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ARTisSpectrumVolume 26The Chelsea PerspectiveProfiles of Contemporary Art andArtistic Reality: How art is embracing technology to changethe way we see the worldArt Matters: Why We Collect ArtArt by DesignP rofiles of Contemporary Art and Artists1 ARTisSpectrum

OTTAWASUMMER 2012gallery.ca/vangoghPresented byOrganized by the National Gallery of Canada and thePhiladelphia Museum of Art.Almond Blossom (detail), 1890, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam(Vincent van Gogh Foundation)BOOK NOWLONDON, UK17 SEPTEMBER – 11 DECEMBER 2011Tickets +44 844 209 0051www.royalacademy.org.ukEdgar Degas, Two Dancers on the Stage (detail), c. 1874.Oil on canvas, 62 x 46 cm. The Samuel Courtauld Trust,The Courtauld Gallery, London.2 ARTisSpectrumAgora.indd 1 05/09/2011 16:03

© Rob Heath Time to Reflect ... Space to Reflect” 31.5” x 47”November 29 - December 20, 2011Reception: Thursday, December 1, 2011Labyrinth of AbstractionDeborah Jean Burdin / Soco Freire / Kristina Garon / Dolores GonzalezMargaretha Gubernale / Rob Heath / Hyung Jin Park / Hoa Vu530 West 25th Street, New York, NYwww.Agora-Gallery.com3 ARTisSpectrum

THROUGH DECEMBER 4, 2011The World According ToFEDERICO URIBEPhenomenal:Californialight, SpaCe,SurfaCeFEDERICO URIBE (Colombia, born in Bogota, 1962- ), Bull, 2008, wood and shoe soles, 96 x 72 x 36 inches.Courtesy of Now Contemporary Art9/25/11 to 1/22/12Known for his fascinating transformation of everydayobjects into art, Colombian conceptual artist FedericoUribe debuts his newest works including his AnimalFarm installation.4 ARTisSpectrum501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Floridabocamuseum.org | 561.392.2500LA JOLLA 700 Prospect StreetDOWNTOWN 1100 and 1001 Kettner Blvd.858 454 3541 www.mcasd.orgRobert Irwin, untitled, 1969, acrylic lacquer onformed acrylic plastic. Collection Museum ofContemporary Art San Diego; Museum purchase.© Robert Irwin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NewYork. Photo by Philipp Scholz Rittermann.FREE FoR agEs 25& UndERMade possible by QualcommBRM 31688 AIS Mag MECH.indd 19/1/11 5:22 PM

ARTisSpectrumPublisherAgora GalleryFeaturingEditor-in-ChiefAngela Di BelloAssistant EditorSabrina GilbertsonArt DirectorJulie WilsonAssociate EditorsJoyce AsperKarin MaraneyStaff WritersSteven BarnesKatie CerconeAaron De LandChloe EichlerLaura MonroeBrenna O’TooleTheresa SinclairJennifer SmithFrancesca SonaraBenjamin SuttonLeah TripletContributing WritersDavid LaBellaNada HermanCaroline Josephs Ph.D.Karin MaraneyLynda PogueJohn Stevenson712283642465965768892115120Artist ProfilesSpotlight on Lydia van den BergA poet who believes in magic!Studio Spaces by Nada HermanLessons from the Handwriting on the WallThe Gift of Ancient Art by David J. LaBellaArtistic Reality: How art is embracing technology tochange the way we see the world by Karin MaraneyArt Matters: why we collect art by A. Di BelloWhy an artist needs to go out on a painting trip:It’s good for the mind... by John StevensonAncient Olive Trees Inspire Artwork...in Puglia, Italy by Caroline Josephs Ph.D.New York City: Evoking the Muse by A. Di BelloArt by Design by A. Di BelloTom Waits for no one by Lynda PogueMemorable Receptions from Around the WorldARTbeatARTisSpectrum provides a forum for artists andart professionals. Articles express the opinion andknowledge of the authors and not necessarily that ofthe magazine’s management. Artist profiles are writtenby staff writers or the artists unless otherwise noted.© All copyrights are reserved by the authors.The copyrights of all published artwork areretained by the artists. Reproduction of anypublished material is prohibited without thewritten permission of the magazine’s publisher.Suggestions for future articles are welcome.Any topic submitted in writing by an artist, artprofessional or professionals in the service of theart community will be considered for publication.How technology is working with art to change what we see andthe way we see it.... Find out more in Artistic Reality p.42ARTisSpectrum Magazine 530 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 www.ARTisSpectrum.com 212.226.4151 info@ARTisSpectrum.com5 ARTisSpectrum

FINAL ARTISPECTRUM AD.pdf 1 9/6/11 10:52 AMSAM NEXT:MIKA TAJIMAAfter the Martini ShotJuly 16, 2011–June 17, 2012CMYCMMYCYCMYKIn the new SAM Next exhibition, New York–based artist Mika Tajima combines painting,sculpture, interior design, performance, videoand sound, creating an immersive installationthat challenges the traditional boundariesbetween these mediums.Scan the barcode withyour mobile device tosee artist Mika Tajimaspeak about her work.Open a barcode scannerapp on your device,point your camera atthe code and scan.seattleartmuseum.org/samnextInstallation view of After the Martini Shot, Mika Tajima’s SAMNext exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, July 16, 2011–June 17, 2012.Photo: Nathaniel Wilson.6 ARTisSpectrum

ProfilesIf you like to keep up-to-date with the art world and enjoy spotting talented emerging and established artists,then artists’ profiles are a great way to do it. These profiles showcase the work, motivations and inspirations ofexciting new faces on the international art scene.26 Albena45 Alberto Montoreano87 Aleksandra Vavilova52 Alfredo Gonzalez98 Anjum Saeed107 Ben Feldshuh100 Brady Steward33 Briggitte Lazo (“Blazo”)105 Brigitte Balbinot103 Brigitte Martinez21 Bruce Leslie Thomas9 Cade Turner23 Carlo Proietto90 Carol J. Walker56 Caroline Josephs Ph.D.34 CHAREST111 Cheri Mittermaier97 Chris Schäffeler112 Coco Mobuli32 Corrado Maggi41 Cristina Arnedo27 Cristina Popovici74 David LaBella104 Davyd Whaley87 Dawn Crothers101 Debi Mackinnon56 Dragan Simic62 Eduard Anikonov40 Fabio Sanzogni26 Fernando Salado91 Fred Friedrich110 Fred Mou22 Fulvio Biancatelli106 Guglielmi Giovanni109 Gwen Graham19 Heidi Kirschner8699731141049857973519879024110116371172010610972642518317257102343324187354106HERMINEHyung Jin ParkIgor NelubovichIgor PetrovJacques DescoteauxJacques DesgagnésJim CobbJohn J. SayerJohn StevensonJoshef MatèKATEŘINA Alavedra-DuchoslavkBlanchardKiko SobrinoKoki MorimotoL. ByrneLaila Khan FurniturewallaLaroucheLaurence SteenbergenLeigh GustersonLily Ann PopLuciano PrimaveraLuisaElena BetancourtLynda PogueMadeleine ArnettMAEVMarc LabergeMaría Eugenia AkelMaría José AlbaMaría Susana Dos SantosMarty MaehrMarty PoorterMaryline LemaitreMelody HawtinMichael KatzMicheline RaymondMirjana Psakis5235108531055839311610297114991091078632549870111715275311082755851018105414538113Monia TartariniNada HermanNadine Y. JenersNataixa RosNicholas VitaleNicolette Benjamin BlackNorma PicciottoOcchi PintiOlivia KapoorPaola GuerraPatricia ArmourPaul SaucierPenelope PaigeRonald DeMuthRosa OlivoRusiko PlaksinaSAHISandra Mueller-DickSilvio FranziniSoojin HongSteven R. HillTamara GrizjukTanya MarieThierry FazianThomas Ab-eTirilToshio IshikawaValentino BellucciVéroniKaHVito MateraWalter B. ProbstWeeda HamdanWendy CohenYasuyuki ItoYounghee HongZ. Todorova7 ARTisSpectrum

Walter B. ProbstVista Digital Print on Canvas 25” x 36”Walter in his StudioSwiss artist and sculptor Walter B. Probst usesdigital means to create vibrant, visionary abstractconfigurations of color, line, and form. In 1992 hedeveloped a unique painting technique that he named“Dance with Water and Colors,” or “Anima Animus,” whichhe has since translated into a digital process by which heexplores the emotional landscapes of the human soul.Diagnosed at the age of 19 with an incurable illness,Probst was inspired to leave contemporary artisticstandards behind to travel his own path and create trulyoriginal works. He later spent years in Indonesia, wherehe pursued artistic freedom, developing his creativity Expansionthrough the incorporation of new approaches to drawing,painting, and batik textile finishing.Digital Print on Canvas 27” x 39”What results are ambitious images that are as dynamic as they are unique. Both spiritual and musical inspiration lie at the heartof Probst’s work, and you can trace elements of rhythm as well as pure expressionism in each image. The bold colors that gracethe canvas seem to have a life of their own, driven forward by waves of energy and emotion to intersect in interesting ways andcreate compelling compositions. A reliance on geometric form serves to ground these images, binding the ethereal movementsof color onto the material plane and giving them symbolic significance to which we as viewers can relate.For Probst, the daily challenge of his work is “to spiritualize matter and to materialize the spirit.” He envisions himself as amediator between heaven and earth, and sees his work as presenting the viewer with a message for personal development.By revealing the intersections between the spirit world and the interior world of the human psyche, he feels he can help “theobserver in recognizing and experiencing him- or herself anew as an inspiration from the heart and soul.” He is still lookingforward to integrating his artwork into upcoming fashions, to bringing inspiring colors and forms into the daily lives of fashionconsciouswomen.Walter B. Probst currently lives and works in Sevelen, Switzerland.www.probstart.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Walter_B._Probst.aspx8 ARTisSpectrum

Cade TurnerAustralian artist Cade Turner’s fascination with light has led him to explore its mysteries as expressed through elements inhis photography, studying the way light, color, and movement intersect. Using non-conventional techniques, he transformshis photographs into impressionist-abstract works, effectively blurring the line between art and photography. In each image hecreates a visual story that carefully unpacks the mood and raw emotion of the subject or scene that has been captured throughthe camera’s lens.In developing his unique approach, Turner has been greatly inspired by the Impressionists “for their sense of visual freedom,breaking traditional techniques and conventions which enabled them to capture impressions of light, color, and movement thathad never been seen before.” Turner has followed in their footsteps, forgoing traditional techniques in order to delve into theraw elements contained in a scene. He uses his camera freely, like a paintbrush, as an extension of himself — a technique thatallows him to engage deeper and more naturally on a physical and emotional level with his subjects.What results are stunning visceral scenes, developed from his first impressionsas natural and man-made elements catch his eye. To an extent, in each imagethe subject is decontextualized as Turner works with specific elements to breakthrough into a completely new visual dimension. Compositions are edgy andbrimming with emotionality, all the while infused with the promise of light. Eachphotograph effectively captures its subject yet is somehow transformed into somuch more, riddled with meanings that extend far beyond its original context.A major theme running throughout Turner’s work is the notion of the passing oftime and human reflection on that process. In effect, his photography is meant togive the viewer a chance to stop and appreciate life’s moments. As he explains,“I feel my work offers people a chance to ‘go back’ and reflect on that momentwith me, and spend some time to see the beauty within it.”Cade Turner currently lives and works in the beautiful beach town of Mona Vale,located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Australia.www.cadeturner.com.auwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Cade_Turner.aspxTasman Fury Photographic Print 40” x 27”Stepping Into BluePhotographic Print 40” x 27”Cade at work en plein air9 ARTisSpectrum

Tamara Grizjuk : Air Raid Oil on Canvas 35.5” x 39.5”The Pursuit of ExcellenceAn Exhibition of Contemporary Russian ArtIvan Erastov Dmitri Freund Tamara Grizjuk Eugeniya Infelicina Igor NelubovichIgor Petrov Valery Zharkih Mikhail ZhirmunskyNovember 29 - December 20, 2011Reception: Thursday December 1, 2011530 West 25th StreetNew York, NY10 ARTisSpectrumwww.Agora-Gallery.com

L. ByrneRed Fireball Oil on Canvas 48” x 60”Purple Monster Oil on Canvas 61.5” x 73.5”Byrne has a distinctive passion for color. Whether sheL discovers a notable example in a natural setting, a beautifulpiece of textile, or a busy city street, Byrne captures heremotional response through vibrant large-scale oil paintings.Her painterly, tactile approach towards each piece creates ashimmering effect much like the surface of a body of waterbursting forth with every hue of the rainbow.Color is largely the vehicle for her message. We see dramaticstruggles between competing masses of color and feel thetension of bodies colliding. In some works, we find images ofour subconscious looking back at us. Other works convey aunique naturalism, so that one might almost feel cool grass ina pasture wafting beneath one’s fingers or the scorching heatof red hot flames.Byrne’s body of work is connected by an impressive modulationof tone; vibrant layers pop and tingle from below, bursting forthwith life. The variegation of color is loud but not gaudy, energeticwithout being overpowering. Oil paint is applied generously tothe canvas with paintbrush or palette knife, often in motionsradiating out from a particular point. Our eye is drawn aroundthe composition from one corner to the next.Thematically, Byrne connects with both natural phenomenasuch as plant-life, the elements, and inspiring vistas, and withthrilling psychodramas, delving into a wide range of humanemotion. Early on in her artistic life Byrne was a student of L. Byrne in her Studiofashion, airbrush art, and photography, painting natural scenesin watercolor during her leisure hours. When challenging times presented themselves, however, she created a deeply personalcreative language, evolving the characteristic abstract expressionist pieces for which she is presently known. “I turned to abstractart since I could no longer see things so simply,” she explains “The brilliant color in my art expresses a celebration of life.”Some of her works reach over six feet and confront the viewer with powerful sensations. We are not presented with a story, butasked to deliberate quietly and let the narrative come from within.Born in Toronto, L. Byrne now divides her time between Boston and Miami.www.byrneartportfolio.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/L._Byrne.aspx11 ARTisSpectrum

…I am a realistic perfectionist, but at the sametime I am also a poet who believes in magic!Spotlight on Lydia van den BergLydia in her Studio12 ARTisSpectrum

When did you realize that you wanted toconcentrate on art professionally?I have always created art, all through mylife. In fact it is difficult for me not to be creativeduring the day. I always imagined thatonce I had a family with children, everythingwould normalize, but this is not the case.The only difference is that now the four ofus - my two children, my husband and myself- all travel together. I see so many interestingand exciting things and art is theonly medium in which I can truly expressmy thoughts and views. Because of that itwas natural for me to take it seriously as animportant part of my life.My art is a pure reflection of my persona.My art has not only guided and helped mein my darkest moments, it also mirrors myhappiest moments at times when I felt asthough I could explode with joy. Often whenI start a new series of paintings I just cannotstop and it is as though I have forgotten thatthere is a real world outside. Often I thinkthe exact moment when I paint is the trueart and the image itself is a result of whathas been created behind the scenes in mystudio.The more mature I have become throughthe years, the more concrete and clearermy art has become. The first step for me inbecoming a professional artist happened,strangely enough, when I decided to createand develop my own personal website:www.lydiavandenberg.com. This helpedto clarify my ideas about art as a professionand what being a professional artist wouldmean for me.Paris, France Acrylic on Canvas 40” x 32”What kind of techniques have you explored?For a long time I experimented with abstract art. It has taken me a while to find myself. Since attending art school in Sofia,Bulgaria it has been colors, lines, dimensions and structures that have fascinated me. I have familiarized myself with varioustechniques, such as oil on canvas, paper-màche, encaustics, and acrylics on paper. I even worked for a while in a goldsmith’sstudio. For me, it was important to explore the different possibilities, so that I could find what really worked for me.Art can be created everywhere, and every one of us can be an artist – but only when one can reach and find one’s inner self.You have called your approach to creating art “Magical-Poetic-Realism.” Could you explain what that means to you?The title “Magical-Poetic-Realism” was originally mentioned by a Swiss art critic, Alois Steiner. Often I have been asked whichart style I work in. I understand the question – a classification is needed for a selection and identification to find the style of art.Yet I have often found it difficult to categorize my art. The description from Alois Steiner has helped me to analyze and discoverwhere I stand as an artist and as a person. I am a perfectionist who is realistic but at the same time also a poet who believes inmagic.Perhaps I would like to change my life into a dream. I believe that the good always wins.13 ARTisSpectrum

Maybe I am a dreamer, poet, and realist and it is this attitude that makes it easy for me to create my art. The name “Magical-Poetic-Realism” is a statement that my audience can understand and it consciously reminds me that the answers are not foundjust in rules and regulations but that there is more – much more.Many of the people who see your work comment on the cheerful, optimistic feelings it inspires in them. Is this aspectof your work important to you?The most important aspect of my art is for me to be honest with myself. My art is like a small innocent baby which needs mynursing. I need to be honest with my feelings and believe in what I am painting. I only paint what moves me and fulfils my needs.The only compromises that I have to accept are the materials which I paint with and the very, very small studio which I work in.When these things strike me as difficulties, I convince myself and say, “If I really want to paint, working in every situation is possible.”When I want to paint I always find a solution to create my projects.I believe my art comes across as cheerful and optimistic only because I maintain this attitude myself and therefore translate itinto my art. My art is my baby and I take great care of it. This is why I find it difficult to separate myself from my original paintingsand to offer them for sale. By contrast, I have no inhibitions about offering an original art work as a gift to someone who is dearto me, because I am the artist/person who decides who can own an image of mine (it is my choice).How do you build up the narratives thatmake their way into your artwork?First of all I experience something. A themehas caught my attention and fascinated me.I deepen myself in the experience or fascinationand it takes a while before I can digestit. I see the image exactly how it will becomposed and what is important for me topresent. Then I go into my studio. I let myselfgo until I begin to ‘boil’ and it all flows out.This is an indescribable feeling! It is an intimacywithin me. The whole process is relativelysimple. At the end, when the paintingis finished, it is a nice feeling. Sometimes Ineed to take a few days distance from mynew artwork and then check if everythinghas been completed to my satisfaction.You have traveled a lot during your life –has this had an impact on your art?New York Space Acrylic on Canvas 32” x 40”Absolutely! But I find it difficult to define. Myresume looks a little chaotic, and looking atit, it could be difficult to understand which country I reside in at this moment. My travels and migrations are very important to me.It is a part of who I am. My personal biography has been up to now a very dynamic and intensive one. I have learnt so muchfrom each country and city which I have directly or indirectly experienced.I attempt not to be influenced by the media and try to trust my own observations. I am continually surprised by my discoveriesin a world where there is so much to discover. I have a great respect for the world as it is and I am thankful that I have had theopportunity to have experienced and seen various locations. My art is totally influenced by my travels and experiences. As asmall adventurer, though, sometimes my batteries need to be refilled. Then I paint again!For example, my current project, which I am very excited about, is called “Made with Respect.” It presents the idea that not onlygreat famous buildings and cities are meaningful and remarkable but also that there are many places which have their own specialqualities to offer. Obviously, this is the direct result of my traveling lifestyle. My unforgettable journey around this magnificentworld has a beginning but not a real ending, and all of it influences my art.14 ARTisSpectrum

One Dime Acrylic on Canvas 32” x 40”What would your advice be to younger artists, or artists just beginning to explore their talents?I’m not quite sure if I am the person to advise a young, talented artist. I do not feel as though I am an example for others. ButI can give one piece of advice that has been crucial to me my whole life - Be yourself and do not be willing to sell your beliefs.Every artist should experience a process of growth and development with their art. Our powers of observation change with theyears and this is something that can be reflected and viewed in the creation of art.I would also remind a young artist that glamour and wealth are not the measure of talent. It is more important to be true to yourselfand honest in what you create.www.lydiavandenberg.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Lydia_van_den_Berg.aspx15 ARTisSpectrum

Olivia KapoorAmerican artist Olivia Kapoor’s visionary surrealistic paintings capture all the awe and wonder contained in the universein which we live. Displaced elements of our industrialized modern world are set within stunning landscapes, resultingin images that contain attractive contrasts and are both futuristic and timeless. Each image seems to speak for itself, as itweaves new mythologies which are familiar to our modern psyches yet seemingly made for a future time.Infused with abstract elements as well as aspects of emotive expressionism, Kapoor’s paintings are relaxed and meditative,yet simultaneously defined by action and movement. Broad brushstrokes of vivid colors compose forms both figurative andabstract. In terms of form and color, symbol and subject, Kapoor’s paintings are vibrant and complex, displaying a wide rangeof elements that work to engage the viewer on a variety of levels.A calmness and sense of purpose pervades each canvas, providing acomfortable forum in which Kapoor’s visionary rendering can be depictedand explored. Symbols and subtexts are scattered throughout eachtableau, hinting at layers of meaning embedded there for the viewer todecipher. A mystical energy pervades every creation, rendering evencommonplace objects extraordinary within the context in which they’vebeen captured.For Kapoor, creating the art is in itself a meditative experience. Asshe explains, “My state of mind and how I feel emotionally contributegreatly.” This reflective approach infuses each painting with an emotiveimmediacy to which the viewer can readily relate. Vivid forms and colorsreflect a wide range of emotions: from unadulterated joy, to hope, todeep contemplativeness, to quiet regret. Her subjects, while surrealistic,reflect these emotions, symbolically acting out both the blessings and theconsequences of these emotional worlds.Olivia Kapoor currently lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona. She was the2009 National Award Winner of the American Red Cross art competition.www.myspace.com/dollyinkwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Olivia_Kapoor.aspxOlivia in her StudioThe Watch Acrylic on Canvas 24” x 30”Life in the Light Acrylic on Canvas 16” x 20”16 ARTisSpectrum

Laurence SteenbergenIce Fruit Acrylic on Canvas Panel 28” x 39” Laurence in her StudioArtist Laurence Steenbergen paints expressionistic abstract imagesthat explore the essence of contradiction and the ways in whichbalance can ultimately be created. A Korean who was adopted andraised in the Netherlands by a traditional Dutch family, Steenbergenbrings both Asian and European cultures to her work. Much of her stylereflects the Japanese sumi-e painting approach, which draws fromprinciples of simplicity to look at the essence of things. Yet her workis simultaneously influenced by European painting traditions such asthe work of Van Gogh, with each painting infused with an emphasis ondramatic line and form.For Steenbergen, her paintings represent her world, simultaneouslycolorful and exciting, like a fairytale, yet rife with tensions thatreflect all the difficulties of life. Like life itself, her paintings are full ofinconsistencies and incongruities that must be reconciled and bridged.Thus, elements of her work such as line, form, and composition aresimultaneously expansive yet riddled with limitations and boundaries,round forms are juxtaposed against angled shapes, and vibrant boldcolors are offset by darker, more somber tones. Her subjects oftenreverberate around these concepts, exploring the role of the individualwithin a relationship or the bursting of life in a dead, wintery landscape.Steenbergen finds inspiration for her art in the world that surroundsher, whether it is a certain combination of colors or the form of a chairor a tree. As she explains, “My inspiration is just life itself. I see heavenin one grain of sand.” In her abstract paintings, seemingly mundaneobjects or forms become magical, as a hairclip, for instance, morphsinto a bright flying grid. Her backgrounds are dynamic aspects of thecomposition, providing an element of contrast that helps draw attentionto her primary subject. Yet in each of her works, all these divergentelements come together to create images as breathtaking as they areharmonious, representing the discovery of balance amid contradiction.You & Me, 1 Acrylic on Canvas Panel 39” x 28”www.laurence.exto.nlwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Laurence_Steenbergen.aspx17 ARTisSpectrum

MAEVAbysse Varnish on Copper 34” x 39”MAEV’s paintings are distinctive, both in their subject and in thematerials used to create them. The French-born artist, whonow lives and works in Quebec, creates a vibrant, seductive worldthat mixes dream and reality. She says that her goal is to depict auniverse in which “the unreal transcends the day-to-day in a flightof colors.” It is a goal that she accomplishes with breathtakingthoroughness.She paints in colored varnishes on copper, often letting the coppershow completely through only in the spaces occupied by herhuman subjects. By juxtaposing the exposed copper and the layersof varnish, she vividly communicates the idea of two worlds existingat once, close to each other, but still separated. Those humanfigures become calm centers floating on kaleidoscopic fields ofbright colors. A balance is expertly struck between stillness andmotion, peacefulness and the elemental energy of nature.Having worked in both oil paints and stained glass, MAEV takesstrong visual cues from those techniques in her work, but sheconsistently moves beyond them. The subtly reflective but opaquesurface of the copper on which she paints brings the luminous quality of stained glass to mind. But in these paintings, the effectis not one of light pouring through a window. It is a glow that seems to come from within.www.atelierloiseaubleu.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maev.aspxMelody HawtinMelody Hawtin’s paintings take an intimatelook at the natural world while exhibiting astrong interest in color and form for their own sake.Whether she is painting a bouquet of flowers closeup, or depicting mountain vistas or seascapes, shecombines a realist’s desire to make her subjectscome alive with the abstractionist’s goal of turningforms from nature into intricately assembled fields ofcolor.Her paintings communicate a wide range ofapproaches to texture — from a meticulousreproduction of rippling bodies of water to landscapesthat are transformed into patches of luminous redsand purples or patchworks of pastel shades. Thatvariety in texture is partly due to the widely varyingLet There Be Flowers Oil on Canvas 16” x 24”techniques she uses to apply paint to canvas. At times using delicately placed dabs or swirls, she will also employ thickbrushstrokes or broadly executed bands of color to get her effects. Adept at giving her canvases a sense of light, space and air,Hawtin places white next to darker, intense shades to give the effect of sunlight passing through skies or reflecting from water.There is a spiritual aura that comes from these images, many of which seem to glow from within, as well. “The bigger picture isimportant to me,” Hawtin says, and that sensibility gives her paintings a considerable degree of power.www.melodyart.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Melody_Hawtin.aspx18 ARTisSpectrum

