiences as well as their day to day lives. I try to render the innate nobility of these women as they grapple with their demons and face opposition, challenged by whatever obstacles life has to offer.”
Comatose • Karen Chen • NFS
“Demented Wonderland This is a series of paintings that were creating from a live scene based on “demented wonderland”. The teen students picked the theme and assisted with setting up images and the live models. All were painted from life by a teen in classrooms of advanced art students. All of these students work hard and have goals of studying art at the academic level. They are building portfolios and learning how to go beyond classic skills to communicate how they see and feel about the world they live in. They all study at the Hull Art Academy outside of Dallas, Texas. Teaching style is very much student focused.”
Waterland Clock • Cathy Gins • $2,800
“When you change the way you look at things the things you looks at change”. This quote from Wayne Dyer explains that when we release our preconceived notions about ourselves and the world around us new possibilities emerge. As part of creating a new context for my life by moving homes, I began editing the trove of collections stored in my attic. I found that the relevance of many objects had expired. I selected special pieces and separated them from their original categories to form a new one called “keepers. These diverse “keepers” were still beautiful to me in some way and I was determined to give them a new context as well. We can be transformed by the relationships we engage in and the best ones bring forth our beauty and potential in new ways. So it happened that a rubber finger puppet in a vintage silk landscape started preaching the gospel; a linen napkin and a fruit bowl became the foundation of a jewel-filled reliquary and a ruby eyed rabbit, the nose on my self-portrait.”
Finding the Light in the Dark • Jeannine Dabb • $3,500
“The mixed-media nature of the paintings includes found objects, acrylic paint, pen, ink, and gold leaf. These elements work together to inspire the viewer to see this wild world more positively. Cities and countrysides are amid a revitalization despite a pandemic, something that people want to be a part of. The hope is to evoke positive feelings with the utilization of brilliant colors, dynamic lines, and gold leaf and mica. There are stories told between the colors and found objects, personal and sometimes complex responses to how I feel when I see these places or interact with the people within them. I want to create a sense of brightness, revitalization, and excitement for the viewer despite the sometimes depressing and heavyweight we may feel. The importance of learning to enjoy the ride and pivot in response to difficult times and situations is vital, it is about balancing the load, or getting back on when you fall off the horse.”
Self-Portrait of Artist Dreaming • Cathy Gins • $5,500
“When you change the way you look at things the things you looks at change”. This quote from Wayne Dyer explains that when we release our preconceived notions about ourselves and the world around us new possibilities emerge. As part of creating a new context for my life by moving homes, I began editing the trove of collections stored in my attic. I found that the relevance of many objects had expired. I selected special pieces and separated them from their original categories to form a new one called “keepers. These diverse “keepers” were still beautiful to me in some way and I was determined to give them a new context as well. We can be transformed by the relationships we engage in and the best ones bring forth our beauty and potential in new ways. So it happened that a rubber finger puppet in a vintage silk landscape started preaching the gospel; a linen napkin and a fruit bowl became the foundation of a jewel-filled reliquary and a ruby eyed rabbit, the nose on my self-portrait.”
Confusion hath made his masterpiece • Brandin Barón • $2,000
“My recent art-making has been mired in otherworldly visions, and heavily-inspired by the dreamlike paintings of the past surrealists Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington. My artworks are “staged” through the process of layering my photographic and hand-rendered imagery with stock photography and digital textures. I utilize experimental printmaking techniques, especially in the play between different surface qualities of ink/paint/pigment, in a final output of 2-3 prints per image. Final prints are then embellished with hand-applied media, including: ink, gouache, pastel, acrylic, collage/assemblage and/or enamel.”