Joshef MatèIn the work of Joshef Maté, thickly applied paint— in a palette that is often limited to black, whiteand primary colors — is used to create a world inwhich beauty and strength meet. Fields of flowersappear to be trapped in heavy, rigid backgrounds,while vibrantly hued blocks are balanced by briskbrushstrokes that invade them with hints of mutedshades. The energy the artist presents in theseworks moves in opposite directions as well. Somberbackgrounds are enlivened by flashes of brightershades, and the push and pull between darknessand light gives the canvases a palpable force.Maté’s sense of color and composition is just onefactor that gives his work its dynamism. The artist’shand is also a strong presence. We can sensethe physical motion it took to place both the broadThoughts Fly Acrylic on Canvas 28” x 40”streaks of paint that cross the surface of some canvases and the smaller brushstrokes that can blur the boundaries betweenobjects. He says that the emotions he experienced during an illness that kept him from painting provide inspiration for his work,but he also cites such artists as Italian Abstract Expressionist Alberto Burri and Jackson Pollock as influences. The result is abody of work that shows his ties to those earlier artists, but maintains a strong sense of individuality.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Joshef_Mate.aspxHeidi KirschnerAmbition Oil on Canvas 40” x 40”love to play with light,” say Heidi Kirschner, and“I indeed it is her distinctive way of representinglight that makes her paintings unique. Her canvasesemploy what at first seems to be a limited palette— blues, yellows and browns, the colors of sand,sky and sea — but she finds tremendous variety inthe ways she employs those colors. The blues, forexample, run the gamut from a stormy, forbiddingblue-green to a shimmering near-white that hints atclouds and mists. In her works, skies can seem toglow from within, with the light giving them a senseof power that is at once visceral and mysterious. Ms.Kirschner, born and raised in NY who has paintedsince she was a small child, notes that for her, lightis “a force that reflects spirituality,” and that sense ofspirituality is strongly apparent in her work.Her paintings also play interestingly withrepresentation. Drips and patches of earth colors dother skies, blurring the boundaries between the elements and turning those skies into abstract fields of color. In one work, a smallstream running through sand might be quite realistically depicted, while in another the feel of a landscape may be communicatedby an energetic, sketchily rendered horizon line. In all cases, however, the way that light transforms the world remains her mainsubject.www.heidikirschner.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Heidi_Kirschner.aspx19 ARTisSpectrum

Leigh GustersonLeigh Gusterson has always been attracted to the wild and lovely natural places of the world. Her wonderfully lively oilpaintings are a means to capture and share this spirit. In a palette that favors pastels and electric blue and green hues,Gusterson lays out these landscapes with a pillowy, dreamlike ease. Rustic scenes of rolling hills, farm animals, old pick-uptrucks and country churches are a delightful reminder that there are areas of the world that survive outside the ceaselesschurning towards the future. In this sense the artist provides her audience with a visual and spiritual vacation through her artwork.Gusterson is inspired by the moment and the place. She forms the basis of a new composition en plein air working fast andfiercely to capture the spirit of the setting. The work is not finished there but brought inside to exist in her consciousness for anumber of weeks as she processes what is there and decides what strokes are needed to complete the piece. By examining herwork we see an approach that is loose and forthright, modeling out major details in an impressionist mode while allowing a greatdeal of abstraction to exist alongside an obvious talent for realism. Her work with automobiles is a prime example, capturing thegraceful lines of the form while employing expressive color and textural qualities to enhance the surface treatment. The paintedautos become nearly sculptural in the process.The artist lives as simply as her works imply,choosing to forgo much of the gadgets, technology,and frills of modern life. She lives in the world inwhich we, as her audience, are merely guests. “Iwould like my art to express that joy and freedomof this simple, direct, authentic, grounded, down toearth way of life,” she explains.Her paintings have been exhibited, collected,and published for decades, and she has taughtpainting workshops for twelve years. Gustersonlives and works out of her home studio in a remotemountain village in northern New Mexico.www.leighgusterson.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Leigh_Gusterson.aspxPlacita Evening Oil on Canvas 28” x 32”Donna and Ellen’s Pond Oil on Canvas 20” x 30”20 ARTisSpectrumLeigh Gusterson

Bruce Leslie ThomasBruce in his StudioBombing Raid-LondonGouache & Ink on Board 17” x 12”Canadian artist Bruce Leslie Thomas lets his subjects guide his choiceof media, resulting in an oeuvre that varies vastly in its materials, butremains grounded in his highly original expressionist aesthetic. Many of hispaintings draw on the history of aviation — specifically that of the First WorldWar — while others are rooted in symbolism and allegory, or depict brilliantly litlandscapes. He cites the formative influence of a Vincent Van Gogh exhibitionin his hometown of Toronto; its impact is especially evident in his beautiful,flowing, wild and dramatic paintings of fields and seascapes.Now based on the West Coast of Canada, his practice has become increasinglyfocused on WWI aerial battles, the pilots fighting in them, and the vulnerableaircraft that carried them aloft. But rather than strive for fussy period detail andhistorical accuracy, Thomas’s portrayals of sky-high skirmishes maximize avertiginous sense of speed, height and disorientation. The stylization of planes,landscapes and human figures evokes the streamline design aesthetic thatwould emerge in the decades following the Great War, and the imagery of vintagepropaganda posters. Yet these mixed-media compositions never romanticizebattle; instead they capture the intense dislocations of such early, precarious airtravel, a jarring effect compounded by the integration of multiple media.In his aerial battle works, Thomas not only incorporates gouache paintings,Early Mornin’ CoffeeGouache & Collage on Board 25” x 20”ink drawings and collage, but also varies his choice of palette from realistic to radically whimsical within the same piece. Certainsectors of images may be drawn with great levels of detail, while other parts are filled with bright, abstract patterns or concealedunder densely crosshatched shadows. The architectural forms of airplane engines and fuselages contrast sharply with the moreorganic shapes of surrounding landscapes and skies. The results of such contrasting styles and forms is arresting. The spectacularcollision of man and machine, of humanity and modernity, and the potentially dehumanizing effects of technology remain incrediblypoignant issues in our media-saturated times. Thomas presents these encounters through an original yet also historical prism.www.thomasart.cawww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Bruce_Leslie_Thomas.aspx21 ARTisSpectrum

Fulvio BiancatelliCesure Painting 03 Acrylic on Canvas 24” x 31.5”Cesure 03 Metal & Mixed Media on Wood 40” x 40”Italian artist Fulvio Biancatelli’s compellingacrylic and mixed media abstract works delvedeep into the inner patterns of consciousness andthe ever-present cycle of death and rebirth thateach of us experience again and again throughoutour lives. Essentially, Biancatelli’s art is abouttransformation, highlighting how there is “thepossibility to change… before the light allows thetransformation from chrysalis to butterfly.” Withinhis compositions, order is disrupted by chaos, whilethe apparently pristine is found to have jagged holesand dislocated lines. Yet there is a quiet strengththat lies within each rendering, an inner light thattranscends any apparent discord.For Biancatelli, the base strength conveyed in hisart is literally represented by the glue he uses topiece together his metal, plastic and mixed mediaworks, which has “the strength to cling to almosteverything. You only have to wait and give itFulvio in his Studioconfidence.” Likewise, the bold brushstrokes andassertive colors in his acrylic on wood pieces tella similar story. When the viewer comes face to face with one of his artworks, the power within is palpable: a rawness ofexpressionistic intent balanced by a silent wisdom that all is as is should be in this particular moment in time.By juxtaposing harsh metals and discordant lines against abstract landscapes reflective of the vertical expanse of a pristineforest or natural terrain, Biancatelli invites us to explore the “morbidity of the perfect body,” taking a closer look at the scars andsutures that indicate our need and desire for constant rebirth. But within this process, the inner self remains and indeed growsstronger. As Biancatelli explains, “As we organize these fragments of consciousness in a new framework, the view of the denialof anything we become [transforms], perhaps for the first time, into something truly beautiful.”Fulvio Biancatelli currently lives and works in Rome, Italy.www.fulviobiancatelli.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Fulvio_Biancatelli.aspx22 ARTisSpectrum

Carlo ProiettoItalian artist Carlo Proietto has been a forerunner in elevating the technique of pyrography (the art of decorating wood orleather with heated tools or flame) into a fine art form. Within his work, he uses the utmost simplicity to convey deep passionsand forms of expressionism within figurative and surrealistic styles. The fiery technique he favors for etching out his designs notonly results in purely original works but also lends another layer of symbolism and meaning to each image. Through Proietto’sunique approach, expressionistic reflections of pain and conflict are reconfigured as a meaningful emotive visual language, bothliterally and figuratively, through the transformational power of fire.Proietto’s monochromatic creations (at times offset by solitary splashes of color) are defined by his careful use of line and formwithin judiciously composed surrealistic scenes. Lines are clean against visually stark tableaux, lending a sense of drama tothe overall effect. The artist traces his source of inspiration to contemporarymusic and video games, and this is reflected in the purely modern graphicelements that come to define each piece. Yet a strong energy underliesthe two-dimensional look of this stylistic approach, fleshing each figuralcomposition out in a burst of passionate expressionism.Within his pyrographic art, Proietto is able to create an entirely new mythologyreflective of the human experience within the highly urbanized, industrialcontext we have all come to know. In boxlike montages (a layout that mimicsthe modern graphic novel), we see glimpses of humans struggling with themechanisms of the outer world. Amid the imposed order of straight linesand geometric forms, chaos and tension persist as his subjects continue aninternal struggle to come to terms with the world into which they have beenborn.Carlo Proietto currently lives and works in Foggia, Italy. He has publishedtwo books on pyrography as a contemporary art form.www.carloproietto.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Carlo_Proietto.aspxCarlo in his StudioGeisha Pyrography 86” x 54”Farfalle Pyrography 38” x 50”23 ARTisSpectrum

Maryline LemaitreKiko Sobrinoaccumulate layers of materials,” says Maryline Lemaitre“I in describing her canvases, and it takes only a shortexamination to discover that the layers of which she speaks areboth literal and figurative. Achieving what she calls “pictorialdensity,” a process involving paint, dry pigments, marble dust,collages and other media, those materials are applied to thecanvas in a wide variety of ways, from large brushstrokes,to dripping paint, to using old credit cards. The result is amysterious world in which things seem to arise from unseendepths, feeling a bit like modern-day cave paintings, with thesubjects revealing themselves to us in fragments. Buildings,birds or human figures emerge from dense fields of colorthat often have the muted sheen of frescoes or weatheredindustrial materials. Artist signatures will float across a canvas,or a piece of printed matter will appear in mirror-image, withthe beginnings and ends of the words cut off. The earthiness ofthese works is emphasized by a palette that conjures up earth,rust and antiquity.However, French-born Lemaitre, who now lives and works inMontreal, has a good sense of when to let a block of brightcolor appear. A band of blue or a field of rich reds and pinks willbe used to add some provocative movement to an image —just one of the techniques that gives her work its astonishingfreshness.www.marylinelemaitre.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maryline_Lemaitre.aspxDistance Acrylic & Mixed Media on Board 48” x 48”Clean World Acrylic & Ink on Wood 39.5” x 39.5”do not consider my work pop or classic, figurative or“I abstract,” says Brazilian painter Kiko Sobrino, whosehybrid practice pulls elements from many traditions to form avisually arresting and formally original aesthetic. He executesmost of his ink and acrylic works on wood panels, adding abas-relief sculptural element to the result. The compositionsflirt with abstraction, though his two dominant visual tools— expressionist brushstrokes and Ben-Day-like dots —maintain traces of figuration. Sobrino’s topics of choice are theenvironmental devastation that he has witnessed both in thefavelas of São Paulo, where his first studio was located, andthe Amazon rainforest, and symbols of conformity like boxesand business suits.He leverages eerily beautiful and inexplicably delicate imagesto transmit these politically and socially charged messages.In paintings of smokestacks billowing noxious clouds, Sobrinojuxtaposes beautifully textured, classically voluminous andnearly fleshy masses of smoke and exhaust with grids of dots thathave the brilliance and far-off weightlessness of constellationssprinkled over top. Even more dramatically, his many portrayalsof cardboard boxes superimpose Lichtensteinian Pop formsonto shapeless abstract expressionist style color fields. KikoSobrino dusts destructive clouds with scintillating specks ofink, which in turn give form to his striking backgrounds; bothhis preferred modes strive for harmony between order andchaos, intellect and intuition.www.kikosobrino.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Kiko_Sobrino.aspx24 ARTisSpectrum

Madeleine ArnettParadox 1 Acrylic on Canvas 30” x 30”Paradox 2 Acrylic on Canvas 30” x 30”Madeleine Arnett’s lucid and visionary paintings of waterscenes both express a sense of the artist’s personaljourney and encourage the viewer to undertake one of theirown. Colorful, hyperrealist images feature the beautiful flora andfauna of water environs, but the real depth of the works comesfrom her decision that the absence of living creatures conveys afertile experience for the imagination, making them even moremeditative and sublime.We see the fractured features of river rocks through crystallinetorrents of water, while the vivid lime green hues of algae beamupward towards a sparkling sunlit surface. These powerfullyemotive paintings reintroduce us to the elemental magic ofnature, and to water as the vital lifeblood of our world. DuringArnett’s artistic development, the portrayal of the movement ofwater became more and more animated, until finally she madethe leap into pure abstraction, something which powerfullyanimates her recent work.Madeleine in her StudioCanvases are painted in a soft gradient with a dynamicamorphous form set in the center. In her latest works one cansense the essence of fluidity, the joy of motion, and the careful attention to evocative color harmonies. There is a deliciousapplication of paint as the artist works at a quick pace to mimic the motion of moving water. Paint is smeared, daubed, pushed,and dripped onto the canvas, appearing to gurgle and bubble before our very eyes.Yet despite the pronounced fluidity, there are also remnants of Arnett’s rock studies. Layers of color ripple throughout the forms,much like the distinct layers of sedimentary rock. Arnett alternates styles between three different bodies of work, yet each ofthem preserves her passion for water and its influence on her creative life. “My art is filled with liquid light and energy,” sheexplains. “My fascination with water has fuelled my artistic drive.”Madeleine Arnett’s first exhibition was only two years ago, but the art world has already taken notice and she has had numerouscommissions. A native of the United Kingdom, she currently lives and works in Edmonton, Canada.www.hitthewallart.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Madeleine_Arnett.aspx25 ARTisSpectrum

AlbenaFernando SaladoFernando Salado’s photographs show a world in which natureand artifice, as well as realism and symbolism, meetin provocative pairings. Salado, who says that his goal is todepict “the atmosphere that surrounds objects,” takes the realityof the world around us — a flower, a body, or a simple canof Coca-Cola — and recasts it through a subtle use of light,shadow and color. The resulting images give each object aniconic presence, while the mix of textures lends every photographa dynamic sense of energy. Salado says that he oftenfinds himself being led toward “surreal photography,” and it iseasy to see the influence of such surrealist masters as ManRay and Maurice Tabard in his work, especially in their combinationof elegance with a hint of conflict.Having worked for over 30 years as a photographer, FernandoSalado has pursued many aspects of the medium, from takingstreet pictures, to working as a wedding photographer toindustrial photography. This has led him to take a flexible approachin his art. “Regarding the medium,” he says, “I just useany photography equipment, studio lighting or natural lighting”— whatever process happens to be right for the individualphotograph. But that open-ended process is always part of anoverall unity that accounts for his work’s clarity and force.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Fernando_Salado.aspxOrigins Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas 48” x 36”For Albena, the surfaces that she uses are as much a part ofher artistic statement as are the paints themselves. Thosesurfaces range from cardboard that has been left for recyclingto torn canvases. “There is still so much power in these trashedmaterials,” she reminds her viewers. She is also willing towork on “regular canvases,” when they are appropriate for apainting’s subject and can match the force of her creations.Her adventurous stance toward materials extends to the mediashe chooses to paint with. Her sensual images — which usea color palette rooted in red, yellow and other earth tones —employ acrylics, tempera and gels to create a body of work thatvividly depicts nature in a striking variety of ways. The works onpaper or cardboard often look as if they have been unearthedthemselves, their weathered surfaces giving the paint the feelof a centuries-old fresco. When she uses acrylics on canvas,the works are brighter, the colors taking on a modern vibrancy,the shapes more sharply drawn.In all of her work, Albena, who was born in Sofia, Bulgaria andnow lives and works just outside Washington, D.C., makesnature’s light into something highly physical — whether it’s thesubterranean feel of a red-and-yellow sunset emerging out ofblackness, or the sunny glow of a field of flowers.www.allbeart.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Albena.aspxAcoso Psicolgico Photogram-Lambda Print 16” x 19.5”26 ARTisSpectrum

Cristina Popoviciuring painting,” Cristina Popovici says,“D“there is no separation between intellect,emotion and act.” All three of those elements comeinto play in her vivid abstract paintings, which havesuch a powerful sense of action and energy thatthey seem to be in a constant state of motion. Paintis brushed, swirled and dripped onto a variety ofsurfaces — from canvas to sheets of plastic andsilver leaf.Bold shades often collide with each other in theseworks, but Popovici’s eye for color is such that sheachieves as much effect from juxtapositions ofblacks, whites and grays as she does from redsand yellows. The stark and compelling contraststhat she employs carry a strong emotional punchas well. “I have a strong desire to reveal hiddenSpin Mixed Media on Plastic 110” x 98.5”emotions,” she comments, “in order to give them a tangible form.” Her quick-moving brushstrokes and streaks of paint do justthat, conjuring up dramatic, mysterious events that seem just outside comprehension. A patch of red might make us think ofblood, while a curving swirl of white paint may bring an ocean wave to mind. The artist’s expert sense of composition lets herplace those elements so that the viewer’s eye is constantly active, while each painting remains firmly centered.Cristina Popovici, who was born in Romania, now lives and works in Melbourne, Australia.www.cristinapopovici.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Cristina_Popovici.aspxToshio IshikawaLink of the Still Life Oil on Canvas 35” x 57”Japanese artist Toshio Ishikawa createscompelling surrealistic miniatures depictinga variety of subjects, from landscapes to peopleto urban tableaux. Here, familiar objects arereconfigured both in terms of function and theirrelationships with the rest of the world. Fromunique juxtapositions of subjects and perspectives,a new symbolism emerges that speaks to theprecariousness of space and time, and the ultimateambiguity of those structures and systems thatdefine our world.Inspired by the art and architecture of ancientJapanese Buddhist traditions, Ishikawa effectivelymerges Western surrealistic approaches andEastern techniques, combined with an infusion of different artistic styles (from Impressionistic backgrounds to photorealistic stilllifes). He stays true to prominent motifs of the surrealist movement, situating ambiguous objects within unexpected contextsagainst recognizable backgrounds. Yet there is a delicacy and elegance to his work, recalling the time honored tradition ofEastern painting. All these disparate elements are woven together through his masterful use of composition and the cohesivecolor schemes that feature singular dominant tones. What results are individualist pieces that offer a unique perspective on ourworld, an effect which both engages viewers and invites them to rethink the reality they have come to accept.Toshio Ishikawa has exhibited around the world. He currently lives and works in Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan.www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~i-toshiowww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Toshio_Ishikawa.aspx27 ARTisSpectrum

Studio Spaces: Nada HermanNada’s Art Studio/HomeShrouded by angophora gum trees, magnificent “Pittwater” views, and majestically positioned on the highest point of Avalon(Sydney, Australia) is a creative sanctuary used for three generations of one artistic dynasty.In this marvelous location stands a historic sandstone house called “Hy-brasil,” built in the 1930’s with a magnificent fireplacecreated by a huge 4m slab of rock quarried on the site. Hy-brasil is apparently a term for a mythical island which became accessibleonly one day in seven years.Ted Herman (Nada’s father) bought the 3 acre property in the 1950’s and resided there until his death in 2008 aged 85. He wasattracted to the unique location with all its natural surrounding bushland as well as the 360 degree views over the local waterwaysand ocean. These scenes provide inspiring views for artists working in the studio which forms part of the house.Hy-brasil is listed with the National Trust and has become heritage listed. This protects it from future development or subdivision.Famous Swiss-born artist Sali Herman OBE (Nada’s grandfather) lived and painted at the property in his last years untilhe passed away aged 95.Nada still occupies the studio, despite having moved to a new home close by designed to show her works to their best advantage.She never even thought of leaving the old studio, though. She says: “The light through all the windows in the studio isperfect for creating artworks. The water from the fish pond shimmers on the walls and creates a calming ambience, as does thesound of the running water. I have a spiritual connection to the property, almost like it has made me the person and artist I amtoday. When I paint from the studio I can see the tall, angophora gum trees which create a framework for the magnificent scenery.There are magpies, kookaburras, lorikeets, and currawongs flying around above in the branches. I can see Pittwater and thedistant sail boats. Every day I visit the nearby beaches observing the colors and the life within them. The location is a constantinspiration and the studio takes full advantage of it. It was what compelled my father to build it in the first place.”28 ARTisSpectrum

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Having been born in this unique place and raised painting in the studio with her two older mentors, Nada feels very privileged tohave lived such a creative and free-spirited life with such an interesting family history. For the past 18 years thousands of peoplehave come to visit the studio and purchase some “Herman” artworks when the family annually opens the property to the public.Of course, part of the special nature of the studiois where it is situated. The beach and waterways ofSydney’s Northern Suburbs provide Nada with all thesubject matter she needs artistically, and all the enjoymentshe needs for recreation.“I am connected to the outdoors and feel invigoratedby the ocean. The beauty of the local waterways andthe ocean creatively inspires me to paint them withall their change of mood, vitality and colorful flowersand marine life. My grandfather Sali was drawn tothe suburban life of old Sydney, particularly the oldterrace houses. My father painted the local subjectmatter as well as rural as he was a keen farmer also.I’m drawn to the beaches.The interesting thing about these three generationsof painters is that we are all different, yet seem tohave a similar color sense. We all use oil paint, anduse brushes as well as a palette knife in our technique.My grandfather and father both taught me how to observe my surroundings, and to appreciate the beauty within a humbleobject and to enjoy life to its fullest. “Only paint something if an emotion moves you,” my grandfather would say.My fondest memories are of my grandfather, my father and myself all painting together in the one studio with classical musicblaring and the smell of turpentine and oils reeking. My grandfather was very critical of my work but always encouraging, saying“You will be great one day, Nada, you have the gift!”He was an eccentric old man who was very generouswith whatever he had. He loved animals, and couldn’tsay no to them when they begged for something –sometimes really overfeeding them. My father was akind, gentle man who also encouraged me throughlife. He loved the outdoors and working on the land.They were both wonderful mentors.”Nada’s mother, Dawn, still resides in the old sandstonecottage on her own, but Nada and her three beautifuldaughters are close by in their new home. Nadasays: “My mother often spoils me, as she did my dadand grandfather, with tea and cakes whilst I am busypainting, because often I forget to eat as I become soconsumed in my work. Time literally flies by.”The next generation will continue on as Tasmin, Nada’ssecond daughter, has already shown great artistictalent in her oil paintings at the young age of 17.Nada describes this development: “My daughter Tasminseems to paint without an effort. Painting to her is a natural event of the day as it was for me. She has watched me paintsince she was born and obviously the talent has passed on to her. We share the studio now and I am experiencing what myfather and grandfather must have felt: joy, pride and comradeship. However, I do not remember from my younger days such amess being left behind and brushes being left out for others to tidy up. But that’s teenagers for you!”Hopefully the Hy-brasil art studio/home will be occupied by many more generations of Herman artists in the future!www.nada-art.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nada_Herman.aspx30 ARTisSpectrum

The singular landscapes of Italian painter Occhi Pinti are steeped in anatmospheric mystery, just as affecting for what they leave out as for whatthey include. Pinti paints tree trunks and sunsets from an ant’s perspective,leaving room for wide expanses of open sky that undulate with color. Thefinely-tuned range of hue saturation and grouping brings a vibrancy to thepaintings that belies their intriguing composition. Leaves and trunks weaveagainst background patterns of rolling clouds, delicately balancing the shapes.The artist, who generally uses oils, also experiments with mixed media,scattering among her treetops collaged geometric shapes that may or maynot be buildings. The ambiguity of pictoral logic chimes with Pinti’s belief inthe transcendence of the tree, which she says becomes “a timeless moment,where nature finds her highest multicolored expression and becomes part ofan endless universe.”Occhi Pinti, a veteran of Florence’s 2005 International Biennial of ContemporaryArt, continues to mix naturalism and surrealism today in Padova, Italy.www.occhi-pinti.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Occhi_Pinti.aspxOcchi PintiMarc LabergeTra Sogno e RealtàOil on Canvas 39” x 28”Quebec-born artist Marc Laberge subscribes to the Abstract Expressioniststyle of painting: intuition and physicality guide his aesthetic. Startingwith wood panels, Laberge employs the surrealist technique of fumage, inwhich the surface is charred. Leaving the burnings visible, Laberge adds avariety of media to his work. Using his hands, knives, and other objects toapply acrylic, oil, conte and charcoal, his paintings maintain a sense of fluidityand movement that belies the physical nature of his process. The objectsand figures cultivated by Laberge are suggestions or vague conceptionsrather than definitive elements: the subjects of these works exist on a planebetween reality and a dream, leaving a myriad of interpretations open toviewers. Laberge states that “the most fascinating thing about painting is theimpression of being in front of a universe without limit. It’s a game of discovery,a materialization of the invisible, an archeology of the spirit and the humansoul.”Marc Laberge lives and works in Montreal, Canada.www.marclaberge.cawww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Marc_Laberge.aspxWalking ShadowsAcrylic & Mixed Media on Wood48” x 36”Thomas Ab-e’s oil paintings depict elongated yet sensitively modeled figures,weightlessly bending and bounding across amorphous backgrounds. Theirbodies are carefully drawn and colored with only a light touch, as if any strokeor tint too forceful would send them tumbling back into the dream from whichthey came. They are starkly portrayed, and utterly compelling. The work oftendisplays the unflinching characterization and figure-centric composition ofWeimar period German artists like Max Beckmann and Otto Dix, but theseworks contain an added sensuality of color which is closer to the softness ofMillet or Courbet.Thomas Ab-e, born in Georgia and now working in the Netherlands, believes apainter must have “purity of thought” to achieve a successful, lively work. “Withthe reality of the physical quality,” he explains, people made out of mere paint“that are born in my brain can have brains of their own.” It is this process whichcreates the magical alchemy of these works.Thomas Ab-ewww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Thomas_Abe.aspxMy Future LoverOil on Canvas 43” x 22”31 ARTisSpectrum