Nammu, Goddess of the Primeval Seas • Roberta Bell • $4,200
““The world will not perish for want of wonders, but for want of wonder”*
Wonder is the essence of creativity. That is, to marvel at what exists in nature and ponder what
is unknown to oneself or to humanity, is to think creatively. This is the mindscape of wonderland
to me. As a landscape artist, my work is frequently grounded in this wonderland mindscape,
especially my most recent ocean-themed triptych presented here, “Nammu, Goddess of the
Primeval Seas”. The oceans are the last unknown frontier and are filled with a plethora of
wondrous creatures – those we have discovered and, most excitingly, those yet to be
discovered. For example, over 2000 different species of nudibranches are known and they are
all incredibly distinct, beautiful, and other-worldly; almost everyday new species of nudibranches
are discovered. It makes me ponder that if it can be imagined, maybe it exists. So, I created a
few nudibranches from fabric and beads, but several other creatures in this piece are purely
from wondering what else might exist in the vast unexplored ocean depths. Antique white lace
and crystal beads may be large plankton or marine snow, and the porcupine quills may be tube
worms, and the long yarn and ribbon animals, who knows, but may be something like them
exists. I just wonder…
I also see wonder in history, specifically, mythology. The stories ancient civilizations used to
explain the unknown are rich sources of wonder. For to not know and propose a story to explain
the world around them stems from wondering what might be. I found the myth of Nammu,
Goddess of the Primeval Seas intriguing and thought it created a story frame for my work, like a
page from a children’s book. The window frame, reclaimed from an early 20th century home in
Nashville, TN, is used to invite the viewer into the story – to watch along as Nammu protects our
wondrous oceans.
*”Usually attributed to the poet and theologian G.K. Chesterton, but sometimes to the scientist
J.B.S. Haldane” (Widder, 2021, Below the Edge of Darkness, p. xx)”
Reclining Sunset Nude • Morgan Suter • $5,000
“Self portraiture is something I will never tire of. I will always be fascinated by my own overlapping forms, and by my ample flesh. What the work truly represents is the instinctual obligation to express my innermost feelings, delusions, aversions, and desires, using the body as a catalyst and as the primary subject. In my paintings, I build lush universes that are only somewhat reminiscent of reality to encompass my body. The distortions of linear and atmospheric perspective are entirely intentional. When my self portraits confront the viewer through gesture and eye contact, I am showing you the truest aspects of myself, with this entire universe that I’ve fabricated consuming me, determining my shape and form and amplifying the color that engulfs me. The work feels like an inbetween place, reflective of how I often feel as though I am operating in two separate realms, that of a maker, and that of someone who often feels infinitesimal and powerless. These paintings synthesize these worlds, imposing my figure onto vivid pseudo spaces, fantasies that range from hyper romantic to borderline deranged. Disregarding local color and how we’ve been conditioned to perceive color, it’s actually easy to see that color and light bounce everywhere and that nothing is entirely one single, local color. I often feel as though my work is able to occupy space and articulate itself in ways that I am unable to. The self portraits are self conscious in some ways, but the figures are always sure of themselves, intentionally situated, made up of heavy brushstrokes and opaque, loud colors. I am fabricating a truth for my body to exist in that deviates from an expected figure ground relationship. Somewhat naturalistic figures don’t necessarily belong in artificial spaces, but in my paintings they merge together to form a cohesive image. My work is ultimately my response to my own observations and influences, a way for me to outwardly express myself in a primitive, intuitive manner.”
Self Portrait with Butterfly Friends • Morgan Suter • $575
“Self portraiture is something I will never tire of. I will always be fascinated by my own overlapping forms, and by my ample flesh. What the work truly represents is the instinctual obligation to express my innermost feelings, delusions, aversions, and desires, using the body as a catalyst and as the primary subject. In my paintings, I build lush universes that are only somewhat reminiscent of reality to encompass my body. The distortions of linear and atmospheric perspective are entirely intentional. When my self portraits confront the viewer through gesture and eye contact, I am showing you the truest aspects of myself, with this entire universe that I’ve fabricated consuming me, determining my shape and form and amplifying the color that engulfs me. The work feels like an inbetween place, reflective of how I often feel as though I am operating in two separate realms, that of a maker, and that of someone who often feels infinitesimal and powerless. These paintings synthesize these worlds, imposing my figure onto vivid pseudo spaces, fantasies that range from hyper romantic to borderline deranged. Disregarding local color and how we’ve been conditioned to perceive color, it’s actually easy to see that color and light bounce everywhere and that nothing is entirely one single, local color. I often feel as though my work is able to occupy space and articulate itself in ways that I am unable to. The self portraits are self conscious in some ways, but the figures are always sure of themselves, intentionally situated, made up of heavy brushstrokes and opaque, loud colors. I am fabricating a truth for my body to exist in that deviates from an expected figure ground relationship. Somewhat naturalistic figures don’t necessarily belong in artificial spaces, but in my paintings they merge together to form a cohesive image. My work is ultimately my response to my own observations and influences, a way for me to outwardly express myself in a primitive, intuitive manner.”