SAHIBallerinas Oil & Mixed Media on Canvas 31.5” x 39.5”For Madrid-based painter SAHI, the balancebetween strength and fragility is the driving forceof art. SAHI’s oil and mixed media paintings featuresensitively characterized people placed againstnebulous backgrounds, actively engaged in physicaland emotional tasks while being completely displacedfrom any recognizable environment. The artist’sprimary tool, the palette knife, slices at the edges ofthe otherwise realistically modeled figures and turnsthem into frayed, dream-like apparitions. Dancers,musicians, runners and wrestlers are all capturedat the height of effort and passion; lone women,the frame close around their faces, silently cry. Thecolors are vivid, the light contrasts are heightenedand sometimes inch toward the graphic. However,despite the alien world which the figures inhabit,their actions all evoke immediate identification andempathy.SAHI uses both subject matter and working methodto draw such emotion out of action. “My style of composition is based on the classical ideals of figurative painting, combined withan extremely expressive and modern technique which fills my paintings with movement and strength,” the artist says. Still, SAHIdoesn’t work with an end product in mind. “I can’t think of a goal, or a way I want my art to look, because like everything in life,it has to grow free inside.” In this way, he allows his ideas to reach their full potential.www.sahi-art.blogspot.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Sahi.aspxCorrado MaggiIn Corrado Maggi’s photographs we arepresented with a wide array of subjects, takenfrom many vantage points. One picture brings usup close to the ropes that tie a ship to a dock, whileanother shows us the slightly blurred image of aFrench movie star on a video monitor. Whetherhe is working in black-and-white or in color, Maggishows an impressive ability to bend light to hisown purposes, using a shadow to help define anobject, or employing light to lift a subject up fromthe background and give it emphasis or a senseof action. That ability is combined with a suresense of composition, one that lets him frame hissubjects in ways that create compelling narratives.For example, in a picture of a man walking besidea wall, he slightly blurs the man’s image and placesGomene 3 Print on Paper 20” x 28”him to the left, as if he had just casually entered the frame. The result is a photograph that strongly communicates the idea ofa journey.A self-taught photographer, Maggi shows a remarkable degree of control over his materials. Details are precise when he needsthem to be, and the blurs and swirls used to depict movement are expertly rendered. Using that control in ways that always seemnatural, he turns these diverse images into a cohesive artistic world.www.corradomaggi.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Corrado_Maggi.aspx32 ARTisSpectrum

Marty PoorterMarty Poorter’s acrylic and collage paintingsexamine the relationship between humanbeings and animals. A self-proclaimed “observer,”Poorter’s work aims to translate the “essence ofreality” for her viewers. Abstractions and morefigurative forms merge with one another, highlightingdetails of life in the natural world generally registeredon a subconscious level.Fluid lines and fervent brushstrokes delineate humanfigures interacting with their animal counterparts in avariety of conditions. The tone of the work rangesfrom blithe to somber - revealing the varying natureof human beings’ contact with nature. A combinationof techniques including painting, drawing, etchingand collage integrate to form a single one ofPoorter’s canvases. Sometimes harmonious and atother times discordant, the complete images signifythe artist’s expressionistic style.Observer 5 Etching 28” x 35.5”Her technique indicates emotionality as an impetus for artistic action. Working without a preconceived plan for her work, Poorterbases her creations on a “non-thoughtful flow of line and gestures.” Indeed, the artist describes her practice as “A game whereI surrender to a kind of inner music.” The resultant compositions act as narratives, communicating not only a vision of fleetingmoments between animals and humans, but also the emotions and energy surrounding those instances.Born in Delft, in the Netherlands, Marty Poorter continues to live and work in the northern region of The Netherlands.www.martypoorter.nlwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Marty_Poorter.aspxBriggitte Lazo (“Blazo”)Triplets Oil on Canvas 70” x 180”The work of artist Blazo – Briggitte Lazo - conveysa winning grace. A subtle bowing of the head or ayawning curve gesticulated by a delicate hand lurksappealingly within the wild fray of her vivid color paletteand dynamic textures.She draws both intensity and a sense of reflection outof her bold use of exaggerated hues and her decidedlylush brushstrokes, designating each piece as a wideexpressive space for her passion and gratitude. Withsubjects such as sensual, contemplative women and thenatural world unfurled, her work buzzes with emotionalforce and arouses kinesthetic sensibilities in the vieweras she ferries them between unabashed and refinedtechniques for putting oil on canvas.“I started painting some years ago,” states Blazo. “I wouldlike to bring life, joy, and passion to all those who observethe paintings, a small grain of sand in this world so troubledand yet so full of beauty, love and joy.”Blazo’s worldly inspirations and penchant for AbstractExpressionism evolved in part out of her travels, but at heart, she garners most of her encouragement from the support of her family.Born in Madrid, Spain to Cuban immigrants, the artist references both her Latin and Caribbean roots to create exciting pieces that payhomage to nature, her loved ones and her lifelong interest in the arts.www.blazo2010.blogspot.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Blazo.aspx33 ARTisSpectrum

Marty MaehrCHARESTLight seems to pour through the surfaces of Marty Maehr’sgorgeous paintings. The sun itself features in many of hisworks, and even when it doesn’t his subjects seem to give offa light from within. At first glance, it would be easy to mistakehis brightly colored canvases for stained-glass windows.Blocks of glowing colors are hemmed in by bold black lines,creating mosaics that seem to transform oil paint into jewellikepieces of glass. Maehr shows an impressive ability tomix his colors so that they give off a realistic depiction oflight and its effects. Even when his compositions are at theirmost abstract, they have a palpably physical presence. Thereis also a strong sense of a spirituality that goes beyond thenormal associations of stained-glass with religious subjects.Night skies, flowing water and abstract patterns are all givenan otherworldly radiance that lifts them into a spiritual realm.Yet in some ways these glorious images are not at all whatthe viewer would expect from a stained-glass window. Mostnotably, Maehr’s images have a powerful sense of movement.He vividly communicates the feel of rushing water currents orof wind moving across a landscape, as well as charting theflow of energy in inner, psychological domains. A student ofthe Bible and the Tao Te Ching as well as of philosophers fromEmerson to Plato, Maehr shows himself to be a perceptiveinterpreter of both interior and exterior worlds.www.maehrcreations.netwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Marty_Maehr.aspxWaterfall of Light Oil on Canvas 37” x 24”Tapis RougeAcrylic on Canvas 30” x 15”To call CHAREST’s luxurious paintings of apples, cherriesand other fruits ‘still lifes’ is to underestimate what is goingon beneath their glowing surfaces. There is a Surrealist feelto these paintings, a slight but fascinating distortion of thereal world’s contours. The pieces of fruit he depicts assumea near-human degree of presence in the spaces they occupy.A viewer would not be surprised to see one of the pears orapples in these paintings start to move, making an active claimfor our attention.Yet despite the voluptuous physical appearance of his subjects,CHAREST, who lives and works in Montreal, does not paintthem from life. Instead, he keeps their “figurative authenticity,”but not their realism. The shapes of the natural world areturned into a fantasy, one that lets the artist open the door toan investigation of “men and women, neighbors, strangers andeven intruders.” There is a sense of drama here, of objectsstepping outside their boundaries. The background againstwhich those objects appear has a deep, many-layered qualityas well, a quality he achieves through the frottis technique, inwhich paints are blended on the canvas itself, rather than ona palette. The resulting colors are simultaneously rich, somberand luminous. Super-saturating our senses at all levels,CHAREST’s paintings depict a world in which realism is whatone makes of it.www.artgcharest.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Charest.aspx34 ARTisSpectrum

John StevensonRenowned Canadian landscape painter JohnStevenson captures the luminous quality ofsunlight in all its moods. Strongly influenced bythe Impressionists, Stevenson has developed aunique style involving a palette knife and oils. Hemanipulates pure oils directly from the tube on hiscanvas, working deftly with the knife to blend andshape the paint. “I love using oils because I feelthat I can make the colors dance and become morevibrant and subtle at the same time,” he explains. Hisinterpretive work is a window to the natural world,expressing the way the sunlight and wind constantlychange his surroundings.Stevenson paints heavy layers with his palette knife,creating an impasto effect. As a result, his work takeson a sculptural quality, and changing the lighting orthe point of view causes the painting to shift subtly. Inthis way, the very style of his knife work evokes theendless changes that occur in the natural world, andwhich pose such a challenge to landscape artists.Butterfly Meadow Oil on Canvas 30” x 36”John Stevenson began painting seriously at a young age. Encouraged by his family, he sold his first painting at age 10. He currentlylives in Quebec, and he is a familiar figure along the Ottawa River or deep in the Gatineau Hills, camera or palette knife in hand.www.artbystevenson.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/John_Stevenson.aspxNada HermanLilies on Red Oil on Canvas 40” x 80”In capturing the energy and spontaneity of hersurroundings, Nada Herman creates workthat seems to have grown from the naturaljoy of creation. The artist grew up in the beachcommunity of northern Sydney, and her bodyof work reflects this influence, featuring brightlycolored seaside vistas and the wonderful life thatis possible in these idyllic surroundings.Her style is painterly and lush. Brushstrokes areswaths of verdant hues, rich with texture. Hermanwill often frame a piece using patches of flowers ortrees in the foreground, a perspective that allowsfor greater range of color and depth. Rolling hillsgive way to placid azure waters dotted by fishing vessels, sail boats, and flocks of birds. Herman loves expansive paintings, andher canvases often reach well over six feet wide, becoming like windows into which the viewer can peer. You can truly senseher love for this inspiring place, and her art functions as a means to transport us there ourselves. In her estimation, meaningis possible anywhere one seeks it. “I believe nothing is static,” she explains. “A humble flower or piece of fruit has a life force.”Nada Herman has devoted her life to the arts, receiving instruction from a young age; both her father and grandfather werecelebrated artists. She works from her studio at the top of Avalon in Sydney.www.nada-art.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nada_Herman.aspx35 ARTisSpectrum

Lessons From the Handwriting on the WallThe Gift of Ancient Art by David LaBellaArt does not lend itself well to categorization or dispassionate examination. It should be this way – after all, it reaches into usto tread on things that we ourselves cannot easily define: intuition, emotion, imagination, and that magnetic attraction that wemay feel but cannot quantify or describe. Some art forms have had this unexplainable capacity to captivate and influence thesenebulous but nevertheless powerful tendencies of human nature for many centuries, and modes of expression with even the mostancient lineage have found a voice in the modern age. Abstract Expressionism, Primitivism, and so many of the various threadsof twentieth century art owe at least some of their vocabulary and methodology to some of the oldest visual art forms that ourancestors passed down to us through so many long millennia. In this way, art has drawn a full circle in its evolution – from themost ancient to the most current forms of personal vision and expression. To look at modern art is, then, to look back deeply intoour past. We are led to wonder how it can be that people far less sophisticated and complex were so well able to translate theirideas and relationships to the world around them into graceful, compelling works of visual art that, to this day, challenge us andallow us to look into the minds of our distant forebears. There are many places where pictographs, monuments, places of worshipand burial and otherwise unexplainable constructions reflect the creative impulses of ancient man. Perhaps some of the mostfascinating and compelling works were drawn and painted onto the walls of caves throughout Europe, Asia, and the New World.Paloma Bernaldo de Quirós Chauvet Horses 2 Acrylic & Sand on Canvas 24” x 36”There is an aura of mystical power and magicin the illustrations that adorn the walls of Lascaux,Chauvet, and Altamira; there are similarworks to be found in Bulgaria, Southeast Asia,and the Americas. We will never know what setPaleolithic man to work depicting certain elementsof their surrounding world deep within therecesses of caves and natural rock shelters, yetone senses that there is more in play than meremimicry or casual interpretations of what thesepeople experienced in their daily lives; theseworks would not have continued to exert theirpowerful allure upon subsequent generationsif this simple explanation was true. Mysticism,a reflection of an awakening of the intellectualcapacity of humankind, fear, hopes and dreams– all of these notions are implicit in the abstractionsand dramatic representations written ontothese walls. It was a watershed in the evolutionof man throughout the world around 40,000years ago – anatomically modern humans hadflourished to the point that their more primitiveancestors had been replaced; the culture theywould create would eventually define the humancondition as we have come to recognize it – we can see it in their art – it is not nearly as alien and simple as one might expect,there is a sophistication and elemental force of life instilled into these one-dimensional works that we cannot fail to see. If suchancient works fascinate us, it is due in part to their ability to communicate the innocence and humility of mankind set loose in aworld that is fraught with dangers and forces that they cannot master, yet at the same time we are reminded of the ascendancyof modern man that began so long ago – we are able to see ourselves; dimly, perhaps, yet there can be no doubt that we arelooking at ourselves, waiting for time to carry us headlong into the future.The great majority of these free-form depictions of the ancient world share many common characteristics across the globe. Sentientbeings, animals in particular, are carefully drawn in motion and at rest; humans are much more rarely shown; if mankindis present on the cave walls it is in an idealized form or in some ritual context that speaks to some allegorical representation oftheir function within the social order; persons of influence or some ceremonial importance. Groups of men are shown huntingtheir prey, while domestic and familial scenes are notably absent: perhaps there was no magic to be found in everyday homelife, the lament of so many of us in later times. The hunt itself was steeped in ritual and remained so in more modern times – yetthere are those who celebrated the hunt before setting out – as with the Native Americans of the Great Plains, and those whogo to great lengths to be secretive about it beforehand – as with the Tuareg of northern Africa. There are many levels on whichperception and intuition influence the fundamental relationship of mankind to the greater world; some social orders seem toremove themselves from time itself, others are always set in the present, in the moment itself. For both, visual art bridges thegap between existence and belief.36 ARTisSpectrum

Early modern men and women, at the mercy of a world that seemed as though it would surely defeat them at any given moment,exhibited a peculiar humility and tangible grace in their art – signature artifacts are limited often to handprints and outlines thatpin the individual to whatever sense of place and time they were able to understand. Despite the fact that their relationship to thesurrounding world was precarious and tumultuous at all times, they were somehow able to express themselves in a singularlygraceful and evocative manner – the result is mankind written with a light touch, whimsical yet vibrant at the same time. Theirstyle and manner reflects a desire somehow to commit their observations, sensory impressions, and interpretations of realityand place to an enduring record – and is this not one of the elemental components of the human experience? Is it not also partand parcel of the vocabulary of the modern artist, who has chosen to turn away from the mannered and convention-driven rulesof traditional visual art and strip reality and imagination down to its most basic artifacts? The similarities are striking; the convergenceof the ancient with the modern speaks to aspects of the human condition that have changed but little over thousandsof centuries: how does one fix oneself to one’s experiences and to the passage of time, even though one might not necessarilyrecognize or accept that one is doing so? Mankind has wrestled with the tension between intellect and the forces of nature andhistorical evolution since the beginning; modern artists might serve their cause better if they would, perhaps, step back for a momentand realize that we are all still partnered with our most distant ancestors, wrestling with the age-old relationship betweenman the ascendant superior and the forces that would cheat us, defeat us, and, in the end, leave us in their wake.As the twentieth century opened andEuropean/American man becamemore aware of the diversity of peoplesin lesser-known parts of the world, abstractionand Primitivism drew heavilyon the works of art they discovered inAsia, Africa, and the underdevelopedAmericas. It had to be so – with sophisticationand technological advancement,industrial mankind erected wallsbetween itself and nature; the art ofthe so-called “third world” allowedmodern artists to be liberated from thetrappings of the societies within whichthey lived, or, at least, allowed them tobelieve that they had been liberated.The great conceit of the modern artmovement is that it was somehow,in its gravitation toward some sort ofBohemian or aboriginal ardor, moreworthy and pure as a movement whencontrasted against the currents of theart of the past thousand years in theirown societies, when, in truth, theywere no less a product of their culturethan were those against which theyhad revolted. They were, and are, artists– no more and no less. In this understandingis, truly, artistic freedom.Paloma Bernaldo de Quirós The Clan Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas 21” x 24”Perhaps this too has come down to us from our ancestors: the realization that creativity on any level is the defining attribute ofour progress. At the least, cave art depicts an innocence, a genuine reverence for the natural world and the human condition atthe same time; selfishness, conceit, smugness have come much later to us. The study of the past is never in vain or without abenefit to those of us who choose to lose ourselves for a moment in what transpired so long ago. Modern art owes much to thisheritage, yet it may be that it suffers from a truncated perspective and is locked in the present, imprisoned by self-assuredness.Is there value in this sense of superiority? Or have we in the “developed” world confined ourselves unwittingly to a narrow pointof view that only focuses on the “future,” as though we already know what is coming? In art there is nothing so powerful as thenotion of a limitlessly open future – it allows for everything we can imagine. Yet it may be true that we are deluding ourselveswith an inferior vision: we are slaves, to one degree or another, to the present. The past is no less open to us than is the future,it reveals for us layers and successive moments within our collective consciousness that have defined who we are today. Thereality that strikes us as artists is that we are still at work in the cave; the sooner that we accept that we are never quite capableor worthy of everything for which we applaud ourselves, the better we can free ourselves from falling victim to posturing or excessivevanity.The art of the ancients still draws us irresistibly – we can feel the power and mystery within it even at a great distance in timeand evolution. We are, therefore, of the same stock as our distant ancestors. In cave art there is an innate wisdom that graspsthe inscrutable essence of life and of humanity’s place within it. Let us hope that our descendants can say the same about our37 ARTisSpectrum

continued from page 37own art as they stare back at us in times yet to come. Thebridge between the imagination and our creative worksmust not be something that we must spell out to thosewho would see it. It is something to be felt without words,communicable without language, and full of wonder andpalpable sensations that reward our attention with a deeperunderstanding of who we are, and who we always havebeen. Any study of our evolution reveals that the mostfundamental aspects of human nature have remained essentiallyunchanged for 40,000 years. What does changeis the range of circumstances that define the way we interactand modify our environment; whether through industry,community, or creativity. Art etched onto cave wallsor expressed in the various media of our modern agerepresents our response to danger, uncertainty, our needfor identity, unity, individualism, mystery, and aspiration.Even in the most primitive circumstances, there is a curiousbut indelible tendency for man to depict himself bothliving within and apart from the world around him. Humannature, and, therefore, art, is one of the few permanentartifacts of our existence. Paloma Bernaldo de Quirós First Matador Oil on Canvas 20” x 30”Younghee HongExpertly crafted visions of nature greet audiences relishing the workof Younghee Hong. Throughout the artist’s life, nature has been aconstant companion and muse. Hong masterfully paints a setting witha realistic touch yet pushes the boundaries of what is seen in order tospeak beyond the material – for she is not just painting, but conveying theessence of the earth, and our relationship to it. “Nature to me embodiesnot only a sense of beauty,” she explains “but also calmness, healing,vitality, and all the potential positive energies of the present moment.”Hong’s work captures more than interesting natural forms; it is alsoan examination of timeless processes. Gnarled roots draped in cool,shadowy hues interweave and spread forth under the canopy in searchof water and nutrients. Slender branches and vines seeking rays ofsunlight form a complex arrangement of shapes and angles. We arereminded of those creatures dwelling in these glorious surroundingsby the unpresuming and diminutive forms of ants, tree frogs, beetlesand airborne insects. Between the flora and fauna, these compositionspresent an impressive range of color and depth.Born in South Korea, Younghee Hong received a BFA from theUniversity of South Florida and spent countless hours studying theoften overlooked areas of the Botanical Gardens. She has exhibitedpaintings in Florida and New York.www.younghee-art.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Younghee_Hong.aspxTrees in Botanical Garden 8 Oil on Canvas 36” x 30”38 ARTisSpectrum

Norma PicciottoNorma PicciottoL’enigma 2 Photographic Print on Acrylic Kristalrec 28” x 39.5”Italian photographer Norma Picciotto capturesfragments of reality amid portraits of ordinary people,working digitally to deepen their expressive potential.Each photographic collage is set against a recognizablelandscape, whether it is the ocean, the desert, an urbansetting, or a majestic river. Against this background, shesynthesizes various elements around a central focal pointset in a bubble, most often a portrait but other times arecognizable object laden with meaning.This diversity of images comes together in Picciotto’sart, and what results is a dreamlike world of memory andemotion. The images are almost visionary, juxtaposingvarious symbolic elements together to explore a worldin which realities are layered and dreams are fleeting, afluidity of space and time that stands in sharp contrast tothe structure and rigidity by which many of us define ourown worlds.At the heart of Picciotto’s work is a masterful synthesisof thousands of shots taken from around the globe.Her art has stemmed from a long and storied careeras a photojournalist, during which she co-founded, along with her husband, the De Bellis agency, one of the best-knownphotojournalism agencies in Milan. Through this forum, she documented the multifaceted history of Milan from the 1970s to1990s, capturing both the struggles of the people and the complexity of their culture as it evolved through time, and setting thestage for what would later emerge as her own particular art form.In the end, Picciotto’s photo collages are a powerful force, opening up a whole new world for those who encounter them and takethe time to unpack their meanings. The ever-present bubble lends a nostalgic perspective, recalling a childlike innocence, whilesimultaneously drawing us toward the mesmerizing eyes of her figural subjects, true windows to the soul. Here, we as viewersare invited to look deep inside our own selves, to the dreaming inner child we always harbor but often fail to notice.Norma Picciotto currently lives and works in Milan, Italy.www.normapicciotto.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Norma_Picciotto.aspxL’enigma #1 - Identità e FuturoPhotographic Print on Acrylic Kristalrec 28” x 39.5”39 ARTisSpectrum

Fabio SanzogniVisit the museumthat is a masterpieceT heF rickCollection1 East 70th Street, NYC212 288-0700Frick.orgDowntown at Night 2 Acrylic on Panel 48” x 48”sense of the dramatic comes naturally to Fabio Sanzogni.A “I tend to use bold and clean colors,” he says, “that expressemotions and a state of being.” With years of experience as aset designer for dance and theater as well as for television,he is well versed in telling stories and bringing out dramaticcontrasts. But unlike a stage set, his paintings tell their storiessolely through a combination of shapes, painting styles, andcolors. Contrasts between characters are replaced by clashesbetween varying shades and juxtapositions of seeminglycasual splashes of paint with neat rectangles. The artist strikesan arresting balance between vibrant and muted colors, andbetween restrained elegance and a volcanic sense of energy.Many influences can be seen in his work. A jewel-likeassemblage of squares and swirls might bring Gustav Klimtto mind, or a bright pattern that looks as if it could havebeen poured onto the canvas will suggest Jackson Pollock’swork. Influenced by the frescoes he saw while growing up inItaly, Sanzogni lets light infuse his paintings — even a blackbackground will be mixed with bits of white in a way that makesit seem as if a light source is somewhere just out of the frame.Sanzogni’s paintings, while abstract, pull the viewer into aphysical, emotionally challenging world.www.fabiosarts.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Fabio_Sanzogni.aspxThe Frick Collection’s newly reopened Fragonard Room40 ARTisSpectrum

Cristina ArnedoWendy CohenCombining the smoothness of oil with the coarseness ofsand, Mexican artist Cristina Arnedo creates flowingcanvases filled with rich colors and textures. Here, shesearches for harmony among different materials and colorsthat frequently contrast, finding equilibrium between thehardness and softness of form, vibrant and subtle colors, lightand dark elements. For her, the canvas becomes a realm ofconvergence, where the similar and the opposite can flowtogether in perfect synchronicity.Each of Arnedo’s works has a life of its own. Compositionslend a vast spaciousness to her otherworldly settings, whilesubtle forms and a masterful use of color draw the eye inwardfarther and farther into the depths of the work. In this space,the viewer is able to gain a glimpse of the profound self, a lookinto the inner world that all humans share.One of Arnedo’s greatest inspirations has been a childhoodspent reconciling deep roots in the Basque Country and alsothe heart of Mexico. Here, she has learned to love and valuetwo very different worlds and cultures. Arnedo firmly believesthat “you can find beauty, color, and light even in the darkmoments or when surrounded by darkness in a world that canbe very hostile.” It is this strong sense of dynamic dualism thathas come to define her work.www.arte-arnedo.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Cristina_Arnedo.aspxFuego en Tu Mirada Oil & Sand on Canvas 39” x 39”Luminous Lights Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 36” x 36”Art history and an infectious sense of joie de vivre coalescein the mixed media paintings of South African born painterWendy Cohen. Abstracted human faces proliferate acrossthe artist’s oeuvre, reminiscent not only of Picasso’s cubistfigurations but also of the African culture that inspired Picassoand Cohen herself. “My artwork has been influenced by myculture of origin as I have been surrounded by indigenoustribes who created colorful works of art without usingsophisticated materials.” Vibrant and at times unexpectedcolors imbue the paintings with a sense of vitality, while ferventbrushstrokes and thick applications of paint further cultivateengaging scenes of activity and excitement. It is the whimsicaljuxtapositions of colors, forms, and mediums that demonstrateCohen’s contemporary sensibilities and style.Striving to transport her viewers and immerse them in afantastical world of imagination and wonder, Cohen leadsaudiences on a journey to the surreal and playful and awayfrom the mundane and predictable. Aiming to incite a spirit ofadventure and jolt her audience out of their habitual mindsets,the artist’s artistic goals derives from one simple yet unwaveringbelief: “Life is really not that serious - so enjoy.”Wendy Cohen has lived and worked in Sydney, Australia since2000.www.wendycohen.com.auwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Wendy_Cohen.aspx41 ARTisSpectrum

Artistic Reality:How art is embracing technology to change the way we see the worldby Karin Maraneyguerrilla exhibition at MoMA, art not ads in Times Square, mysterious black and white squares in Agora Gallery... This isA how technology is changing the art world. Subtle, intriguing and far-reaching, these kinds of developments are altering theway in which we view the world. Ultimately, they insure that art is becoming ever more a part of our lives – and that our lives areincreasingly characterized by our awareness of art.If you visit Agora Gallery you will see that, next to each artist’s work, there is a piece of paper with their name, more about theirwork, their photograph, and a black and white image that looks like a barcode. These are called QR codes, and they are anexample of the way Agora Gallery is always concerned to stay up-to-date with the latest technology which could be valuable inpromoting our talented artists. They were introduced at Agora Gallery on the advice of Artist Agent Laura Di Bello. In this article,you’ll learn more about QR codes and what they’re being used for, as well the ways new technology like these codes are transformingthe art world as we know it.‘QR’ stands for ‘Quick Response’ and that’s exactly what these codes are for. The idea is that they are placed in locations wherethey will be easily noticed, sometimes as part of an advertisement, other times as part of the material about a product. Whenyou see one, you can immediately get out your phone, scan the QR code, and be taken straight to the webpage that will tell youmore about it.They’re increasingly popular – you’ve probably come across hundreds just in the last month or two. They’re great because theyreally are quick response; as soon as you see something you’d like to learn more about, you simply scan the code and then reviewthe page it sends you to. You can use them just for fun, when you happen to be curious and want more information, but they canalso be extremely useful in more practical ways.For instance, if a QR code on a poster has just taken you to the website of an event you would like to go to, you can buy ticketsonline there and then, or bookmark or email yourself the link so that you won’t forget to discuss it later on with friends who mightwant to go with you. You can also email it or share it directly with them. If you’re at Agora Gallery and your attention is caught byan artwork that you can’t stop looking at, all you have to do is scan the QR code on the wall next to the painting, photograph orsculpture, and you have the instant ability to take a look at the artist’s page to see more of their work, and learn more about their42 ARTisSpectrum

techniques and inspirations.The benefits that this has are obvious – theexperience of visiting a gallery and viewingart can be enormously enriched when viewershave fast, easy access to a wealth of informationabout what they are seeing. Moreover, italso makes it easy for the audience to keeptrack of, and follow up with, the work of an artistthey were particularly impressed by. The resultis that, through this use of technology, art becomesever more a part of everyday life.Recently, it has been fascinating to see howitems of technology like QR codes have begunto enter the world of art. Of course, the combinationof art and technology, particularly artand the internet, is nothing new. Online galleries,such as Agora Gallery’s ARTmine, are increasinglypopular and are becoming an importantpart of the international art market, whilemuseums often make it possible to book ticketsfor a particular exhibition online. Moreover, withthe developing enthusiasm for video art and artwhich employs screens, social media and even audience involvement, it is clear that many artists and art-lovers alike are excitedby the creative possibilities that technology provides.Digital freelancer Ian Ozsvald, of Mor Consulting (http://morconsulting.com) doesn’t normally work with galleries or artists, but herealized that the image recognition software he had been working with could connect with art in an interesting way. He workedwith a space in England which was hosting the work of local artists to develop a way in which visitors to the space could usetheir phones to scan the images on the walls – which would take them to further information about the work and the artist. Theproject was a great success, and everyone had a good time later on celebrating by scanning people’s faces to find out whichpiece of art they looked most like!What Ian found particularly notable in this experience was the connectionit brought between the visitors and the artwork. Previously, theaudience would of necessity have had to have been fairly passive consumersof the art; however profound the emotional experience, theyhad no way to delve deeper into the context and details of the painting.Now, the potential for a meaningful emotional experience is still there,but added to it is the ability to combine the viewing with a rich sourceof information and further interest which is entirely accessible to theviewer, and remains under their control. Just like QR codes, this bringsart closer to its audience, making it more truly a part of their lives. Forpeople who are used to having the world at their fingertips through theinternet, this is a significant improvement in the entire gallery visit. Sincethis kind of data is customarily part of our normal lives now, it is importantto ensure that it is not missing from the gallery experience. Art ispart of the world we live in – both real and virtual.In fact, art is increasingly working to break down the barriers betweenthe real and virtual worlds. Augmented reality technology takes the viewof the world that you have in front of you and ‘augments’ it in some way,so that the version you see on your screen is almost the same as thereal world, but has some important detail added or removed. Naturally,this idea is intriguing for artists; changing the way people perceive theworld has been a part of art for centuries, and this is only a new way tocontinue that trend.During the past summer, Public Ad Campaign and The Heavy Projects showed how they could use their augmented reality appso that people using it would see the world shorn of advertisements, but full of art. They showed how in Times Square, the viewfrom the app replaced movie billboards and phone booth ads with virtual examples of street art, by artists such as Ron English,John Fekner, PosterBoy, Doctor D and Ox. The interesting thing about this kind of project is that it interacts with the real world43 ARTisSpectrum

in front of you, providing a virtual version that may be moreinteresting or appealing. It changes a shared, public space intosomething different for the person using the app, using the verylandmarks that are in front of them.Sander Veenhof was thrilled by the infinite possibilities offeredby virtual reality in its interaction with the real world when hewas studying at the Gerrit Rietveld art academy in Amsterdam,and his absorption with the potential it contains has only grown.Last year, he staged an ‘unofficial exhibition’ at the Museum ofModern Art, in New York City. He wanted to challenge the artworld to take notice of the opportunities inherent in augmentedreality, and he felt that MoMA, being a bastion of modern art anda museum renowned throughout the world, would be the bestand most appropriate place to do this. He also felt that it createdthe right atmosphere for an experiment of this nature, becausevisitors come to a gallery with an attitude which is both criticaland open, which was just what he wanted.The result was all that he could have hoped for. In addition tothe pieces he put forward himself – including a virtual 7th flooron top of the building, to be used as a permanent pied-a-terre orto be provided to virtual artists in residence – he received enthusiasticresponses to his ‘open call,’ which gave him a variety ofartwork from photographed paintings to three dimensional modelsand videos. These were virtually ‘placed’ in MoMA, so thatvisitors who knew to look could view them as they wanderedthe space. MoMA had tweeted about the exhibition the day before,but had not added it to its official schedule, so only certainviewers were aware of the hidden treasures to be found. This,Sander feels, added a special, exclusive feel to the experience for those in the know – further part of breaking down the barriersbetween the real and the virtual. Visitors were delighted, he says, by the way in which this new kind of exhibition changed theirwhole awareness of the space – without ever needing any physical changes to the gallery. Using technology in this creative andunusual way to enhance the experience of galleries and of art provides what Sander calls ‘a new platform, tool and domain forartists to explore.’The result is empowering in multiple ways, for both artistsand art enthusiasts, and Sander hopes in time to positionvirtual art as a relevant art discipline and medium. The shiftis, of course, in the materials used, but also in the organizationalstructure and the experience of art. Far from beingpassive, the audience is actively involved in seeking out theart, engaging with the concept and actively deciding in eachcase what they want to look at and focus on. They cannotmerely scan a room; they must decide to look in the appropriateway in order to find the art. This is a valuable messagefor viewing art in general, and may remind frequent visitorsto galleries and museums that in order to get the most outof their time there, it is worth being as actively, consciouslyengaged as possible.We have not yet explored all the possibilities that new technologycan bring to art, and naturally as it continues to developthe potential will increase constantly. What we can besure about is that there are exciting, varied times ahead ofus, in which the very nature of art and the experience ofviewing artworks may be challenged and altered. Agora Gallerywill be watching these stimulating beginnings and developments with great interest, and, wherever possible, making surethat the latest advances are used for the benefit of our valued and talented artists.Photos of the Augmented Reality exhibition at MoMA were taken during the opening of the exhibtion on the 9th of October 2010.44 ARTisSpectrum

Alberto MontoreanoThe Ozone Layer Oil on Canvas 39” x 31.5”he sky is a wise teacher,” says Alberto Montoreano. “Looking at“Tit and appreciating it, we can detect in it the reflections of life.” Thepainter has learned a lot from looking at and appreciating the sky, andhas effectively employed what he has learned in his unique, dreamlikeworks. There is a strong feeling of air and space in these images.Clouds swirl through the air, or around seductively blurred landscapes.Montoreano is a master at using white paint in a variety of ways —to depict those clouds, to create a feeling of mist hanging in the air,or to infuse his paintings with light and dimension, giving the veryatmosphere weight and form. But his strengths as a colorist are notlimited to his handling of white paint. He has a strong grasp of howto use hues to punctuate his images, rendering bright blue flashes inan otherwise muted sky, or vibrant reds against a backdrop of subtlyglowing browns.Montoreano also works the edges between representation andabstraction. Some of his images are almost photographic in theirdetails, showing realistic skies and land formations. In others, ghostlybeings wrapped in wisps will emerge from mysterious backgrounds.What unites all these images, however, is the palpably physical effecthe creates, no matter how abstract the compositions become.www.betomontoreano.com.arwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Alberto_Montoreano.aspxYasuyuki ItoColor, light and a clean sense of line combinein Yasuyuki Ito’s works to depict a world thatbrings stained glass windows and pictures fromchildren’s storybooks to mind. The artist says he isdrawn to the “solidity” of oil paint, and his images arefilled with areas of deeply saturated color that have apalpably physical presence. Those areas of color areoften broken into small pieces, creating the effect ofa mosaic. Each piece maintains a defined, separatepresence while becoming part of an overall pattern.The images created using this method have a verytactile quality. They do not feel like flat images — theviewer is strongly tempted to reach out and touchthem.Ito also extends his technique into more conventionallyrealistic scenes, turning blocks of a color into a road’ssurface, a tiled floor or a brick wall. At times he blursthe boundaries of his colors, moving from preciselyRising Sun 36” x 46”defined patters to hazy depictions of fantasy worlds, rendering sunlit forests and mysterious mountain landscapes in whichnight skies glow with vibrant blues and reds. Ito’s works become all the more impressive when one realizes that he has severelylimited eyesight. Despite that challenge, his images of what he calls scenery “in the head” are distinctive, visually engaging andaltogether unique.www.skyship55.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Yasuyuki_Ito.aspx45 ARTisSpectrum

Art Matters: why we collect artby A. Di BelloSomething about it touched me in a profound and beautiful way / It reminded me of the many summers I spent with my familyvisiting the beach / I felt that it was calling me in a way / We had to have it / It helped me to understand what sacrifice reallymeans / My decision to purchase the painting had something to do with the death of my mother / It enchanted me from the veryfirst time I saw itWhy are we are drawn toward one piece of art and not another? It is as though the artwork, be it a painting, a photograph ora sculpture, is, at the moment of connecting with it, recognized as a missing part of ourselves. A part that carries a profounddesire, a void which can only be filled, like Klimt’s embrace in ‘The Lovers,’ through the acquisition of an unforgettable, musthave, work of art!Artworks and Collectors:Life in the Aquarium by Aelita AndreIn the collection of R. PrattTalkin’ New York by Randi Kristin StrandSans Titre 16 by Did DontzoffThe Filter n.21 by Paola Guerrain the collection of A. NunezSaison Mango by Patricia BrintleCollector / ColombiaAsteroid, Butterfly Nebula 2, and Horse by Aelita AndreCollector / ItalyMi Alma Como el Mar by Marcela CadenaCollector / New York CityIl Potere del Sacrificio by Bruno MalatestaIn the collection of R. BalzanoMan in the Scarf by Aelita AndreIn the collection of S. AllanSleeping Mountain I by Rina ShukorIn the collection of S. WrightEscape from the Cosmic zoo by Aelita AndreCollector / DenmarkWhy were you attracted to this particular artwork?R. Pratt: This piece of artwork had a powerful impact on me; it opened my heart and I cried. Something about it touched me ina profound and beautiful way. I had an experience when I was a child of a dream in which I was surrounded by the same colorsas are in this painting; that was a spiritual experience. I believe this artwork touched that place inside of me.A. Nunez: The Sans Titre 16 piece caught my eye because the style seemed very unique to me and very expressive. Talkin’ NewYork I was attracted to because the style reminded me of Basquiat, whose work I admire. Being a Bob Dylan fan, the references tohis lyrics also intrigued me. The Filter n.21 I was attracted to because I liked the image’s mixed media approach and colors.Collector / Colombia: The colors and composition.Collector / Italy: For the special combination of colors.Collector / New York City: It reminded me of the many summers I spent with my family visiting the beach, spending time onthe water. I am a swimmer and have been one since the age of 6. I have a love of the water. It evokes great memories of thosetimes.R. Balzano: Il Potere del Sacrificio simply enchanted me from the very first time I saw it. I have other artworks by Bruno Malatesta,but this one captured me in a very special way. In spite of the apparent simplicity it conveys, there is a message that goesbeyond the usual standards of contemporary art. Bruno Malatesta’s artworks stir up an echo within, and Il Potere del Sacrificioin particular, resonated within me to an overwhelming extent.I believe the title of the work perfectly describes what it wants to communicate. It might well not be just mere coincidence that itarrived in my home at a particularly burdensome time of my life, when it helped me fully understand what sacrifice really means.S. Allan: The painting just struck me as I walked into the gallery. It made me stop and really consider what I was looking at withoutknowing much about the artist. I probably circled the gallery 3 or 4 times and kept going back to it, so I felt like it was callingme in a way. I then started pondering what it would look like in my apartment.S. Wright: We visited Agora Gallery specifically to see Rina Shukor’s exhibit, saw Sleeping Mountain I on display and decidedwe had to have it.Collector / Denmark: When I found my way to Aelita Andre I was at first deeply attracted to the fact that this very young girlhad such a great show going on in NY and reached me on the other side of the planet, in Denmark. I was impressed. It’s a greatstory. At the same time her pictures somehow spoke to me.In addition, I like the thought of having a painting by the youngest professional artist in the world hanging in my living room. Last,but not least, my decision to purchase this painting had something to do with the death of my mother earlier this year. She diedway too young, and Aelita and her work brought me some comfort. When I look at the painting, I see my mother in it.46 ARTisSpectrum

Did you first see the artwork online?R. Pratt: No.A. Nunez: Yes I did for all of them.Collector / Colombia: Yes, a magazine in a hotel.Collector / Italy: Yes.Collector / New York City: I did see the artwork onlinefirst and decided to visit the gallery. It was evenmore beautiful in person.R. Balzano: I was very fortunate to be among thevery first people who saw the painting directly inBruno’s studio, a few days after he had completed it.S. Allan: I didn’t actually.S. Wright: No, our first time seeing the work was atthe gallery.Collector / Denmark: Yes - I first saw the pictureonline; I did not see it in real life before I bought it andgot it shipped to Copenhagen.Asteroid, Butterfly Nebula 2, and Horse by Aelita AndreCollector / ItalyHow did the style, color, size and price influence your selection?R. Pratt: The style, color and size influenced my choice because I wanted to make sure I could place it somewhere in my home.The price was a stretch for me, particularly as I had never invested in art before, but I felt this was a good investment.A. Nunez: The Sans Titre 16 piece required me to move another painting but I liked it so much that I wasn’t going to let the size influenceme; it was worth moving things around. I had a specific place in mind for the other two pieces so the size and price influencedthe selection there.Collector / Colombia: The colors and theme suit the place where I’m building a vacation house.Collector / Italy: My selection was made only on the basis of the attraction of the chromatics of the paintings and the equilibriumin the use of colors.Collector / New York City: The style and color were most important.The size of the piece was not important. I actually found a place for thepiece versus buying the piece for a place. The cost was not important.R. Balzano: The style is definitely unique. The colors are very luminousand brilliant. I felt an immediate deep sympathy with the painting andthat was sufficient to convince me to purchase it.S. Allan: Certainly the color was a factor. The walls in my apartment arewhite and I knew the colors would be striking. The size was a factor aswell and it was perfect for where I wanted to place it. It was within mybudget but I didn’t go in with an amount in mind.S. Wright: Very little – the key for us was meeting the artist (my wife isa fellow Malaysian) and hearing her vision and process. After that it waspurely emotional, we love the work.Did you have a particular space in mind for the artwork beforeyou purchased it?R. Pratt: Yes above my fireplace in my living room.A. Nunez: Yes, although making space for the Sans Titre 16 piece meantmoving another work.Collector / Colombia: Yes.Collector / Italy: I certainly did.Collector / New York City: I did not have a particular place in mind forthe piece.R. Balzano: Not exactly. The day I collected the painting, my husbandGiulio and I were engaged in moving from one home to a new one.When we finished putting all the furniture in place, we decided where thepainting should hang. It turned out to be a little room, near our bedroom,Talkin’ New York by Randi Kristin Strandin the collection of A. Nunez47 ARTisSpectrum

where I usually go to read or meditate.S. Allan: No - I thought of where I’d place it prettymuch after I saw it and decided to buy it.S. Wright: No. And it was challenging to settle on aspace, it looked terrific everywhere we tried it!Collector / Denmark: No.Were you familiar with the artist before you madeyour selection?R. Pratt: No, and I was surprised that her work couldhave such an impact on me. Aelita’s work is inspiring,beautiful and magical.A. Nunez: I was not familiar with any of the artistsbeforehand.Collector / Colombia: NoCollector / Italy: Absolutely not.Collector / New York City: I was not familiar withthe artist when I found the piece. However, I do likeher other work.R. Balzano: I knew Bruno Malatesta already becauseI had bought other paintings of his the yearbefore. We live in the same small town in the countryside near Turin.Sans Titre 16 by Did Dontzoffin the collection of A. NunezS. Allan: Not at all. I read a brief mention of her in the paper that morning and it was a nice day so I took a walk over to the galleryfrom Gramercy.S. Wright: Slightly, via our Malaysian friends, but we had not seen her work prior to visiting Agora.Collector / Denmark: Yes, by then I had seen all her paintings at the exhibition at Agora Gallery, plus all the other paintings fromher earlier exhibition that I could find on the internet.Does the artwork still resonate with you and why?R. Pratt: Yes, it does because I continually see new colors, perspectives and liveliness during any time I spend time with herwork. I love it, as do my friends and family.A. Nunez: Yes, they do, and when I have people over they become a topic of conversation.Collector / Colombia: Yes indeed, because of the colors, theme, and content relating to social and natural ideas.Collector / Italy: The art of Aelita is, for sure, still to be discovered, in the sense that we do not know exactly why we are so attractedSaison Mango by Patricia BrintleCollector / ColombiaLife in the Aquarium by Aelita AndreIn the collection of R. Pratt48 ARTisSpectrum

Escape from the Cosmic zoo by Aelita AndreCollector / DenmarkSleeping Mountain I by Rina ShukorIn the collection of S. Wrightby her works at this point of her evolution.Pollock said many times that he was painting following nature, but for Aelita (four years old and yet capable of creating works suchas Asteroid and Nebula 2) the only possible explanation is inside her mind and in the concept and mystery of human creativity.Collector / New York City: Yes, the artwork is relaxing and meditative. There is a calming influence and great memories associatedwith the artwork.R. Balzano: Yes, it certainly does. Every time I turn my eyes to the painting the symbols resonate within me the way they did thefirst time I saw them, over six months ago. It is an intimate sensation, intense and pleasant, that the painting seems to amplify.S. Allan: It really does - I love it. To me it projects a structured creativity, a balance while being abstract at the same time. Andit looks striking in my apartment.S. Wright: Absolutely, it is beautiful, dynamic and poignant; our appreciation of it continues to grow.Collector / Denmark: Yes, for the same reasons that I was attracted to the painting in the first place. Nothing has changed.How did you learn of Agora Gallery?R. Pratt: From my friend Clara Lemaire.A. Nunez: I heard about the gallery online.Collector / Colombia: Art magazines in NYC.Collector / Italy: By reading news articles about Aelita Andre.Collector / New York City: I learned of Agora Gallery onlinewhile searching for galleries.R. Balzano: When I inquired if I could purchase the painting,the artist told me about Agora Gallery.S. Allan: Reading about the opening of Aelita Andre’s show.S. Wright: We heard about Rina’s exhibit at Agora and decidedto visit.Collector / Denmark: In a news report from the opening atthe exhibition, in a Danish newspaper. That was my first hint.Il Potere del Sacrificio by Bruno MalatestaIn the collection of R. Balzano49 ARTisSpectrum

The Filter n.21 by Paola Guerrain the collection of A. NunezMan in the Scarf by Aelita AndreIn the collection of S. AllanDo you have any other comments?R. Pratt: It is such a joy to have a piece of artwork in my home that touches me so profoundly. I have only had this experiencea few times in my life when going to a museum or gallery, so I am grateful to Agora for representing emerging artists like Aelita,so work like this is available for people like me.A. Nunez: Great experience, great staff, great job :)Collector / Colombia: No.Collector / Italy: I was particularly and immediately impressed by the similarity of Aelita’s art to that of Jackson Pollock, whosepaintings are deeply studied to find the ultimate essence of his art. In Pollock’s artworks, they have found the fractal structurethat has permitted experts to recognize fake paintings made in his name for what they are.So my question is: what more can we discover in Aelita’s art once we are able to better understand the human process of creativity?I reckon that the case of Aelita is another special one to study in order to open a new window of knowledge on human creativeability and on the effects of a strong cultural influence. These final considerations were the main reasons that caused me to buy,without experiencing any doubts, Aelita’s artworks.Collector / New York City: No.R. Balzano: No.S. Allan: I think I’m a collector who will keep what I purchase without any intention of selling. I really do ascribe to the idea thatyour art becomes part of your personality over time.S. Wright: I did not purchase the work during our visit; it was a surprise birthday gift for my wife. I bought it online, had Rina writea birthday wish on the back and then picked it up just before Nisa’s birthday to save me from having to hide it. Throughout, theprocess was fun and easy, the Agora staff was great, and we love Rina’s art!Collector / Denmark: Good luck with everything, Aelita.Mi Alma Como el Mar by Marcela CadenaCollector / New York City50 ARTisSpectrum

Agora Gallery’s 27th Annual Juried ExhibitionThe 2012 Chelsea InternationalFine Art CompetitionFebruary 7 th - Competition OpensMarch 13 th - Submission deadlineMarch 27 th - Results will be announced530 West 25th StreetChelsea, New York 10001www.Agora-Gallery.com51 ARTisSpectrum

The sharp color fields and bold geometric composition of Tanya Marie’sacrylic and paper creations defines her work. She begins with shapesand patterns influenced by the regularity of graphic arts, and colors so pureand perfect that they appear factory-made. But though her aesthetic isunmistakably modern in its commercial-inspired hard edges, the artist includesthe kind of details and surprises that betray the spark of human intelligenceand unpredictability. An image between the lines reveals a crouching figureamidst the mathematical patterning; an outline of clouds doubles as a sketchof birds, a visual pun.A self-taught painter from Australia, Tanya Marie insists that she is “absolutelystill growing and learning what I am capable of as an artist.” However, herdraftsmanship is clearly self-assured and developed, and an astute viewerwill note that the neon colors become secondary to the story in her lines. Likeso many great artists, she creates work that rewards repeated viewings andattentive analysis.www.artconfessions.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Tanya_Marie.aspxTanya MarieUntitled 4 Acrylic on Canvas 24” x 24”Monia TartariniCaravaggio Digital Photography 28” x 39.5”Italian photographer Monia Tartarini specializes in environmental andstudio portraiture. With content ranging from serene, natural landscapesto highly evocative human portrayals, all of her photographs maintain apainterly aesthetic. Her masterful technique allows her to imbue the photoswith dramatic light and shades. While ethereal light pervades some of herlandscapes, a dramatic chiaroscuro permeates her human figures. Havingtraveled widely in search of a “universal sense of art,” Tartarini’s bodyof work is rich with cultural, regional and art historical references. Thetheatricality of the Italian Baroque is a great inspiration for her work, as is thequietude of American realism from the mid-20th century. Many of her worksmeticulously straddle the line between expressive photojournalism and fineart photography. A self-taught photographer, after college Tartarini took a triparound the world, with the purpose of enhancing her skills and developing aunique photographic style. The result speaks for itself.Monia Tartarini lives and works in Milan, Italy.www.monia.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Monia_Tartarini.aspxRooted in traditional art-making techniques such as drawing and painting,Spanish artist Alfredo Gonzalez blends the rich, lush textures ofconventional mediums with the exhilarating possibilities of digital photography.Opulently romantic in the way he approaches and treats his subjects, Gonzalezuses the human figure in a strikingly fresh manner. Intriguingly reminiscentof Pre-Raphaelite and Abstract Expressionist painting alike, the artist’sworks harmoniously merge diversely beautiful images into soundly poignantartworks. In doing so, Gonzalez evokes the ethereal, mysterious way in whichthe moments, and thus experiences, of life pass by in sparkling transcendence.Perception, and the continuous altering of the way we view the world, is atthe core of these works. Velvety textures nuance every piece, morphing theviewer’s vision into a gorgeous dream that is only possible through digitalmethods. “I am released from the dependence on traditional photographicrepresentation, motivated by the possibility of breaking the formal aspects ofour visual perception,” says Gonzalez.Alfredo Gonzalez was born in the Canary Islands, and his works are collectedwidely throughout Europe.www.alfredogonzalez.netwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Alfredo_Gonzalez.aspxAlfredo GonzalezGround #2 Digital Collage 31.5” x 31.5”52 ARTisSpectrum

Nataixa RosLa Tyranie de la Danse Oil on Canvas 15” x 18”Vole en Équilibre Oil on Canvas 51” x 38”Spanish artist Nataixa Ros heralds her rich, figurativeoil on canvas paintings as a “return to the truequality of paint, with a technique worked and developedas the concept of the real painting.” Her dedication tothe immediacy of her subject, and to the mystique thatunderscores common moments in everyday life, impartsgreat depth to her work. Replete with light, color, anda dedication to line and form, her paintings focus onmoments steeped in everyday reality yet offset withallegorical elements that give deeper meanings to thosesubjects she wishes to convey.Inspired by the style of Lucian Freud, Ros has focused Nataixa in her Studioher most recent series of paintings on scenes from themodern ballet. Here she captures not only the romanticism and allure commonly associated with ballet, but also the rigor, sweat,sacrifice and unwavering dedication a ballerina must possess. In captured moments, both on and off stage, the artist gives theviewer intimate glimpses into this realm, where moments of the utmost ordinariness suddenly become extraordinary.Ros’ paintings display a masterful understanding of the intersections between light and shadow, line and form. Her compositionsgive her subjects weightiness, which is further emphasized by dramatic contrasts of color as well as a strategic use of light andshadow. Although figurative in nature, her paintings are highly expressionistic, conveying all the emotion within each subject,both expressed and unspoken. Although her subjects are essentially posed, there is a subtle undercurrent of movement andvibrancy that runs through her paintings, as if the dancer is merely pausing for a moment, poised to take her next step. In theend, Ros’s magnificent paintings teach us to see the magic contained in the mundane, the wonder behind every commonmoment of our lives, if only we take the time to see and experience it.Nataixa Ros currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.www.nataixaros.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nataixa_Ros.aspx53 ARTisSpectrum

Micheline RaymondSarabande JazzéeAcrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas 30” x 30”balance in color, line, texture and one artist’s creative impulses.www.michelineraymond.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Micheline_Raymond.aspxMicheline Raymond creates her riotous, multi-tiered images bymaking the physicality of the artwork the predominant element.In the finished product, this manifests itself in a constant interplaybetween shadow, pigment, and light. Raymond’s canvases layeracrylic paint, sand, gold leaf, and sheets of transparent, treatedpaper on top of each other to create nooks of dense darknessand impossibly slender ridges that reflect light. When Raymondmanipulates texture and light in service of her colors, the hues aremagnificently rich. The subject matter ranges from figurative scenes,sometimes inspired by classical mythology, to abstracted seascapesand views of the land. In her exuberant, inclusive way, the artist willoften incorporate text and natural objects into her landscapes.More subtly, Raymond takes care to focus on the physical act ofart-making. Her guiding principle is rhythm in creation, a processshe describes as a “visceral” need to allow the gesture of her handto guide her to a resonant visual outcome. “For me,” Raymondsays, “painting or sculpting is elaborating a form of dance in spaceand color.” On the canvas, Raymond combines uninhibited andcontrolled movements to create work that finds harmony andSandra Mueller-DickSandra Mueller-Dick’s sharply focused paintingsmarry surreally saturated colors and a stronggraphic sensibility of light and dark, creating a visuallanguage of purity and intensity that speaks moreloudly than a screaming headline comprised of meretext. Born in Pennsylvania and currently working outof Massachusetts, Mueller-Dick switches betweenoils, watercolor and complicated mixed media todepict her many subjects, which include abstractedpatterns, modernized still lifes, architectural closestudies and unearthly landscapes. Some are inspiredby specific events in the artist’s life which havetouched her or acted as milestones in her experience.Others begin as floating ideas.Mueller-Dick approaches even her most realistic,Energy Within Acrylic 19” x 29”recognizably representational images as intellectual concepts first and foremost. As a piece progresses, she explains, it “evolvesand becomes more abstract,” and eventually “encompasses more emotion and allows the viewer to make their own interpretation.”Through her distinctive color treatment and the ingenious use she sometimes makes of perspective, she transforms each workinto a message of emotion and atmosphere. “By using strong color contrasts and shapes, my goal is to create rhythmic patternsthroughout the painting,” Mueller-Dick says. For her, an individual emotional response in every new viewer is the sign that awork is successful.www.mueller-dick.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Sandra_Mueller__Dick.aspx54 ARTisSpectrum

Valentino BellucciItalian artist Valentino Bellucci’s paintings cover a wide range of territory — from views of walled cities, to secludedalleyways, to landscapes and portraits. Yet, holding together this rich variety, the strong influence of Cubism can be seenin all of the subjects he depicts.The Cubist influence leads him to create images that simultaneously exist on two planes. His paintings are at once recognizablepictures of the real world and experimental transformations of that world into sharply rendered geometrical shapes. Faces,skies or buildings can become fragmented into cubes or triangles, turning even the most peaceful scenes into dynamiccompositions. A sky will be broken up into a series of cubes that look as if they are tumbling over one another, or a face willseem to be flying apart. But even as the fragmentation in these works gives them an abstract spin, Bellucci’s ability to renderprecise details, whether it’s an arched eyebrow or the leaves in a grove of trees, ensures that these scenes appear true tolife. He says that his goal is to see the reality that surrounds him with new eyes, and his paintings nicely balance that senseof new vision with a palpable sense of physical reality. He keeps the images firmly grounded, while infusing them with theabstract energy of the other world they inhabit.Working in oil on canvas, Bellucci effectively employs a vivid palette that runs from glowing yellows and oranges to shimmeringblues to greens and browns. He uses color to punctuate his images, to give them a strong rhythm and flow. The viewer’seye is constantly active, moving from bright shades to subtle ones, or from light to darkness. His expert handling of light andshadow heightens the unusual feel of these paintings, giving both the underlying scenery and the shapes used to transform ita three-dimensional feel. And Bellucci, whose varied past includes working as a ship captain, has more than artistic goals inmind for these images. He wants to use proceeds from his paintings to help raise money for research into childhood cancer.www.valentinobellucci.orgwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Valentino_Bellucci.aspxBadalucco (IM) - Tempesta Oil on Canvas 16” x 31.5”Valentino in his StudioCeriana (IM) Oil on Canvas 9.5” x 15”55 ARTisSpectrum

Dragan SimicLife - The Juncture Acrylic on Canvas 55” x 55”For Dragan Simic, color “changes the way we feel and react.”In his collages and paintings, the colors of earth, sky and watercombine in images that are at once intricate abstractions andstrong evocations of landscape. Those hues set off vibrations thatgive his canvases a high degree of energy. Broad bands of brightshades bump up against backgrounds of more muted tones, thejuxtaposition resulting in an almost three-dimensional ambience.A series of rectangles may seem to lift off the canvas, or onecomplex pattern might appear to recede behind another. Simicsays that his work depicts a “geography of inner experience” andindeed that mixture of inner and outer worlds can be seen in theway he mixes painting styles, as well as colors, on his canvases.Precise series of dots and geometric shapes often share spacewith blurred imagery and drips of paint. The different textures keepthe eye busy, while Simic’s strong graphic sensibility maintains anoverall sense of order.Having spent many years in Australia, Dragan Simic, who wasborn in what is now Serbia, shows the influence of his adoptedhomeland’s desert vistas in his work. There is also an echo of aboriginal painting here, but the world that this work creates iscertainly all the artist’s own.www.dragansgallery.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Dragan_Simic.aspxCaroline Josephs PhDpassion for nature and its deeper meanings isA inherent as a driving force in the paintings createdby Caroline Josephs, Ph.D. Her images seemtimeless, forging connections with the Aboriginalcultures of her Australian homeland.With a backdrop of layered colors and texturesimbuing her images with earth, water and sky,Josephs depicts nature’s power as both spiritualand physical. Whether her eye is turned towards apiece of driftwood or a human figure, she may infuseher paintings with a sense of the fossilized – as ifunearthed from an archeological dig. The touch ofthe ancient is melded with a modern sense of colorand composition. Glints of bright red, blue or orangestartle the viewer, animating the artwork with aCountry of the Heart 4 (detail) Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 39” x 37”distinctive contemporary feel and existing in tandem with a curiously elemental energy.An appealing sensuality permeates the images, partly through the way in which natural objects are shown to have strongresonances with the human body. This is just one way in which the artist’s empathy with texture allows for a multiplicity ofmeanings in the work. Realistically depicted rock or tree bark can also be seen as abstract, iconic patterns. The impulse to touchthese images is strong and the physical, tactile magnetism they convey adds to their visual power.www.carolinejosephs.com.auwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Caroline_Josephs_phd.aspx56 ARTisSpectrum

Jim CobbPhiladelphia artist Jim Cobb creates dreamy, vibrantrepresentational and abstract images that go beyondtraditional constraints of line and form to express the emotionsthat lie within. Through his work, he masterfully transcends thesolidity of his subjects, layering color and form so that objectsare seen and then evaporate as the things that surround themcome to crowd their space. Thus, his paintings evolve intoethereal images, where one object bleeds into the next, leavingnothing defined and all subject to the viewer’s perspective andinterpretation.Fueled by a career that involved foreign assignments in Europeand Japan, Cobb’s art reflects these life experiences, highlightingall he has come to love about both Western and Asian art. Inapproaching his work, he paints how he feels and allows the restto evolve as it will. What results are paintings that inspire quietobservation and emotion in the viewer, devoid of challenge orconfrontation, giving that viewer a space in which to contemplatethe world in new, previously unexplored ways. As Cobb himselfexplains: “When we as artists share our feelings through spots ofcolor, we hope for a spark which will lead to the beauty aroundus. We understand that the object and its shadow are illusions.Only the feeling is real.”Rainy Night Oil on Canvas 24” x 36”www.jimcobbpainter.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Jim_Cobb.aspxMaría José AlbaLouis Amstrong Oil on Canvas 31.5” x 31.5”For Spanish artist María José Alba, painting offers anopportunity to create a more meaningful connection betweenpast and present. Her Pop Art compositions are filled withnostalgic Americana, some clearly informed by a period duringwhich she lived in Texas. Neither overly stylized nor hyperrealist,her bright compositions feature rural and urban scenes, still lifesand portraits. She relishes the iconography of country life, markedwith knowing nods to American artists like Andy Warhol (in a gasstation sign’s iconic logo) and Georgia O’Keefe (with a bull skullhanging on a road sign). Alba also finds powerful subjects injazz musicians, painting their stylish clothes and focused facialexpressions against warm, monochrome backdrops.Something about her style of presentation, the way objects andfigures seem to hang not so much in their surroundings but ontop of them as if floating against a trompe l’oeil backdrop, lendsa self-awareness and complexity to these nostalgic images.Alba portrays these idealized pasts as partly imaginary, memorycommingled with fantasy. In doing so she acknowledges the everevolvingcomplexity of our relationship to our past and its constantly shifting influence on our present and future. These vividimages full of textures, smells and sounds transport the viewer to a shared vision of the glorious past.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maria_Jose_Alba.aspx57 ARTisSpectrum

Nicolette Benjamin BlackThe Storm Ball Point Pen & Watercolor on Canvas 24” x 24”Vortex Ball Point Pen on Canvas 24” x 24”Through her ballpoint pen on canvas drawings, artistNicolette Benjamin Black offers us a candid responseto Western society’s addiction to consumer goods andthe pressing need to own the latest piece of gadgetry ornewest upgrade. What has resulted from this obsessionis an increasingly growing mountain of unwanted, castoffstuff, with seemingly no place in this world. As Blackexplains, “I have viewed this rubbish as a rich source ofraw materials for the production of artworks that commenton the wastefulness of Western consumerist lifestyle andask us to reconsider the cost of the many items we nowtake for granted in our day-to-day living.” Instead, Blackre-imagines these discarded belongings in new waysin her images, seamlessly integrating them into naturallandscapes and terrains.Black’s drawings deliver this message of sustainabilityand assimilation as she skillfully blends the figurativewith the abstract, with broad strokes juxtaposed againstcareful, highly detailed renderings. Color is sometimesintroduced into her neutral palette, creating a striking Nicolette in her Studiocontrast that speaks volumes. Her extensive experienceworking with the largest Aboriginal art collection in the world (housed in the National Gallery of Australia) is clearly reflected in herart, which bears traces of the famous Aboriginal dot paintings. This serves to reinforce a reliance on geometrical patterns in herwork, which lends a sense of holistic order and balance to the overall composition.What Black’s drawings do is point us as a society in a new direction, where seemingly useless items can be creatively reconfiguredinto something entirely new, where scrap electric cables can be rewoven into baskets and tea bags turned into artwork. Here, shehas been inspired by native cultures such as those of the Australian Aboriginals and the African Masai. “Why can’t we be like theMasai? When they see an empty petrol can, they see the new wall on their house. When they see an old tire, they see new shoes.”Nicolette Benjamin Black currently works in Canberra, and lives in Murrumbateman, Australia, where she lives with her husbandon a 10-acre sustainable farm.www.nicolettebenjaminblack.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nicolette_Benjamin_Black.aspx58 ARTisSpectrum

Why an artist needs to go out on apainting trip: It’s good for the mind...by John StevensonOne of the biggest challenges for a landscape artist is the constant changes that go on minute by minute. The model refuses to staystill. In order to capture the WOW moment, a great deal of the information must be imprinted on the artist’s mind. It is all very well towork from photos, but the impression made by the actual scene is what must be transferred to canvas.In order to accomplish this, I think, a painting trip is a necessity. It should be a feature in the life of a landscape artist, so that the mindcan be refreshed by the reality of the scenes around us. No matter how good the camera or photograph is, the artist was captivated bya particular moment of time when the light was just so and the wind played a certain way. The feeling engendered by the experience iswhat the artist will try to capture on the canvas.This may sound similar to the way the Impressionists worked, observing a scene and then trying to capture the overall impression of iton canvas. There are, of course, similarities, but the challenge exists for all landscape artists; however much detail you feel is importantto include in the finished piece, you still want the picture as a whole to speak of that special moment that captured you and that you wantto share with your audience.Photograph by John Stevenson59 ARTisSpectrum

Photograph by John StevensonI think the benefits of a painting trip are enormous. I think that seeing the ‘real’ in the presentation of the elements and the light allows forthe true drama or emotion to be transferred to the canvas. This aspect of the trip, the experience of really being in the natural world is so,so important when you are painting a landscape. This is true whether or not there are people in the scene, and regardless of whateverelse may be there at the moment of the painting.When I went on my very first painting trip, I was in the early stages of my painting life – around age 10 or so. My father and I went out topaint in the countryside around our home in Maple, Ontario, outside of Toronto. His idea was that you could only paint a scene by seeingit with your own eyes. That way, you developed an eye for what would make a great painting. It was an eye-opening experience for me,and over the years I have done this every year for varying time spans at different locations. I am always on the lookout for a cool scene topaint, one that has a great composition and where the light displays the best possible colors at the particular time I am out.Choosing the scene is easy. I look for the moment when time stops still and everything in the scene seems to work together. It is almostas if the painting is done right before my eyes and all I need to do is take it home with me. Of course, taking it home requires me to paintthe scene as best I can to capture the moment. Over time I have become able to remember all the details from the scene at the momentwhen time has stopped in front of me. Sometimes when I am out in nature I must seem to be in a dream-like state to anyone looking atme. Those are the times when the scene screams, ‘Paint me.’Some places call to me more strongly than others. For example, my first trip to Vancouver Island in 2002 was an overwhelming plethoraof input and stimulation. The scenes were nothing like I had experienced before. Since then, I have been often for visits to family there,and each time I have come home to the studio burning to get a palette knife in my hand again. Some of my best work is done with thescent of Douglas Fir and seaweed still vivid in my mind.60 ARTisSpectrum

Even when remaining local, and not traveling any great distance, I find that if I go out and about with a camera or sketchpad after a stretchof bad weather, I return refreshed and feeling more confident that the sky really did look like that. There is a very small window of opportunityfor artists in our climate to work en plein air and I enjoy the few times that it is possible because the colors are so vivid. On our lasttrip west, we spent five days on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Rim National Park and I was able to do some plein airwatercolor work, which also helps to remind me of the colors that were present on that particular day.I find that going on a ‘painting scene hunting trip’ gives me so many scenes to paint. All I need to do is to make a sketch or take a fewshots with my camera, and then either paint on the spot or go back to the studio and do it there. Sometimes, during the winter months, itis just too cold and windy to paint en plein air – so I need the photographs or sketch as a backup plan that allows me to capture the scenethe way I want to later on. In other words, I have developed the ability to go back to the studio and remember that precise scene in themoment that caught my eye.Interacting with nature, and with people enjoying nature, brings me joy. This is one crucial thing which I hope I express in my paintings– the happiness of the experience of viewing the landscape. My conviction that ‘Art is all around us, all we need is to look’ really holdstrue, and this is something that painting trips can help to make real to an artist. Seeing is believing when it comes to creating a painting.Otherwise the painting lacks that special something that makes the collector say ‘Wow’. If you see it and you capture it and it all comestogether just right – then your scene will remind the viewer of what they see themselves.Butterfly Meadow Oil on Canvas 30” x 36”www.artbystevenson.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/John_Stevenson.aspx61 ARTisSpectrum

Eduard AnikonovGear 2 Oil on Canvas 51” x 79”Gear 1 Oil on Canvas 55” x 59”In Eduard Anikonov’s paintings, man, machineand landscape meet in a world where industryand humanity become almost indistinguishable.Anikonov grew up in Magnitogorsk, a city that is acenter of Russia’s iron industry, and while factoriesand workers figure prominently in his images, theworks are far from being straightforwardly realisticdocuments. His paintings give that machine-drivenworld a highly personal spin, projecting a personalmythology onto the brutal landscapes of smokestacksand laborers that he depicts. “Industrial space isa territory that is full of meanings and history,” theartist says, adding that one of his main goals is toexpress a “new myth, new reality, new perception ofthe habitual industrial environment.”Anikonov creates that new perception by infusinghis paintings with a sense of mystery, turning bothindustrial machinery and human beings into slightlyblurred objects, placing them in highly abstractenvironments. A hulking machine will be placed nextto a flat field of color with writing scrawled onto it, orEduard in his Studioan image of a worker at rest will seem to sink intoits thickly painted background. In all of his images,there is a strong feeling of interplay between abstraction and representation. The viewer never loses touch with the world thatAnikonov’s paintings depict, but that world is transformed as well, contained with the artist’s unique vision.That vision extends to the distinctive palette that Anikonov employs. Often using just muted browns and grays, he knows exactlywhen to throw other shades into the mix to get the effects he wants. Glowing swirls of yellow will vividly make the idea of firecome alive against a dark background. Bright blue will unexpectedly appear to depict shadows, while reds communicate thefeeling of both sunlight and industrial heat to the viewer. That expressive use of color contributes to an artistic universe thatcontinually offers up visual surprises, giving us what the artist calls a “chance of real involvement, a new emotional experience.”www.anikonov.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Eduard_Anikonov.aspx62 ARTisSpectrum

Laila Khan FurniturewallaLaila in her StudioUntitled 1 Acrylic & Gold Leaf on Canvas 45” x 33”The work of Indian artist Laila Khan Furniturewalla is centeredaround the feminine predicament, the iconic notion of femininityversus the emotive richness, depth, and complexity that come to definea woman’s true inner life. In her art, the artist strives to transform thecomplexities of the female figure into harmonies of simplified formswith an undercurrent of expressionistic intensity, thereby revealing“the innate reality, the life force, the spirit, the inherent symbolism,and the underlying remarkable structure to give emphasis to form withthe greatest clarity.”In her most recent work, Laila has moved from oils to painting mostlyin acrylics, with a predominant use of gold pigment and gold leaf. Ineach piece, muted, seductive colors and taut compositions speak ofthe mysteries that surround the feminine, both in terms of physicalbeauty and the elusive female inner world. Powerful symbolism in theform of Hindu gods and goddesses wends its way into her work aswell, sometimes subtly, while other pieces focus solely on the powerof such deities as Ganesh or Shakti. But dominating her art forms isa great ambivalence within her figural subjects, who reveal as theyconceal and ultimately tease the viewer, promising a glimpse both ofthe highest divinity and the depths of utter human devastation.Untitled 2 Acrylic & Gold Leaf on Canvas 48” x 36”Interestingly, Laila’s work is never titled, as she feels that by giving a painting a name, she is imposing a limitation on the viewingprocess, denying the viewer the freedom to interpret and derive their own unique experience with the piece. Yet each imageshe offers the viewer is highly personal, as her emotional connection with the universe is translated into visual compositionsand forms. As Laila explains, “Each time I make a painting, I celebrate the life I love and the beauty I know, which also distillspersonal feelings of isolation and connectedness, despair, rebellion, and hope, but in the context of the eternal final conflictbetween being an artist and a woman.”Laila Khan Furniturewalla currently lives and works in Mumbai, India.www.lailakhan.inwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Laila_Khan_Furniturewalla.aspx63 ARTisSpectrum

Lynda PogueFull of Promise Acrylic on Canvas 36” x 48”Moment by Moment Acrylic on Canvas 12” x 12”he interplay of colors” is at the center of Canadian“Tartist Lynda Pogue’s paintings. Whether she isdepicting flowers and grasses, rendering the patterns ofbirch bark, or creating a world of abstract forms, Pogueuses her finely-tuned sense of color to give her imagesshape. An air of deceptive simplicity shows itself in the wayshe handles color. Backgrounds that at first come acrossas monochromatic become dynamic patterns of light anddark variations on a single shade. That same techniquewill be used to give the petals of a flower a strong senseof life or create the illusion of air between the leaves of aplant.Pogue calls herself “a high-energy painter,” and if oneviews the layering and undertones creating excitingtextures in her compositions, a strong sense of power andmovement will be revealed. Flowers in a vase will appearto have a life of their own, seemingly in motion throughthe air, actively wrapping their stems around each otheras if in a dance. She gives an equal amount of dynamismLynda in her studioto her abstract paintings. Geometric forms may vibrate inspace, while a stream of dots will be caught up in a running current. “When a viewer stands before a piece of my work,” Poguesays, “I want something visceral to happen to them.” Her distinctive style ensures that it will.www.lyndapogue.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Lynda_Pogue.aspx64 ARTisSpectrum

Ancient Olive Trees Inspire Artwork… in Puglia, Italyby Caroline Josephs Ph.D.Photograph by Caroline Josephs Ph.D.65 ARTisSpectrum

Applying paint as quickly as possible to a glass surface – a resistant base for the printing process…Panel of paper applied.Hands smooth the back of the paper in long sweeping gestures over the painted surface of glass… Paper absorbing painttraces…a mingling of chance with control...I am staying here, painting in the garden, inspired by olive trees – on a masseria in Puglia, southern Italy. Masseria Impisi wasoriginally a fortified family farm (such protection being necessary during the time of the Saracen invasions).Olive trees here are not owned. Current inhabitants are custodians of the ancient trees (called secolare or ‘centuries old’). Someare a thousand years old.This news resonates with my own experiences with Indigenous Australians. For Aboriginal Australians, traditionally, ‘country’ is,similarly, not owned. Clans are responsible for caring for country in their own clan territory, including trees, and also streams,rocks, sea, sky, all creatures. Country has to be visited, enlivened by mark-making and art, as well as story, song, dance…For Indigenous Australian people this is not about representing country. It is re-creating country. I wonder at the connectionsbetween two ancient cultures in Italy and Australia as I wander the olive grove of Impisi, and translate from imagination to paintand monoprint the great grey trunks of the trees.66 ARTisSpectrumIn the olive grove, olive trees twist and gnarl, curland furrow, creating empty space in entirely hollowtrunks. Stepping into the interior space of a trunk,I run my hands over the wood surfaces, sensingshapes, the people who have been here before, theroots tangling history in earth – the ghosts of ancestors,the humans who lived with the trees, my ownbody-as-tree – all coalescing.Behind where I work in the garden, painting andmonoprinting, is the 15th century Millhouse (whichnow houses our hosts) and underground, below thehouse – the entrance to a cave-like studio, once anancient olive mill. A short way in front of where I work,across a tiny bridge, the sign ‘acqua’ on a large doorinvites us into a dark water repository, deep, green,enclosed. The medieval water cistern was probablyadapted from an even older Messapian tomb whenthe water course and river were harnessed for themasseria’s use. In the distance, I see the sea on thehorizon.Fruit trees abound – lemon, orange, fig, almond, apricot,quince, loquat, pear. Up the slope, off an archedcolonnade, stands our accommodation, looking overa swimming pool cut into the limestone. Each day, Iplunge in, refreshing myself after the concentrationneeded for artmaking.This is a property where artists can visit and work,and explore surrounding ancient hilltop fortifiedtowns like Ostuni (la città bianca - the white city)just 15 minutes’ drive away, made up of a myriadpale angular terraces of buildings, winding cobbledstreets, and small and inviting places to explore.Ancestral Ghosts, Family Tree 1 Caroline Josephs Ph.D.Artists David Westby and Leonie Whitton are alsoAcrylic & Mixed Media on Paper, Two Panels 30” x 42” (framed)our teachers, cooks, guides, storytellers – welcominggroups of artists or those wanting to explore thearea or work at their art, writing, or photography. Twice a year for ten days, artists may join a small group to stay.David and Leonie worked for over a year to build these rustic yet elegant buildings out of rubble-like dereliction. David completednew plumbing and the electrical networks, and learned new skills to construct archways and extensive stone walls. His sculpturesnow surprise in various corners, as well as atop the roof. Leonie has created mosaics in the garden, and simple furnishingtouches. Fresh herbs and a vegetable garden are supplemented by local produce from markets nearby.

Ancestral Ghosts, Family Tree 2 Caroline Josephs Ph.D.Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, Two Panels 34” x 47” (framed)67 ARTisSpectrum

Photograph by Caroline Josephs Ph.D.68 ARTisSpectrum

A long wooden table on the terrace overlooking the olive grove creates a companionable space for us to assemble for dinner.The sun is setting, casting warm filtered light through the olive grove as we select from plates of antipasto, local wines, cheeses,olives – and Leonie’s authentic Puglia dishes: Cozze e Patate al Forno (mussels, potatoes, rice, baked in the oven), CalamariRipieni (stuffed squid), cold almond soup, Fava e Cicoria (a Purée of broad beans with wild greens), and much more… All areserved and eaten with laughter, stories and good conversation, led by David’s sparkling wit, and sustained by the enduringwarmth of both hosts.I found this place by ‘accident.’ At home in Sydney, Ihad been watching Grand Designs, a BBC programwhich follows people initiating and completing unorthodoxhousing and building designs, often fromchallenging beginnings. I watched the building workat Impisi from start to finish and found myself deeplystirred, not only by the way the masseria constructiontook shape, but by the people involved, the waythey found their way through Italian bureaucracy,through the challenges of unknowns, the inevitablerough patches, the arduous business of learning newskills, and doing most of the hands-on work througha blistering summer. I loved how family and friendswere involved in the work, sharing meals around atable stacked with goodwill and laughter, good wineand food. I wanted to be a small part of this place.I wrote to Leonie and David, received the details oftheir planned ‘Art workshops,’ and booked in immediately.Synchronistically, the dates exactly coincided withmy planned visit to New York for the opening of myexhibition at Agora Gallery. I could fly straight toRome after the gallery opening, and on to Brindisi,to be transported to Impisi. I wanted to stay over inOstuni to relax, soak up Italy a tad, before embarkingon a new adventure. And so it was.Grasping two corners of the paper now imprintedwith a painted image, I peel it back from the glass…Pause - in suspended expectation…as the first olivetree image reveals itself…Imagined into being - olive tree -- ancient, dignified,alive!I place the print to dry in the sun on the stone gardenwall - framed by an arching orange tree, laden withfruit.Ancestral Ghosts, Family Tree 3 Caroline Josephs Ph.D.Acrylic & Mixed Media on Paper, Two Panels 28” x 39” (framed)Back home in my Sydney studio I am painting back into prints of trees – remembering burnt rust earth, the grey-green flurry ofolive leaves, a sweep of graceful, grey trunks, the fall of yellow pollen, the drift of olive blossom, a cerulean blue sky… Recallingconversations, laughter, the generosity of artists, tables laden with delicious food and good wine, the poetic musicality of theItalian language, the theatricality of Italians, the warmth of Italy!And the wonder of making Art.Caroline Josephs, Ph.D.www.carolinejosephs.com.auwww.Art-Mine.com/Artistpage/Caroline_Josephs_Phd.aspxwww.Artisspectrum.com/magazine/24/index.html?pageNumber=71www.Artisspectrum.com/magazine/25/index.html?pageNumber=6369 ARTisSpectrum

Soojin HongWings Acrylic on Canvas 32” x 24” Under the Tree Acrylic on Canvas 18” x 18”Award-winning Korean artist Soojin Hong creates vibrant abstractpaintings both highly expressionistic in nature and utterly free. Bringinga diversity of styles to the canvas, Hong engages a variety of paintingmediums (oil and acrylic colors, oil sticks, and colored pencils), as well asan assortment of tools (brushes, rollers, and knives), to create an entirelynew artistic approach. Her quick and powerful brushstrokes give shape andform to the swaths of colors that grace the canvas, lending definition to heramorphous nonfigurative forms.Hong is a master of color composition, combining tones and hues that allowher emotive representations to shine. Much of her inspiration comes from herbackground in music and her canvases are, in turn, strikingly symphonious,combining divergent elements into harmonious compositional renderings. Eachimage features aspects of movement and rhythm, yet there is a tranquility andpeace underlying the pieces as well, originating in the way the artist concentrateson Christian religious and spiritual themes as she works. For the viewer, Hong’spaintings come forth as a breath of fresh air, lending insight and clarity to thoseunnamable elements that make up our inner worlds of emotion and intuition.At the core of her painting style is an element of immediacy and freedom,through which Hong’s whole life as it exists at the moment of creation isinfused into the canvas in front of her. “Everything just comes out naturallyand compulsively, from deep inside me,” she says. Nothing is planned out;rather the colors, lines and forms emerge as a pure emotive response to bothSoojin in her Studioher current external context and the shifts and flows of emotiveexperience that compose her internal terrains.Soojin Hong currently lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, where she remains dedicated to the process of capturing her innermostfeelings for display on the canvas for all to engage with, thereby gleaning insight into the inner workings of their own unseen worlds.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Soojin_Hong.aspx70 ARTisSpectrum

LaroucheTamara GrizjukLes Belles Soeurs Watercolor on Paper 31” x 24”The watercolors of Canadian painter Larouche depictstylized versions of traditional rustic subjects — a harborfull of sailboats, a winter countryside, a still life of a flowerbouquet — which have been updated with a streamlined,cartoon-like line and an effervescent color range. A student ofboth Canadian and American masters and an expert flautist,Larouche brings an international sensibility and a musician’sinstincts to her mesmerizing visual art.Nature’s endless variety is her inspiration, and she finds spiritand humor in the most everyday objects, bringing new lifeand energy to the world that surrounds the viewer. In additionLarouche’s distinctive technique of juxtaposing crisp shapeswith delicately blended, ethereal washes of color contributesan aspect of narrative depth to her paintings.Yet the defining element of the works is a mysterious languor.“By the colors’ fluidity and by the effect of the wet on wettechnique, each artwork is born from a moment’s intuition, oran improvisation,” she explains. For Larouche, watercolor isa “medium without restraints.” Despite the artist’s fondnessfor spontaneity, each work has its own unique, fully-realizedpalette. Color, indeed, is everything, as she is aware: one candeliver “a simple but subtle speech by the purity and depth ofcolor overlays.”www.louiselarouche.artacademie.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Larouche.aspxRussian artist Tamara Grizjuk cites “color, rhythm andcomposition as the most important elements of constructinga canvas,” a set of formal building blocks plainly visible in herfiguration-evoking abstract paintings, which are full of brighttones and dynamic layers. Working with overlapping hues inalternately geometric and organic — practically biomorphic —shapes, she builds up levels of paint to achieve ever-bolderintensities, and the outlines of successive applications createstrong visual patterns that occasionally resemble silhouettes.This method of superimposition creates sharp contrasts thatnonetheless permit subtle shades and textures of concealedoil layers to remain visible, rewarding attentive viewers withshifts in application and intensity. These understated variationsadd great depth to Grizjuk’s animated surfaces.Her fusion of varying visual sensibilities makes the artist’saesthetic almost impossible to categorize, combining as it doesboth the strong linear features of notoriously static Cubismwith the intense dynamism of expressionists like Kandinsky.Her systems of lines and shapes create relationships betweenotherwise distant forms. She connects large, dark fields of colorthat appear initially to be background with bright, concentratedshapes nearer the center of compositions, subverting stablerelations between subject and setting. Above all, Grizjukpaints rhythmic fields of infinite possibility, where relationshipsbetween forms and hues are constantly shifting within ourperception.www.tg.aa-rim.ruwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Tamara_Grizjuk.aspxThemis Oil on Canvas 35.5” x 24”71 ARTisSpectrum

María Eugenia AkelDimalow Digital Media, Oil & Acrylic on Canvas 37.5” x 37.5”Intricate, ethereal forms float through Chilean artist MaríaEugenia Akel’s mixed media works. Mysterious, apparitionlikeforms lace tangible, collaged images assembled with Cubistflourish and composition. The artist appropriates cultural artifactssuch as newspapers or popular icons in order to blend themdigitally with scrupulously edged photographs and opaque,elusive painting. Through this uniquely distinct hybrid of painting,photography and collage, Akel makes the commonly real into thesurreal, and the banal mystically beautiful. Through this evocativepractice of amalgamation, she has developed a process at oncedistinctively personal and completely universal. Cultural imageryis reworked and contextualized to speak a specific, profoundlanguage of harmony in individualism. This technique affords Akelan essentially infinite language of expression to articulate a poetic,lyrical elegy to the continuously passing present moment.A student and teacher of artistic practice for more than twentyyears, Akel yearned to be an artist as a child. Training and thenworking as an architect, she dreamed of imbuing her designs anddrafts with melodic, soulful creations. Having studied as a photographer, her faithful, incandescent skills behind the lens are nowluminously showcased in her mixed-media works. More than anything else, Akel finds gratifying fulfillment in her digital works,a sentiment she shares with the viewer through the pieces.María Eugenia Akel has exhibited widely to critical acclaim, most notably at the 2009 Florence Biennale. She studied art for manyyears at academies in Chile, Germany and Spain.www.mariaeugeniaakel.clwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maria_Eugenia_Akel.aspxLuisaElena Betancourtold and saturated colors” are the thread that“BLuisaElena Betancourt uses to bring togetherworks in such media as digital photography, acrylicpaint on canvas and glicée printing on paper. In herimages, she uses those vibrant colors to create aworld that shows the influence of both EuropeanModernism and the culture of her native Venezuela.The colors of a South American landscape mix witha palette that could be found in the work of an artistsuch as Hans Hoffman. An ambiance of sunlightand air infuses shades that would normally have amuch flatter intensity, lending a relaxed feeling to thewhole.The resulting atmosphere is one in which formalabstraction and casual realism combine in a uniqueTristan & Isolda III Acrylic on Canvas 43” x 62”fashion. A cleanly rendered group of birds will appear against a multi-hued background that turns them into abstract forms, or aseries of digital photographs will be layered to become a collage whose colors and composition transform the images into partsof a glowing, otherworldly pattern. The iconic simplicity of many of the images in her works also lends an aura of folk art charmto her sophisticated compositions. Betancourt says that a sense of play is central to her artistic process, and a whimsical airpervades many of her creations. But hints of darkness are also evident, giving these works a vital formal and emotional energy.www.luisaelenabetancourt.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Luisaelena_Betancourt.aspx72 ARTisSpectrum

Igor NelubovichRussian painter Igor Nelubovich creates vivid landscapes andcityscapes that occasionally flirt with abstraction. The artist’swork dances to the rhythm of stark contrast – pure white, rich black,and splashes of reds and yellows. Abstracted geometric patternsand shapes create a prismatic effect, and his cityscapes collide withtheir own reflections in a cacophony of color. Bold and assertive,his work grabs attention and keeps it. Brilliantly flexible, he createsethereal, introspective moods with his palette, as well – resulting inpaintings which are no less arresting.Nelubovich’s work is exciting to look at. It is rich and modern, andhis consistently kinetic compositions evoke the urban energy thatinspires him. Energetic, frenetic lines keep viewers’ eyes in constantmotion. Even his subtler, more subdued work is powerfully dynamic.He captures the underlying pulsing force of his landscapes withoils and acrylics, returning to the same compositions and scenesin future paintings to push them in new directions. A resident of St.Petersburg, Nelubovich is strongly influenced by the world aroundhim, and images of that city are prevalent in his work.Kalinkin Bridge Oil on Canvas 24” x 24”Nelubovich was born in Russia. A member of the Union of Russian Artists, he is a full-time artist, and he has presented his workin major solo exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany, and Russia.www.igornelubovich.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Igor_Nelubovich.aspxMichael KatzRetro NYC - Subway 57th StreetPhotographic Print in Acrylic Sandwich 20” x 30”New York City takes center stage in MichaelKatz’s multi-layered, dream-like photographs,but it is not a New York City that exists in any onetime or place. “I enjoy interrupting what my mind’seye sees,” Katz says. And the way he interruptsthat vision is to take many of the city’s iconic sights(the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building,the subway) and superimpose a wide range ofother images onto them. Adept at the art of doubleexposure, he creates a world in which the city’slandmarks become haunted by a series of culturalreferences. A ghostly pair of lips seems to hanglike a cloud over a subway car, while several fighterplanes look as if they’re flying over the GeorgeWashington Bridge.Katz, who was born in Brooklyn and now lives andworks in Miami, says that another of his goals is “to give the viewer a diverse sensory experience of Light, Shadow and Contrast,”and his works also bring those qualities strongly into play. Having spent many years producing food and interior photography forsuch publications as Travel and Leisure and Wine Spectator, the artist has a clean, assured sense of composition. His images,no matter how many levels and layers they depict, always combine a wealth of meanings with an elegant sense of unity andbalance.www.michael-katz.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Michael_Katz.aspx73 ARTisSpectrum

David LaBellaDavid LaBella’s work expands the scope of landscapephotography. The artist cites the photographer Eliot Porteras a major influence, and many of his images take Porter’sintimate view of nature up a notch, getting so close to theirsubject materials that they appear as abstract patterns. Hisattention to light and detail let him bring out those patternswithout losing touch with the natural environments they comefrom. Shadows are expertly handled, giving even apparentlyabstract images a highly physical, three-dimensional feel.Color also plays a very large part in what make his photographsunique. His images vividly capture the otherworldly pinks andoranges of natural surfaces, adding to the effect of a world thatis both a record of what is found in nature and a part of theartist’s personal vision.LaBella captures that vision in a way that separates his workfrom that of many photographers. Dividing his colleagues intothose who are mainly “concerned with the creative printingprocess” and those “primarily determined to make a finishedwork in the field that requires no enhancement,” he comesdown in a place between those two approaches, one perfectlysuited to the blend of art and nature found in his photographs.“I am an image maker,” he notes, “bent on rendering scenesthat stand up to rigorous editing.”www.labellaphotographic.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/David_Labella.aspxValley of Fire, NV #1 Digital Print on Paper 24” x 20”74 ARTisSpectrum

Thierry FazianEnigmatic Dreams Mixed Media Sculpture 10” x 8” x 8”Vortex of our AncestorsMixed Media on Metal 35.5” x 32” x 5”he place where I’m living,” says artist Thierry Fazian,“Treferring to the Caribbean island of Martinique where he isliving and Guadeloupe where he born in 1966, “are crossroadsof Europe, Africa, America, Eastern Asia, India and IndianAmerican.” So it should come as little surprise that crossingboundaries of many different kinds is central to what his work isall about. New media and old, painting and sculpture, as well aswhat the artist calls “A Existantialist symbolism and Caribbeanmysticism” — they all come together in unique pieces thathave been termed “sculpictures.” While the pieces begin withpaint on wood, that is nothing more than the starting point forFazian’s investigations. He then builds upon those paintedsurfaces, adding layer after layer of such materials as resin,computer-generated images, and metal gears. The end resultof this meticulous process is a group of visual constructions thatexist in a world hovering between two and three dimensions.The backgrounds have a self-contained, dreamlike quality thatoversteps its bounds in the foreground, audaciously breakingthe picture plane and moving out into the viewer’s world. Bodies,lips, faces and hands reach out to us, drawing us into a worldwhere the ancient and the modern have a dynamic interaction.Fazian also has a strong sense of how to juxtapose texture andcolor. For example, surfaces that bring earth or mud to mindwill sometimes be rendered in brightly hued acrylics. He also Thierry in his Studiogenerates tension between his subjects and the materials heuses to represent them, making totemic figures from clear resin, and placing them against backgrounds of fluorescent shades,or patchworks of modern machinery. By making his works straddle the line between various media, the artist exposes what hesees as the “powerful and many-sided” aspects of life, creating a body of work that often lets several different worlds exist withinthe same space. The old, the new, the natural and the man-made rub elbows with each other, and the wide range of materials,textures and colors that Fazian employs brings it all vibrantly to life.www.fazianthierry.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Thierry_Fazian.aspx75 ARTisSpectrum

Image by Catherine Gaillard PerezNew York City: Evoking the Museby A. Di BelloThe Muse - she was once the female platonic ideal, a deity, a sage, a goddess; and for hundreds of years the blessingof a Muse was essential for the creation of art. For many artists, the Muse is alive and well, infusing the psyche witha gust of the divine, to inspire not imitation but new insights. For many years I have privately addressed the issueof new art forms with artists from every corner of the world. This dialogue has culminated in the theory that today’smuse is often either a physical place or a place in the heart. Over the past ten years artists have discussed with me theinspiration that becomes manifest when they are exposed to the spirit and energy of New York City. In previous issuesof ARTisSpectrum, a number of artists have shared their experiences of the city with our readers. This has proved to beextremely popular, and so new artists have been invited to do the same in this edition. I thank Alison, Bruce, Catherine,Lydia, Richard, Rebecca, Dominique, Jane and Carolyn for their evocative and powerful contributions, and encourageothers to share their experiences with us for the May 2012 issue of ARTisSpectrum.76 ARTisSpectrum

Alison Jane RiceI arrived in the city of yellow taxis and giant billboards two days before my opening reception. The spring night when we arrivedwas tempting but jetlag loomed. We began exploring on Wednesday, with a cab ride. Installation was in full swing at the galleryso we departed smiling, with the Chelsea Markets beckoning to us to explore. The Green Table lured us in: organic chicken andvegetable pie, rhubarb tart with rosemary ice cream. Delish!I soaked in the images. Excavated stone and steel corridors adorned with blues greats: B B King, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley.Creative food hubs and surreal sweet displays.The Pop Shop, Eleni’s New York, Fat Witch Bakery. Hip, funky and alive with that Nooo Yawk accent. Hours later, our legsdragged us back through the twilight into Times Square. Into the mayhem, onto the pavement of extremes, like a Jackson Pollockoriginal dripping with color, frenzied movement and the unexpected.Billboards swallowed us up, a street artist caricatured us in charcoal. NYPD cops gave us directions, posed for photos andsmiled at my funny accent. And then I dined with my beloved husband at Rue 57 on luscious French fare, champagne and conversation...waaay beyond midnight!I slept through the daylight hours of Thursday, but still arrived on time for the Opening. The elegant hum of early arrivals turnedto a buzz as artists, collectors and friends gathered. I could no longer read the sound of conversation, I just experienced it: theebb and flow of different generations and mediums intent on a collective interest.In a room suffused with sound composition, fleeting glances and fashion projections, I was witnessing unedited phenomena inthe making, a living installation unfolding in this contemporary exhibition space – Agora Gallery, steered by a dedicated group ofyoung women with Angela at the helm.Friday in Central Park was a Pre-Raphaelite dream: squirrels scurrying amidst the emerald green and rustic tones of a warmspring day; a beat boy, maneuvering gigantic rainbow bubbles from an orange bucket into a makeshift hoop against a backdropof whisper blue hydrangeas; a juvenile comedian with his ‘$1 Jokes, Laughter Guaranteed’ sign; horse-drawn carriages; EddieRapp, a master fiddler of infectious tunes; the lake, reminiscent of Renoir’s painting, ‘Boats’; Belvedere castle, illuminated ingolden light, tortoises under the pier, orange tulips phosphorescent in the sun; night time closing in before the cool air usheredus into the Met and the dark savage beauty of the Alexander McQueen exhibit.Saturday unraveled a magic carpet as the road to Times Square was cordoned off for the annual Manhattan street market.Greenwich Village was our destination and my reward... historic facades, cobbled paving stones and surprising antique characters.Late afternoon, a ride to the top of the Empire State Building, with its art deco splendor, views going on forever and AnAffair to Remember. Evening was a full blown Broadway triumph: Priscilla Queen of the Desert co-produced for the Americanmarket by the Divine Miss M.And Sunday? Reflection on our New York experience as we began the long drive toward one of my favorite holiday destinations:The Mirror Lake Inn, Lake Placid. I was satisfied, inspired, and delighted.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Alison__Jane_Rice.aspx77 ARTisSpectrum

Bruce Leslie ThomasExploring New York from the ground… up…Buckle-up for a fast yellow cab ride to enjoy the Metropolitan Museum of Art… In the Atrium garden of the Frick Museum I joinedthe “Sunday sketch group” (drawing supplies provided). If you’re in New York, definitely do your best to get to the Guggenheimand Frick collections! In the wonderful galleries of the city, I met “old friends,” from Rembrandt to Vincent… Monet to Picasso…It made me realize that as a visual artist, I am a part of a very long tradition…Having fed the muse, it was time to get a taste of the great variety of food available… served up with New York hospitality! Timeto experience R&R in quiet atriums and the many city parks. Time to take a fast elevator ride to the “Top of the Rock” to see thecity that never sleeps and enjoy the magnificent views of Manhattan and beyond.An incredible visual stimulation imposed on and incorporated within 1930’s grand sky-scrapers… Art Deco facades, imagesand interiors clad in bronze-accented rich marble floors, with contrasting veined polished marble walls... Elevator doors, beautifulmurals and lighting fixtures carry through the constant Art Deco themes… Each exterior and interior within the Rockefellerskyscraper complex is unique to New York. This experience was particularly poignant for me, because the Art Deco visuals findechos within my own work.The Agora Gallery “Portals of Perception” exhibition was creatively and beautifully presented. I was very impressed with the waymy seven pieces were thoughtfully hung. Angela and her staff worked very hard to bring all the artists represented to the fore inan intimate and welcoming environment. The opening was a hit with patrons and casual gallery goers. It was also great fun forme to meet highly interested art lovers in a New York, Chelsea district setting.The “Big Apple,” its people, its unique culture, its excitement, beauty and intensity truly inspired me. I can now exclaim...”I LoveNew York!”www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Bruce_Leslie_Thomas.aspx78 ARTisSpectrum

Catherine Gaillard PerezVisiting New York and taking part in The French Perspective exhibition was just great and very exciting!I had already had group exhibitions in foreign countries, though I never attended in person. But I just didn’t want to miss the openingreception in New York. I can safely say that my whole New York experience was memorable, and sharing the trip and the bigoccasion with part of my family made my stay incredibly special!I was very proud to be in the exhibition at Agora Gallery, and to help my husband and three of my children discover New York City.When we landed on the Fourth of July, at about 10 pm, we could see the fireworks in the sky beneath – I couldn’t have imagineda warmer or more joyful welcome.What I loved the most about New York is the feeling that, in spite of its immensity, its lively nature and its incredible energy, it issuch a cosmopolitan city that you don’t feel a stranger at all and everyone seems to be able to find their place easily. It makesyou feel that somehow you belong a bit too, a feeling that only strengthens the longer you stay there and when you leave. NewYork gives you the feeling that it pulses to a kind of heartbeat (“le rythme d’un coeur qui bat”), as if it is the heart of the world.I was born in Paris and lived for years in the center of that city, though I now live in a quiet place about thirty miles south fromthere. I feel very close to nature and find my main painting inspiration in it or in interior scenes. However, although it was sodifferent, I really felt like “a fish in water” in New York. I felt there a very moving human and positive energy and I already missthe city and I’m eager to come back.It was also great discovering Agora Gallery and its team in person, after exchanging so many emails. When I entered the galleryon the reception evening, I felt as if I already knew all of the staff, and I didn’t feel as if I was in a foreign space. I was very happyto be there and very proud to see some of my paintings displayed there.It was like a dream come true: you think and talk so much about a project and finally you realize it! It is a great sensation. Therewas so much happiness and excitement about this trip to New York that when I got back home I felt for a while like a gloomyteenager, thinking of going back as soon as possible.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Catherine_Gaillard_Perez.aspx79 ARTisSpectrum

Lydia van den BergMany thousands of people have in different ways written and spoken, painted and photographed America - New York - Manhattan.I know that the sights and emotions of my experience have been discussed before, but despite that I feel that my experiencewas unique and a memory I will treasure.I remember when I first learnt about Agora Gallery. I was intensively surfing the web looking for a potential business that might beinterested in integrating my art into their products. I came across the Agora website, and instantly felt at home. I was interestedto read about the various artists, to view their images and learn about their concepts and motivations, as well as find out aboutAgora’s staff. My first and constant impression was and is positive, very positive. I am really impressed with the way in whichAgora Gallery presents the artists it represents.Without giving it much thought I presented myself to the gallery. I felt like a small fish that had dived into the huge unknownocean. I was unsure if I could even swim. What happened was an amazing experience which has opened a new page in mypersonal biography. I would like to thank Angela Di Bello and her lovely team for their professional support.I have asked myself what a successful exhibition means. I believe success is not reflected by the red marker representing “Sold,”although that is something to value. The biggest achievement for me is when the audience is not bored, when they take theirtime to appreciate and understand my art.My solo exhibition was just like this! The atmosphere of Chelsea, the wonderful art district of New York, encourages people toengage with what they are seeing, to really appreciate the art in the galleries there.My first trip to New York was made up of unforgettable moments and memories which will stay with me. Arriving at the airport, itwas as though I had landed in a movie. I was like a film star and joined with so many others – together, we are all a part of themovie.It is unique feeling and can only be experienced here in New York by someone willing to jump right in. The question is, “Do youwant to have a part in the play?”To my surprise I didn’t concentrate on the travel books and museums; I was totally fascinated by the diversity of all the differentpeople and their expressions. Back at home I was pleased to have the opportunity to view this film from a distance. I findthat the photos I took in New York seem almost unreal… I can’t believe that I have only recently returned from that remarkable,unbelievable city!I am happy that I have jumped into the water and I now know I can swim!www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Lydia_van_den_Berg.aspx80 ARTisSpectrum

Richard StuttleLong flight to New York, JFK, leaving the airport in a taxi towards the city… excitement and anticipation filled my body. Driving overthe Williamsburg Bridge I saw the city skyline and knew this would be a city I could fall in love with, if it had not already happened!First day in NYC my adventure began. The sun was shining, the city awaited me. Armed with sketchpad and water I headed outto explore a place I had until this point only seen on TV and movie screens. With a spring in my step I wandered from Soho toCentral Park, eyes wide. Everything was amazing: sidewalks, shops and people all new and exciting. I remember gazing up thesides of huge mirrored skyscrapers, seeing the slightly distorted shapes and colors of the opposite buildings, following the linesto the top and nearly losing my balance. The city is incredible, but strangely I had a strong feeling of familiarity.First impressions, of everything from the streets and buildings to the people who lived and worked in them, was that everythingwas mind-blowing and on a massive scale. To me, the city itself was alive, the streets like veins and the living inhabitants thebloodstream keeping the metropolis pumping. I love the attitude of New York, that whatever you want to do can be done! Athousand ideas a day; some brilliant, others leading to avenues of thought that might never otherwise have been considered andsome complete rubbish! All can be nurtured in New York.One great privilege for me was to attend a showing of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The performance was a dream, anexperience I will never forget. I was fully absorbed in the production and it touched my soul like nothing else, my eyes glued tothe actors and stage, their voices incredible. The show was the best I had seen. Understanding the resonance of performance,I captured a feeling that would be unleashed on a canvas when the time was right, and even writing this now I am overwhelmedby the passion of that moment, the inspiration that will be with me and I will use within my art forever.New York has almost everything an artist could want to complete their mind, body and emotional state. The only thing I missed intwo months was depth, a depth I found in European history and culture. I found that the American mentality is to keep ahead ofthe curve – citizens want to be fresh in ideas and lifestyle, at the forefront of technology. As an artist I strive to dig deeper, in to thedepths of time past, and find the essence that transcends the centuries, the same energy the old masters tapped to create timelessworks of art. America has all a boy could want, but boys grow up and crave more. Is there enough here to sustain a lifetime?New York has definitely inspired me. Back in my studio now, I’m working on large scale oils capturing impressive skyscrapers,beautiful parks and moments of genius found in the city. Special moments from the last two months were captured in sketchbooks,on film and most importantly in my feelings and memory, experiences that touched my soul. I will love NYC forever.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Richard_Stuttle.aspx81 ARTisSpectrum

Rebecca RathI was so thrilled to see my work in the gallery. It was definitely a highlight of my NYC experience – though I loved every exhilaratingsecond we spent in NYC, from driving into New York from the airport at dusk and seeing that famous skyline to riding theSubway. I loved exploring Chelsea and “bumped” into my fellow artist and friend Helene Leane! Next day, once again, I literally‘bumped” into my brother Mike and sister-in-law Narelle outside Macys! What a small world! And to think, I hadn’t even spokento them yet.I thoroughly enjoyed walking through Central Park to reach the beautiful and elegant Guggenheim– something I had only seenin photos. What an amazing building, featuring just as impressive an art collection. Degas’ pastel drawing “Dancers in Greenand Yellow” swept me off my feet. It is even more sublime in real life. Oh, and I can’t forget getting lost in Monet’s Waterlilies atMoMA. Time did stop for a second and I got goosebumps! Monet has to be my favorite artist and to view his work in the fleshwas inspiring.Meeting the ladies at Agora was also a wonderful experience. Having spent the last six months in email correspondence it wasbrilliant to finally meet the team. It was also great to see my work on the exhibition poster!But it wasn’t all art, my husband Andy and brother Mike took Narelle and myself to a Yankees game. What a wonderful experience!Next was a stand-up comedy night at Dangerfield’s in the Lower East side. I got belly ache from laughing so much. I lovedvisiting the Rockerfeller Centre and traveling to the top to view the NYC skyline. What an amazing view of an incredible city!The food was also fabulous - my husband and I ate like kings (and queens!) every night at various restaurants. We especiallyloved eating at the famous Buddha Bar in the trendy Meatpacking district . I have dreamt about that for years, having boughtall the CDs. The music is very inspirational and I play the CDs in my studio while I work. On top of that, there was time for aBroadway show, where I was on the edge of my seat, and fabulous shopping.Perhaps the people, were the most memorable experience. They say the people make a city and for NYC I think that is true.The energy is amazing and there are so many people from all walks of life. It is constantly buzzing with people and cars, rushingfrom one place to the next. I’ll never forget the hum of the city (nor the sounds of the horns!). It was such a stark contrastfrom my home which is set on 25 acres in the Australian bush. I have kangaroos grazing in the back paddock and I wake to thesound of kookaburras.It is wonderful to have the support of Angela and the girls at Agora. It has done a lot for my confidence and I thank them for theirsupport. The Agora staff have been extremely professional. I am impressed with the amount of people who work at the galleryand their efficiency in responding to my questions. They have been prompt with all emails and courteous with their responses.They have been a pleasure to work with.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Rebecca_Rath.aspx82 ARTisSpectrum

Dominique BoutaudI feel honored to have exhibited twice in a year at Agora Gallery in New York. The gallery is located among many other galleriesin Chelsea, a busy section of the city. The Agora Gallery space is huge and peaceful – an easy place for me to relax, to contemplatethe artwork. Although I participated in group exhibitions, I was unique in my gallery section each time. Also, I enjoyedthe artwork of the other artists and found the opportunity to meet them during the opening reception. It was a very interestingexperience to listen to the other artists sharing their feelings about their own artworks.Both of my exhibitions were arranged in an extremely attractive way so that the eyes could move from one painting to anotherone in a very natural motion.A curious and admiring public came to look quietly or to express themselves in front of the artwork, asking pertinent questions.As an abstract artist who prefers to paint in oils, I liked to see and listen to the public reactions and the comments that weremade in front of my artwork. I valued the atmosphere of expressiveness, as people from different countries and cultures broughttheir individual memories and ideas to the experience. You could really see how paintings attract the human soul which seeksthe depth in them. For me it was a gift to have such a beautiful and interesting experience with the public, through my exhibitionat Agora Gallery.I took enormous pleasure in being in New York City. The experience of the city was an important complement to the exhibitionexperience, and I found the Big Apple to be a treasure for the world and in my own life. The city is impressive, beautiful andpowerful in winter with the snow, as well in the light of spring. I felt delighted to see all the New York streets and contemplate thebeauty of the architecture of the city.In this fabulous modern city, I have enjoyed visiting some of the best known places in the world, like Times Square, and uniquemuseums such as MOMA with its incredible artists and the wonderful exhibition Savage Beauty, featuring the work of AlexanderMcQueen, at the Metropolitan Museum.I also took huge pleasure in the simple act of eating a New York Hot Dog. New York City is so impressive and the most unexpectedthings and people could be seen everywhere. It has become a great source of inspiration for an abstract painter like me.Without doubt, my experience of exhibiting my paintings at Agora Gallery in New York will stay with me forever as an unforgettableexperience.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Dominique_Boutaud.aspx83 ARTisSpectrum

Carolyn RogersNew York City is like a Disneyland for artists. From my home in Washington, DC, it’s a relatively short train ride away, and New Yorkis always a mini-vacation for me, no matter the length of my stay. I find the city to be vibrant, alive, and more pedestrian-friendlythan most cities. I like that even on Sunday evenings the city doesn’t close up, people are still out on the streets. There is so muchgoing on at all hours, reminding me of one of Woody Allen’s quips about not wanting to travel to other places because everythinghe wanted was right there in New York City!In some ways, the city feels like home. Growing up in Connecticut, I have fond memories of sightseeing trips into NYC with myparents and on school trips. The view from the top of the Empire State building made quite an impression then.Now my explorations of the city revolve around art, and I find NYC to be a stimulating environment for art-related activities and foropening my mind and imagination to new opportunities. The vibrant streets, art galleries and overall ambience of the city lend anair of excitement. I enjoy walking all over to discover different neighborhoods and places, at times recognizing streets and neighborhoodsfrom movies. I recently walked to the former location of Alfred Stieglitz’s famous 219 Gallery (now an office building at291 5th Avenue).In my art career, I have concentrated on Black & White photography and work with the platinum/palladium printing process to capturea softer, painterly effect, evoking late 19th century idyllic landscapes. I use light to draw the eye in, providing an opportunityto examine nature and the built environment. I started to exhibit my work locally in the late 1990s, and was accepted into my firstjuried group art exhibit in NYC in June 2001 (in the Chelsea neighborhood). I was thrilled to be exhibiting my work in one of the bestart venues in the world. As I walked through the streets carrying my artwork to the gallery, I felt that this was a great opportunity toincrease exposure to my work. In NYC, anything seems possible.Since 2001, I’ve been in several juried group shows in the SoHo and Chelsea neighborhoods. I’ve been exploring lots of galleriesin these areas as well as the galleries along 57th Street. Sometimes friends from Brooklyn or New Jersey will join me in exploringart galleries.I’ve been represented by Agora Gallery for two years, exhibiting in the collective photography shows in April 2010 and 2011. I enjoyworking with the gallery staff, and the openings are great fun, especially when my friends from the New York area join me there.I recently discovered the High Line. Walking along this urban oasis in the spring, I created a series of photographic images, strivingto capture a mood of tranquility and serenity in the images. As many of us rush through life failing to notice the simple beautysurrounding us, my photographs of urban places like the High Line offer quiet moments to step back, observe, and contemplate. Iagree with Georgia O’Keeffe that, “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.” I hope that my images of the High Linecapture some of the magic.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Carolyn_Rogers.aspx84 ARTisSpectrum

VéroniKaHEphémère Stained Glass and Mirror 24” x 30”VéroniKaH in her StudioVocation II Acrylic & Ink on Canvas 24” x 48”Canadian artist VéroniKaH is known for her stunning visions of vivid color and bold texture, brought together in new andexciting ways. Upon each canvas, colors dazzle, textures collide and compositions sparkle with life. The emotive elementsof each image are daring and complex, yet a harmonious undercurrent serves to unify the overall effect. Through the constantlymoving poetic colors and forms that comprise her art, VéroniKaH again and again explores new ways to reinvent the world.Using a wide array of media—including liquid stained glass and lead thread, and color ink combined with acrylic texture—VéroniKaH creates a profound visual effect. Her work is dynamic and highly intuitive, always changing size, theme, color andtexture depending on her immediate impressions and impulses. As she explains, “My technique is a continuous research of newvisual effects never before seen . . . [which] are the reflection of my daily life, the good and the bad, the excitements and thedeceptions.”For VéroniKaH, the paintings create a feeling of connection with the world and are the expression of a conviction to survive.Indeed, the process of painting has become a lifeline for her after a lifelong battle with anorexia nervosa. For this artist, paintingbecame not only a mode of healing but gave her a new sense of freedom, fueling a renewed self-acceptance and putting herwell on the road to recovery. Part of this process lies in her use of her art as a vehicle to explore and enhance the basic humanconnection that all of us share. She elaborates: “There are no barriers, no language differences, no age or sex obstacle, nothingto stop the intuition of everybody’s mind. Looking at my paintings is looking into our heart and soul, because at the end of theday we are all the same.”VéroniKaH currently lives and works in St-Bruno, on the south shore of Montréal in Québec, Canada. Her work has beenexhibited and sold in the United States, Canada and Europe.www.veronikah.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Veronikah.aspx85 ARTisSpectrum

HERMINEThe bronze sculptures of artist HERMINE depict male and femalebodies, humans and animals, individuals and groups. She movesback and forth between abstraction and representation, alwaysapplying a strong understanding of form and feature to her subjectmaterial. That attention to detail shows itself as much in the minimalistforms she uses to depict a bird’s body as it does in the finely executedhairs of a horse’s mane. With regard to form, the sculptor says that sheattempts to “capture the body” by reducing it to its simplest expression.The process she uses to achieve that simplicity involves “geometricallyrendering shapes” to depict “beings in progress.” That can result in atorso that turns a body’s musculature into sharply rendered shapes andplanes, or a family whose members become an interlocking group ofstripped-down swirls. Speaking more generally about her work, Herminedeclares that “the most difficult paths offer extraordinary destinations.”Viewing her creations, the viewer is likely to conclude both the truth ofthis statement and the value of the endeavor.HERMINE was born in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, and still lives andworks there. She has pursued many artistic mediums in addition tosculpture, from painting and photography to graphic design. Thisvariety is likely the root of her highly graphic sculptural technique, onethat achieves its clarity through a developed sense of style.www.herminart.cawww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Hermine.aspxFamily Bronze with Patina 12” x 7” x 7”Rusiko PlaksinaShadows of the City Acrylic on Board 12” x 12”e are at our creative best when challenged,” declares“WGeorgian artist Rusiko Plaksina, whose own wildlycreative works attest the truth of her statement. After losing all herpaintings during the Georgian civil war of the early ‘90s, she leftthe war-torn country in 2008 and settled in New York. The acryliccompositions that have emerged from those challenges combineelements of many European Modern art movements, and yetthere is always something in the palette and incredibly preciseexecution that marks them all as the work of an original talent.Plaksina’s paintings are full of detail, every space occupied bygeometric patterns, mysterious symbolism and dramatic lightingeffects. Her choice of tones heightens contrasts between warmand cool colors, with yellows and oranges placed close to blue,turquoise and green.Her imagery fluctuates dramatically, from expressionist cityscapesto Cubist still lifes, Klimt-esque nudes composed from mosaic-likefragments of color, and surrealist enigmas. Each piece evolves itsown rhythm, the play of layers and patterns suggesting musicalsequences. The contrast between rounded natural shapes, and rigid, grid-like forms plays off the pieces’ harmonies as straightlines begin to bow and tightly clustered paint marks fly apart into ethereal clouds. Plaksina’s compositions always portray anin-between state as beautiful images are challenged to recreate themselves.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Rusiko_Plaksina.aspx86 ARTisSpectrum

Surrealistic tableaux fill the canvases of Latvian-born painter AleksandraVavilova. While she primarily works with oils, Vavilova employs a rangeof materials in her artwork, including charcoal, pastels and pencils. She alsoexperiments with styles, ideas and content throughout her oeuvre. Inspired byher dynamic imagination, unexpected juxtapositions and dreamlike scenarioscreate a “new reality” which reflects the gamut of human emotion. She statesthat “the canvas is a mirror... feelings are reflected in a magical way.” Foremostto the artist’s process is the observation of her everyday reality. She constantlyseeks out elements that she can utilize and modify in the construction ofher alternative, painted reality. The proliferation of pensive females amidstenchanting settings reveal Vavilova’s artistic intent. Deeply interested inpsychology and fantasy, her work is a sincere form of self-expression. Herpaintings are the expression of her own “internal drama.”Aleksandra Vavilova moved to the United States in 2003 and currently lives inBrooklyn, New York.www.sashaartist.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Aleksandra_Vavilova.aspxAleksandra VavilovaKATEŘINA Alavedra-DuchoslavSaint Nicholas Church, PragueAcrylic on Canvas 16” x 16”The blazingly inventive oil paintings of Dawn Crothers bring spontaneousbrushwork and rich tactility to the forefront. Crothers takes humble countrysights—often small animals, like snails or chickens—and infuses them withjoyful stylistic elements that seem boundless in their energy. Colors areheightened and multiplied; paint is worked in impasto layers to create threedimensionalpatterns as well as two-dimensional ones, a technique rooted inCrothers’ days as a sculptor.The work displays great forethought and complexity, despite Crothers’insistence that she “is taking art back to its most pure and simple form byremoving its pretentiousness—what you see is what you get!” Though herAbstract Expressionist-like hand and surreal palette anchor Crothers in themodern era her subject matter of choice remains in the timeless realmsof domesticity and the natural world. Crothers, who lives and works in herhometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, paints the humor and idiosyncrasiesthat occur every day.www.dawncrothers.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Dawn_Crothers.aspxLyric PlanetOil on Canvas 24” x 18”The acrylic paintings of Katerina Alavedra-Duchoslav are deeplyrepresentative of the artist’s own journey through life. With a focus onpersonal content, Alavedra-Duchoslav paints her past through the lens of herpresent. Having been displaced from Prague during her childhood, the artistcontinues to work through her memories in painterly expressions exploringthe concept of home as well as the specific example that lies close to herheart. Geometric renderings of cityscapes saturated by a warm color palettetransform Alavedra-Duchoslav’s distant memories of place into a mistychronicling from a past life. By painting with a sponge rather than a paintbrush,the artist allows the outlines of her forms to dissolve perceptibly into thebackground. This technique further emphasizes an aesthetic which featuresmemories being recaptured. In each of her compositions the perspective isslightly askew, creating a sense of memories crowding forward, with eachand every one demanding the viewer’s attention.Born in Prague, Katerina Alavedra-Duchoslav moved to Switzerland in herchildhood. She currently lives and works in Catalonia, Spain.www.katerinaalavedraduchoslav.estranky.czwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Katerina_Alavedra__Duchoslav.aspxDawn CrothersMidnight SwimOil on Canvas 40” x 32”87 ARTisSpectrum

Art by Designby A. Di BelloOn my last visit to visit my daughter Laura, an artist agent, on Whidbey Island in the state of Washington, I had the pleasureof meeting Kari Gunderson, an interior designer. She shared with me some insights regarding the way she incorporatesartwork into her design projects. The significance of her answers and future interviews with designers will, I hope, enlighten andinform artists and anyone considering working with interior designers.Is recommending artwork an important part of the interior design process?Yes. Artwork is an imperative layer of every successful project, and adds a unique quality to each space.At what stage in the process do youstart looking for art?This differs with each project. Fornew construction or remodel projects,I work with the client to determinekey artwork locations to allocate wallspace (or provide appropriate nichesor built-ins) during design development.Sometimes clients have existingpieces or collections that they want toshowcase in specific areas, so I amthoughtful about considering this earlyon. For other projects, artwork will bethe final phase and discussed after allother design decisions are made.How is the budget determined andwho sets it and when?Most commonly the artwork budget isbased on the quality level of the project.I initially present the options I thinkwill work best, and scale back if cost becomes an issue. Cost can become a problem if clients have only considered an artworkbudget after their project is complete. But often I find that if a client loves a piece, they find a way to purchase it.What do you look for when choosing artwork?On a functional level, I look for pieces that will fit into the space physically, esthetically and within budget. On a creative level, Ilike to present options that my clients have not considered and that may even push the levels of their comfort zone. Artwork doesnot have to blend with the rest of the interior space.Where do you look for artwork?My preference is to utilize the local art galleries on Whidbey Island, like Museo Gallery (www.museo.cc). I am lucky to work ina community which has such a rich spectrum of local artists. Depending on the project, I will also look for artwork at the SeattleDesign Center showrooms, on national gallery websites and at retail stores or boutiques.Do you need to think about different things depending on whether you’re looking for a sculpture or a painting?No, the same basic principles apply – both functionally and creatively.88 ARTisSpectrum

How do you decide whether to recommend sculpture orpaintings to your client?The space usually dictates this answer. But I find that mostclients are more comfortable with 2D work than with sculpture.From a practical perspective, most people find it easierto live with paintings – especially if they have children orpets. But when a client expresses an interest in sculpture, Iknow it’s going to be a fun project.Do you ever suggest commissioning works of art; if so,what is the most important factor pertaining to your decisionto commission a piece?Yes! Artwork commissions are some of the most successfuland gratifying pieces I place. When the clients can collaboratewith the artist to create a one-of-a-kind piece, they arepart of the process which enriches the client’s connection tothe space.Do you try to find a piece of art that matches an idea, ordo you go out looking with an open mind for what youmight see?Often times I will start with a loose concept – a color story, astyle, a medium – and search for artwork within that realm.But I enjoy discovering unexpected pieces during the search.Often the process itself guides me to a better solution thanthe original concept.What happens if you and your clientdisagree about the recommendedartwork?This happens more often, than not – soI just pull more options. Artwork is sucha personal reflection and should havemeaning to the people who live with it.The bottom line is that I am just part oftheir project and my job is to give thema space that they love!You can find out more about Kari Gunderson and her work at www.KGDESIGNstudio.net .89 ARTisSpectrum

Carol J. WalkerThe Stallion and the Tree Giclee Print on Canvas 30” x 30”www.livingimagescjw.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Carol_J._Walker.aspxWild and free, the horses depicted in Colorado artist CarolJ. Walker’s photographs either gallop across open spacesor quietly gaze into the camera. Following several herds inWyoming, Colorado and Montana, Walker has dedicated bothher life and her art to the remaining wild horses that roam ourpublic lands. She seeks to capture the essence of the horsesshe photographs by spending time with them and tuning in totheir nature and behavior when they’re all but free from humanobservation. Walker’s art is in part political, as the wild spacesthese horses inhabit are in danger. She has been profoundlymoved by their spirit, their beauty, and their connection to theirfamilies, and she seeks to share this beauty with others andinspire them to help keep these horses free.Certainly, there is an element of nostalgia in Walker’s workas horses revel in their freedom in unadulterated wide openlandscapes. But simultaneously in these photographs sheexplores the deep, profound, and often mysterious connectionbetween horses and humans. Compositions contribute both tothe sense of majesty and strength in these creatures and theirenduring, familiar nature.In the end, Walker’s photographs help the viewer to connect withthe soul of the horse, to better understand and appreciate thesebeautiful creatures.kBlanchardVenezuelan artist kBlanchard blendsmovement, colors, textures, 3D forms andcompositional codes to create an entirely newdimensional approach to representation, which sheterms Deconstructionist Abstract Expressionism.Inspired by the things unspoken — such assound and human behavior — that surround usbut which we often choose not to see, she uses apixel technique working in mixed media to extractand reconfigure abstract and conceptual images.Numbers and codes are then embedded withinthe images, lending them a decidedly modernistbent that reflects the structuralist sensibilities ofour contemporary world. As she explains: “We areFocos Mixed Media on Canvas 39.5” x 67”just a code in the entire world, numbers which represent our position in urban space.”In a series she calls “Visión de Ciudad Sonrisas” (“Vision of City Smiles”), kBlanchard explores the intersections betweenhuman experience and urban environments, and how we as humans come to define that space. Through her art, she looksclosely at how all these elements are influenced by globalization, while outlining such pressing issues as demographic growth,the deficiencies of urban consciousness, the fate of public spaces and the essence of social dignity within these realms. Whatresults are compelling glimpses into the pervasive truths that underscore our modern urban societies and how we as humanshave come not only to live but to flourish within these parameters.www.k-blanchard.blogspot.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/KBlanchard.aspx90 ARTisSpectrum

Fred FriedrichFred FriedrichCuadros Negros 0705 Acrylic on Canvas 39.5” x 39.5”Fred Friedrich is a German painter, sculptor, and architectwho has long been at the forefront of an internationalmovement aimed at promoting pioneering art forms andprotecting creative freedom and new ideas. Throughout hiscareer, he has molded the idea of a painting style particularlyappropriate to his abstract creative patterns, one which usesgenerous, powerful body movements to create informalabstractions. Much of his inspiration comes from his immersionin and appreciation of the surprising and chaotic nature of life,with all of its limitless potential and interest. At the heart ofFriedrich’s art is a wholehearted acceptance of creativity andthe power it has to influence the world, as well as a rejection ofanything that seeks to limit this freedom.Friedrich’s abstract expressionist paintings are as compelling asthey are complex, studies in movement and the massive web ofinterconnectivity that joins all who exist in this world. Underlyingeach image is a sense of drama and surrender to chaos evenas unseen forces seem to resist and struggle against the verydisorder that defines them. Within each composition color, lineFin de Ciel 1102 Bronze 16” x 15” x 16”and form seem to have a mind of their own as they clash and collide across the canvas. In the end, Friedrich’s paintings presenta strong commentary on our modern world, the traps inherent in an industrial age and the potential for destructiveness that lieswithin.In contrast, the artist’s bronze sculptures demonstrate a dedication to the sublime, a celebration of the magnificence of loyalty,patience, love and innocence inherent in the human soul. Faces half-hidden yet powerful are embedded within the rock, whileclear elements of line and form reflect a strong sense of wisdom and omniscience in the figural representation. Here he depictsan intrinsic component of the human spirit: unwavering, steady faith despite the chaos of one’s external context.Throughout his career, Fred Friedrich has continued to promote freedom in artistic expression, most recently through hisFriedrich Foundation, which continues to protect ideas in danger of extinction and encourage bold innovation in arts and culture.www.fred-friedrich.dewww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Fred_Friedrich.aspx91 ARTisSpectrum

Tom Waits for no oneby Lynda PogueTom Waits is his own man: an artist who waits for no one. He gets on with the business of life.With Mr. Waits, on the surface you’ll find a street-smart gravelly rumbling man who comes at the world sideways through his ownunique blending of jazz / blues / rock ‘n roll. However, if you go deeper, you’ll find a brilliant workingman’s poet laureate with aninsight into humanity that will rock your socks.Imagine Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs,Robin Williams, Bob Dylan, KeithRichards, Leonard Cohen, NeilYoung, Francis Ford Coppola,Satchmo, Long JohnBaldry, Joe Cocker and Einsteinall mixed up in a blender and youmight have a remote idea of whatTom Waits is all about.I I call what I’m doing animprovisational adventure or aninebriational travelogue... If I’mtied down and have to call myselfsomething, I prefer storyteller.(Note: all italics are words that eitherTom Waits has said in an intervieworhas penned in his lyrics.)Tom WaitsHe crooks his warped gifted fingers at you and invites you to experience his world as he paints mind images with his scurrilous,soulful, inventive words / phrases / pronouncements. And how he combines his words (and music) stretches the reader or thelistener’s psyche in new ways. You are right there in the seedy hotel room, or car, or truck, or bar with him… can’t you just see hiswaitress that has marmalade thighs with scrambled yellow hair? (Lyrics from The Ghosts of Saturday Night)He walks as if he wants to go three ways at once. He’s a bolt of lightning. He’s bent like a half-smoked cigarette in a bucketfulof sin. You get the sense that he’s seen it all through the eyes of Croce’s junkyard dog. The key to his work is his concreteacknowledgment of people whom many of us would prefer to pass by in silence; an affirmation that they exist.He knows our underbellies.Your eyes will cross and smoke will come out of your ears if you try to apply logic to many of his musings… what you must dois go for the ride with him. And, as an analogy, because you are interested in the Visual Arts, consider how many remarkablepieces of artwork do this same thing... if you take the time to read / to listen to the story in an artist’s painting (sculpture / photo)and go along for the ride WITH the artist, you may extend his/her story into profound insights for your own work… your own life.92 ARTisSpectrum

You might know Mr. Waits from seeing him as an actor in films (12 movies) or his animated videos , or by being moved by hismovie soundtracks (111 of them! ) or by listening to one of the hundreds of songs on his 23 albums. The man has been andcontinues to be a prolific ball of ever-shifting energy. Neil Young said, when introducing Waits as he was being inducted intothe Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, that “…this immensely gifted great performer is a singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, and achangeling.”After ‘experiencing’ Tom Waits one feels moved to stretch / experiment / get away from the ordinary… or… perhaps moreimportantly, to discover new ways of seeing the most ordinary things in life.Take a look at how his colorful lyrics illuminate the images of some of New York’s Agora Gallery artists. Begin by taking a goodlong look at the image and then let your eyes join the words with the images… a story will emerge.So please call me, babyWherever you areIt’s too cold to be out walking in the streetsIWe do crazy things when we’re woundedEveryone’s a bit insaneI don’t want you catching your death of coldOut walking in the rain(Lyrics from: Call Me, Baby)Faded MemoriesPhotographic Print by ShifraNever saw the morning ‘til I stayed up all nightNever saw the sunshine ‘til you turned out the lightNever saw my hometown until I stayed away too longNever heard the melody, until I needed a song.Never saw the white line, ‘til I was leaving you behindNever knew I needed you ‘til I was caught up in a bindNever spoke ‘I love you’ ‘til I cursed you in vain,Never felt my heartstrings ‘til I nearly went insane.Never saw the east coast ‘ntil I move to the westNever saw the moonlight ‘til it shone off your breastNever saw your heart ‘til someone tried to steal, triedto steal it awayNever saw your tears until they rolled down your face.(Lyrics from: San Diego Serenade)Circle of HopeJapanese paper and acrylic on canvas by Lynda Pogue93 ARTisSpectrum

And I admit that I ain’t no angelI admit that I ain’t no saintI’m selfish and I’m cruel but you’re blindIf I exorcise my devilsWell my angels may leave tooWhen they leave they’re so hard to find(Lyrics from: Call Me, Baby)ThirstOil on Canvas by Eduard AnikonovYou wish you had a dollarFor every time he holleredThat he’s leavin’Never comin’ backBut the curtain-laced billowAnd his hands on your pillowTrousers are hangin’ on the chair…But you’ve packed and unpackedSo many times you’ve lost trackAnd the steam heat is drippin’ off the wallsBut when you hear his enginesYou’re lookin’ through the window in the kitchen and you knowYou’re always gonna be there when he calls(Lyrics from: Semi Suite)Interval 34Acrylic on Canvas by Chris SpuglioAll your scribbled lovedreams, lost or thrown away,Here amidst the shuffle of an overflowing dayOur love needs a transfusion … let’s shoot it full of wineFishin’ for a good time starts with throwin’ in your line.(Lyrics from: New Coat of Paint)94 ARTisSpectrumRetro NYC - Subway Token BoothPhotographic Print in Acrylic Sandwich by Michael Katz

Tom Wait’s inventiveness doesn’t stop with his words… he released a series of albums that stunned the music world. Beginningwith “Swordfishtrombones”, he introduced a whole new orchestration, which included some newly invented instruments. Hediscovered a new ground for his innovations; searching in sound fields that never before were searched. Hisevolution of music has morphed into incorporating everything from the scratching sound of a dragged chair to talking through abullhorn in order to create interesting soundscapes. Several musicians / performers now create their own arrangements basedupon Tom’s breakthroughs. You have to break habits or you don’t explore, you only play what is confident and pleasing.I’m learning to break those habits by playing instruments I know absolutely nothing about, like a bassoon or a waterphone. Apowerful lesson for any artist or entrepreneur.Marshall McLuhan introduced the concept of “The medium is the message.” to the world. And Waits uses every medium he canfind to tell his message… always challenging and stretching himself to find something new to learn about and how he can use itto tell his stories. Tom Waits doesn’t have a set of brakes. Do you?On his birth: I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emergedneeding a shave and shouted “Times Square, and step on it!”On NYC: Looks better in the rain; like it’s been lacquered.DonnaPhotographic Print by Corrado MaggiOn how he gets his perspective: I usually try tostep back so things are a little blurred for me...like water stains on wallpaper… you thought itwas a part of the design, but it’s not.On one of his favorite artists: Don Van Vlietaka Captain Beefheart inhabited the world rightunder noses with his brush, his voice, and hismusic. He listened with his eyes and he sawwith his ears. Wondrous, secret, and profound,he was a diviner of the highest order... hedescribed the indescribable. If he was a horse;he’d be unridable. Long may all that he hasgiven the world continue to sprout.On what sparks/motivates him: I try to makean antenna out of myself, a lightning rod out ofmyself. So whatever is out there can come in.It happens in different places, in hotels, in thecar- when someone else is driving.On duplicity / being what you are: You know what really bothers me is when somebody tells you that their cell phone is also acamera. I just hate that. What’s wrong with having something that’s just what it is and being happy about it? It makes me wantto say to them: “My sunglasses are also a tricycle.”On life’s pressures: I’ve got my own doublecross to bear.On his vantage point: If you get far enough away you’ll be on your way back home.95 ARTisSpectrum

Please Note: There are over 17 million websites referencing the incredible talent of Tom Waits.On his own official website www.tomwaits.com he says that he’s never had a hit and yet he has what might be describedeuphemistically as a ‘cult following’ of millions of people in every corner of the world.Even though there were hundreds of songs to chose from I’ve chosen to use the lyrics from only one of Tom Wait’s dazzlingalbums: The Heart of Saturday Night… because this is the one I’ve listened to at least a thousand timesIn researching for this article over the last few months, I studied, asked questions, wrote prolifically, read and watched andlistened to numerous interviews/discussions with Tom Waits and I found several of them poking fun at his edgy personality.People looked at me like I was doing card tricks for a dog.I was ashamed of most of these interviewers for their lack of respect for this incredibly luminous man... they were often trying tobe as cool as Tom… perhaps he was / is too clever for them to comprehend what he has to say and do. Then I stumbled acrossa few excellent insightful respectful non-judgmental interviews on the Anti-Records promos (2002). I found them to be the bestinterviews that drew out the most poignant responses and kept Tom Waits at a comfortable pace. Go through this Anti-Recordspromos series if you really want to see and hear The Man as if he was sitting right beside you… just shooting the breeze... easygoing...no artifice… genuine.www.youtube.com/watch?v=tri3FUT3pBo&feature=related.His is the music you turn on when working late at night with the lights way down low…Lynda Pogue is a published author, poet, columnist, professor, award-winning artist, international keynote speaker andworkshop leader. She has written for ARTisSpectrum Magazine for several years.She is represented by Agora Gallery in NYC, Pharand◊Art and ARTSPACE OAKVILLE in Canada and she invites you to visither website at www.lyndapogue.com.96 ARTisSpectrum

Patricia Armour has been weaving tapestries for 25 years. Ranging insize from miniatures to murals, her intricate weavings are based onphotographs, paintings, collages, and prints. Through the use of multiplefine yarns, the artist develops colors, shades and tonalities, deepeningthe space of the tapestry and cultivating a sense of light and atmosphere.Inspired by the human form, ancient mythology and legends, the tapestriesare rife with symbolism. Serene faces peer out amidst a pastiche of naturalmotifs, while bare tree branches or moths surround tranquil female visages.Working to convey an ethereal quality, Armour hopes that viewers willread personal meaning into her works, discovering ideas or attributes forthemselves. Celebrating the tactile quality of tapestry, her work bringsaudience members into the tableaux she creates, inviting them closer withthe warmth emitted by her weavings.Patricia Armour was born in Wellington, New Zealand where she currentlylives and works.www.tapestryartist.co.nzwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Patricia_Armour.aspxPatricia ArmourAura - Windows of the Soul SeriesTapestry 29.5” x 28”Chris SchäffelerImpressedAcrylic & Ink on Canvas 31.5” x 39.5”Chris Schäffeler’s mixed media paintings record the impressions ofthe natural world which she has shaped on a subconscious level.Abstracted yet recognizable forms reveal themselves as the artist expressesher emotions and innermost reactions by way of a paintbrush. Intuitively,Chris adds layer upon layer of acrylic and ink to her canvas, allowing thematerials and her instinct together to determine the content. Dramaticcolors and light refracting from carbon additives demand the viewer’sattention, drawing their eyes towards the naturalistic forms embedded inthe work. Humans, animals and other discoverable entities appear from themélange of abstractions and swathes of color. Over time, the artist’s stylehas evolved from more controlled, smaller works to dynamic, large-scalecanvases. The playful and uncontrolled interaction between medium andsubject found in her recent work bespeaks Chris’ desire to more completelyrelease herself from the everyday, and dive into the extraordinary.Chris Schäffeler began intensively painting in 2005. She lives and works inHaag, Switzerland.www.chris-galerie.chwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Chris_Schaffeler.aspxThe entrancing landscapes of award-winning painter John J. Sayerfeature empty horizons, textile-like skies, and figures that floatrather than stand. The influence of surrealism is evident, but Sayerconstantly draws in unexpected elements to make his canvasesunique: the Classical proportions of formalism, the unruly naturalworld of Romanticism, and a spontaneous use of color that almostrecalls the Impressionists. Although he has shifted between genresduring his forty-year-long career, the artist has remained devoted tothe wish that his paintings “will strike the viewer with wonder.”Sayer mixes completely abstracted surfaces with realistic objectsin an attempt to access the subconscious — both his own and hisviewer’s — where emotions become unknown entities. Equallymysterious are the elemental forces of nature, which becomecharacters themselves in the form of beautifully articulated texturesstretching across the scene. It seems impossible that the eerie beautyof this universe has earthly origins, and indeed Sayer explains that“All the work I do is pure imagination.”www.sayer.artstudio.cawww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/John_J._Sayer.aspxJohn J. SayerLandscape in a Dream Acrylic on Canvas 15” x 46”97 ARTisSpectrum

The balance between darkness and light is a central element in the paintingsof Jacques Desgagnés. Against backgrounds whose blacks, violets anddeep reds give them a subterranean feel, he places glowing whites and brightyellows. Vibrant flashes of other colors peek out from behind more sombershades, resulting in compositions with an exceptional sense of depth.In addition to his skill at depicting light, Desgagnés also balances many differentways of applying paint to the canvas. In some images, delicate washes of colorbring religious icons to mind, while in others rough, energetic brushstrokes andthickly applied pigments create a dense web of textures. But that variety ofstyles is always harnessed to a view of the world in which the spiritual andthe physical bump up against each other, setting off visual sparks. Whetherdepicting scenes from nature or working in an abstract vein, he creates imagesthat exert a powerful pull on the viewer, drawing us toward their light.www.ajdesgagnes.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Jacques_Desgagnes.aspxJacques DesgagnésWindow On Oil on Canvas 16” x 20”Silvio FranziniTrasfigurazioneDigital Mixed Media on Canvas 24” x 31.5”Italian artist Silvio Franzini works across an array of media, continually testingthe limits of figurative abstraction. Using combinations of acrylic, enamel,sand and digital tools on canvas, Franzini draws inspiration from the ideas ofremarkable artists like Piero della Francesca and Leonardo Da Vinci, as wellas masters of the modern era such as Klee and Rothko. His works strike abalance between a serenely simple composition and a complex, finely-tunedblend of colors. The hint of a face appears in a line, then sinks into a purelydirectional dynamic. The paintings are unfailingly vivid, yet are always evenlybalanced and constructed in their measured lines and calibrated textures.The harmonious relationship between intense hues and restrained arrangementis not accidental, but is a reflection of one of the artist’s greatest interests. Ashe himself says, “my particular attention has been to the synthetic aspects,especially those suggestions arising from the form/color alluding to the worldof musical sounds.” In Franzini’s work, music is kept alive and is persuasivelypresented as vibrantly visual.www.silviofranzini.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Silvio_Franzini.aspxLike the knife she uses to carve her oils on canvas into bold depictions ofstrife and perseverance, Anjum Saeed’s work is penetrative and demandsthe viewer’s attention, curiosity and empathy. Creating interesting texturesusing only her palette knife, Saeed approaches each piece intuitively andmanipulates the colors into spontaneous visual homages to shift and struggle.Through her work, the artist gives vibrant form to the ideas of turmoil anddetermination, speaking both to her inner world and to the political tumult of herSouth Asian homeland. The spirit she renders within these spaces constantlymoves forward, emanating out and imploring the viewer to reconcile their ownpersonal struggles by considering the conflicts of others.Anjum Saeed obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National College ofArts in Lahore, Pakistan, and the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts in Karachi,where she completed the qualification. She has also studied at the School ofVisual Arts and Parsons School of Design in New York City.Anjum Saeedwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Anjum_Saeed.aspxReflection Oil on Canvas 30” x 30”98 ARTisSpectrum

Penelope PaigeHyung Jin ParkViewers could easily be excused for thinking that theyare looking up at a night sky when they see Hyung JinPark’s paintings. The surfaces of these works are dotted withtransparent beads that sit along the outlines of his subjects,giving them the appearance of constellations. The glitteringbits of light are often connected by mesh threads, furtheringthe effect of stars that are gathered into recognizable imagesby the viewer’s mind. The appearance of those images ishighlighted by shifts of color within their borders that seem tophysically lift them up from their backgrounds.But it isn’t just the heavens that are reflected in these works.Those mesh threads also look as if they could be fishing nets,and the hazy yet glowing fields of color they are placed againstcould just as easily represent the shades of deep water asthey could a darkened sky. The artist, who was born in Seoul,South Korea, says that he “grew up longing for nature” andthat fishing was not only a way for him to spend time, but wasalso a sort of backdrop for the development of his thoughts.As expressed on his canvases, those thoughts encompassinfluences including ancient and medieval art and WassilyKandinsky, whose elegant sense of line is echoed in thedelicate lines covering these remarkable canvases.Writing On The Wall Oil on Canvas 36” x 24”Penelope Paige’s oil on canvas works mix the power andfreedom of paint directly dripped and swirled onto thecanvas with a tightly organized sense of color and space.Bright splashes of pink, orange and yellow give an energeticsense of emotion to the moody, more somber fields of colorupon which they are placed. Paige calls her paintings “thetangible outcome of intense passion,” and that passion vividlyemerges through her work’s provocative visual contrasts. The“secret emotions” that she communicates are the result ofthe vibrations of such gestures as placing a zigzagging lineof red paint over a patch of glowing green. In addition, thejuxtaposition of bright shades and earth tones carries echoesof the color combinations found in the art associated withPaige’s Native American heritage, a tradition that also mixesearthiness and spirituality.Having grown up around art and artists, she showed an interestin abstraction at a very early age. That interest was rekindledwhen she took an art class to satisfy the requirement for aBachelor’s degree in Psychology, and deepened when shewanted to express her Scottish heritage. So it comes as littlesurprise that her art compels us both through its expression ofher own emotional concerns (particularly the unexpected deathof her husband in 2009) and its ability to bring up unspokenfeelings in the viewer’s own mind.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Penelope_Paige.aspxwww.blog.naver.com/cuncowww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Hyung_Jin_Park.aspxA Bird and Candle LightMixed Media & Acrylic on Canvas 25” x 21”99 ARTisSpectrum

100 ARTisSpectrumMicroMuseum ®SMALL VENUESINCE 1986BIG ART25YEARS OFINTERACTIVE ART,MEDIA ANDPERFORMANCES2011/2012EXHIBITION DATESOPTICAL MYSTERIESOctober 29LOVEY+DOVEY=FOREVERFebruary 11LUCKY 8s, 7s, 6sSeptember 15Every Saturday 12 – 7 PMMicroMuseum ® a project of Promote Art Works,Inc (PAWI) is a legendary independent Brooklynart institution that inspired thousands of intrepidelusive artists and dozens of adjunct communitiesover its 25 years on Smith Street. PAWI, a501c3 organization, is celebrating this milestoneoccasion by offering special perks and art giftsfor more generous tax-deductible contributions.25 YEARSOF PUREHYBRID-NESSWITH FOUNDING ARTISTSKathleen& William LazizaPERFORMING ARTISTOPPORTUNITIESON SOAPBOX STAGEFOR NEW YOUTUBE CHANNELMEDIA ARTISTS OPPORTUNITIESFOR 2ND FLOORSCREENING THEATERCALL (718) 797-3116FOR DETAILSNOW OPEN SATURDAYSNOON – 7:00 PMDONATIONS ACCEPTED ONLINE:www.micromuseum.bizIN PERSON:BY APPOINTMENT 718-797-3116DROP OFF:EVERY SATURDAY 12 – 7 PMNOW OPEN SATURDAYSNOON – 7:00 PM123 SMITH STREET,BROOKLYN, NY 11201www.micromuseum.comSMALL VENUE BIG ARTBrady StewardMarine Biomorphic Glass 5.5” x 2.5” x 2.5”The sinuous sculptures of colored glass created by BradySteward are compact expressions of energy, each a liquidmovement trapped in solid form. The artist, who has beenworking with glass for over two decades, allows the materialto ebb and flow from a state of deep, rich color to delicate,transparent notes. The work is sleekly abstracted, but not nonrepresentational— often a figure appears from the organicbends and drips of hot glass. The sculptures’ fluid beginningsare always visible. Within this singular aesthetic, Stewardcaptures a world of different meanings: the many states ofconsciousness, the natural sciences of biology and geology,man’s place and manipulations in the planet’s environment,and what the artist calls “spiritual warfare and illness” by whichhe means problems of mind and body.Steward’s rapid, vigorous sculpting process is designed totap into the greater whole that his work questions. “I workspontaneously, thinking from the ancient part of the brain,”he explains, stressing the importance of spirituality and pureinstinct in his artistic method. “Getting the work to speak…you really have to take it to the edge and then some.”Friends who have witnessed Steward in the studio describeit as performance art. It’s a method perfectly adapted to thetransient medium of molten glass, and the result is imageryboth momentary and timeless.www.bradysteward.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Brady_Steward.aspx

Vito MateraVito Matera creates artwork imbued withlighthearted introspection, experimenting in anontraditional format with color and form. Materablurs the line between painting and sculpture. Heshapes and sands natural wood surfaces, addingdepth and richness with an acrylic emulsion. “I usewood as a live medium that compensates for theinertia of acrylic,” he explains. The artist revels inthe texture of wood, varying the amount of pigmentto allow the simple beauty of the wood’s texture toshine through and become a part of his work.An immensely appealing aspect of Matera’s oeuvreis that it allows his audience to enter a realm ofplayful abstraction. The colors of his homelandweave their way through his art – the rich blue ofthe Mediterranean, the pale, dreamlike glow of themoon, and vibrant splashes of a red and yellow sunall feature in his creations – and he creates sensual,Equus Caballus Acrylic & Emulsion on Wood 15” x 16” x 4”curving gradients that draw the eye inward. Matera is inspired by Mediterranean myth and the imagination of popular culture.Simultaneously introspective and charged with a genuine sense of humor, his work makes light of the thought that serious artneeds to take itself seriously.www.vitomatera.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Vito_Matera.aspxDebi MackinnonLavender Drifters Acrylic on Canvas 36” x 48”Rhythm and movement permeate the work ofDebi Mackinnon. Inspired by the Fauvists, TomThomson, and Emily Carr, her work with acrylicsdisplays confidence and elegance that transcend thecanvases on which they are painted.Mackinnon’s art is at once a bold challenge and acelebration of life. She paints larger-than-life flowersand gardenscapes that are full of disparate, brilliantcolors, and all of her work has an innate, intuitivesense of movement that invites viewers to stay awhileand get to know each painting.By responding to the natural world around her with afocus on movement and color, Mackinnon capturesordinary moments and makes them into somethingextraordinary. “Color is my inspiration and the purest,most vibrantly brilliant and even bizarre colors are allaround us in our natural environment,” she writes. Her bold brushwork and use of color create rhythms and melodies in eachpainting that are fresh and unique.Mackinnon has lived all her life in western Canada, and it is no secret that the natural beauty of that area inspires her art.Nurtured by an artistic family, she quickly proved herself in the art world. She strongly believes in giving back to society, andhas donated paintings to a number of worthy organizations that benefit individuals in need, including the Vancouver GeneralHospital, Ronald Macdonald House, Canuck Place, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Endeavour Foundation, and The CancerFoundation.www.debimackinnon.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Debi_Mackinnon.aspx101 ARTisSpectrum

Paola GuerraMaría Susana Dos SantosThe work of Paola Guerra is full of taut emotion and dramaticline. Her art is deeply personal in a way that resonates withothers, her style a bold blend of painterly brushwork, usingacrylic, and mixed media elements such as wire mesh. Shefocuses on the female form, particularly women’s faces, anduses a limited palette in each piece to achieve a range ofmoods. Because her figures occupy most of the frame, herwork has a sense of immediacy and intimacy. Guerra’s stronguse of line portrays her subjects as confident, yet vulnerable.“In the women I paint, I really reflect myself,” she explains.Guerra is consciously influenced by a range of life experiences,including growing up in an area of Italy which until 1918 waspart of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, something that gives it –and her work – a unique cultural feel. Art critic Anna FrancescaBiondolillo believes that Guerra’s work exhibits “the wisdomto express one’s feeling, through an artistic expression fromwhich stands out the painstaking work and the communicativewill.” Guerra has persevered in the face of adversity – and herart has the power to speak for itself.Paola Guerra was born in Gorizia, Italy, on the former borderof Slovenia. She has exhibited her work in Italy, Austria andNew York.www.paolaguerra.blog.tiscali.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Paola_Guerra.aspxThe Filter N. 13Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas 19” x 18”Sin Titulo 328 Acrylic on Canvas 31.5” x 31.5”There is a powerful psychological intensity present in MaríaSusana Dos Santos’ art, a depth of experience andchange infused into her paintings. Within Dos Santos’ worksone discovers dynamic distinctions between the forms she hasdeveloped as she carries viewers on passionate journeys intothe soul of creation.The artist calls her style of abstract expressionism “sensibleabstraction,” combining a spatial sense of movement,atmosphere, architecture, and illumination to create agraphically bold visual perception of the inner landscapes ofthe mind.In acrylic on canvas, Dos Santos explores the physicality ofher medium, bringing together both an airy softness and achoppy, dry staccato stoke in her paints with accents of fine,trailing movements in line. Moving freely between an etherealsubtlety and tangible solidity in the shapes of her visions, theartist draws parallels to reality in the suggestions of structureand light found in the dreamscapes of her abstractions as sheplays with the contrasts and challenges she has created.Over the past twenty-five years Dos Santos’ personal stylehas undergone constant transformation, most recently movingtowards a more full and textural density of colors with fewerlayers of transparency. She currently lives and works justoutside the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina in Sierra de laVentana.www.susanadossantos.com.arwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Maria_Susana_dos_Santos.aspx102 ARTisSpectrum

Brigitte MartinezBrigitte in her StudioCity Arbol Oil on Wood 81” x 53”imple yet dramatic” is the term that best describes the monochromatic oil“Son wood paintings of French artist Brigitte Martinez. With a backgroundin architectural design, Martinez executes highly detailed yet surprisingly freeimages, combining a spirit of abstraction with pure expressionistic form. Sweepingbrushstrokes lend an organic feeling to her subjects, underscored with a quietelegance that defines her work.In Martinez’s paintings, lines undulate across the canvas, creating a dynamism ofform. In each composition there is careful attention to order, yet the paintings areexpansive and un-tethered, a celebration of all the universe has to offer. Emotiveelements permeate her subjects, creating a highly personal forum and compellingthe viewer to look deep into the depths of the painting to see what secrets it mayhave to share.Ultimately, Martinez seeks to understand the intrinsic connections between theexternal world we live in and the internal world from which we perceive all that weencounter. In each image, she seeks to reveal the acuity of perception, the ways inwhich the mental, sensory and motor impressions, as well as memory, all convergeto create feelings, understandings, and interpretations that help us define our world.As she explains, “For the reader, the viewer, then, our worlds unite in the discoveryof the other! The emotion is the engine or brake, perception related to the senses.”Martinez’s best hope for her art is that it provides the viewer with a portal with whichto bridge these worlds, to understand not only the differences in individual perceptionbut the commonalities that unite us all in this sensory experience. “Once connectedto a broader vision, [when] perceived these worlds offer us freedom.”Rebirth Oil on Wood 81” x 53”Brigitte Martinez currently lives and works in her birthplace of Casablanca, Morocco, after spending fifteen years studying inParis, France. She has been recognized worldwide for her work, including in France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and theUnited States.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Brigitte_Martinez.aspx103 ARTisSpectrum

Davyd WhaleyDavyd Whaley gives strength, movement and beauty to hiscolorful abstract paintings. In his work, paint is applied thickly,with almost brutal force, to wood or canvas. There is an air of theprimitive, but that sense is mixed with a refined color palette and asense of composition that brings Abstract Expressionism to mind. “Iam drawn to asymmetrical forms,” the artist says, “and the energyand power provoked from the contrast of light, depth and color.”While human or animal figures sometimes peer out from thetextured backgrounds which he creates, his works do not dependon representation for their effects. Whaley constructs his patternedsurfaces with an expert eye and a well-developed feeling of howto place colors, achieving an almost three-dimensional effect.Patches of bright blue float above the subdued hues beneath them,or vibrant greens and yellows wind around each other to create afield of color that seems to breathe with a life of its own.Whaley’s attention to form is the bedrock upon which his experimentswith light and color stand. The resulting paintings offer balance inthe midst of asymmetry, along with an unexpected harmony arisingfrom a riot of colors. They feel tumultuous and peaceful at the sametime, providing an invigorating experience for the viewer.www.davydwhaley.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Davyd_Whaley.aspxDefeat of Chaos Oil on Wood 60” x 60”Jacques DescoteauxSun Peeking Through Oil on Canvas 18” x 24”During his childhood in Canada, JacquesDescoteaux says that he “fell in love with thesimple, stark landscapes, the massive skies.” Inhis paintings he employs what might at first seem alimited range of colors to depict the landscapes andsomber skies of his native country in a compellingmanner. Descoteaux has studied with a number ofartists, including a master class with Wolf Kahn, andKahn’s impeccable eye for color finds a congenialcompanion in the younger artist’s work. Sometimeslimiting himself to blacks and whites, and rarelyadding in much more than earth tones with occasionalblues and pinks, Descoteaux uses his sharp eye forlight and shadow to give his works a surprising depthand weight.While Descoteaux’s work can reverberate with thekind of drama that is found in Turner’s paintings, theartist’s deft hand with oil paint also gives them a dreamy ambiance, often bringing watercolors to mind. He also shows himself tobe something of an Impressionist, saying that he tries to “capture the atmosphere, rather than the specifics of a sunrise, a nightsky or a winter scene.” Cliffs appear from beneath banks of clouds and fog, and the lines between earth, water and sky becomeblurred while each element keeps its own distinct qualities. While the atmosphere that Descoteaux wants to communicatepredominates, the viewer always remains aware of the physical world that grounds it.www.jdcoto.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Jacques_Descoteaux.aspx104 ARTisSpectrum

Building on the artist’s passion for the untamed fire and fury of the desert,Nicholas Vitale’s vibrant interpretive landscapes and botanical studies areinfused with the searing heat and color of the American Southwest. Working ina variety of mediums, Vitale paints freely in gouache on paper, watercolor, oiland acrylic paints and mixed media, intuitively capturing the region’s zest andvitality in his explosively electric hues. Vitale takes a palatable pleasure in thetexture and viscosity of his mediums, exploring the possibilities offered by eachstroke as he veers away from the natural scene and into a playfully abstracteddreamworld of pure pigment.Born in San Francisco, Nicholas Vitale was raised in the whirlwind of the Modernistand counterculture movements, something that has encouraged him tobring a vivid sense of the psychedelic period into his works. He currently divideshis time between California and the Southwest, regularly exhibiting throughoutSanta Fe, New Mexico and within the Scottsdale, Arizona arts community.Nicholas Vitalewww.nicholasvitale.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nicholas_Vitale.aspxCelebration in the FieldGouache on Paper 16” x 20”Weeda HamdanReflection XIIIOil & Mixed Media on Panel 36” x 48”In a bold celebration of color and texture, Weeda Hamdan uses oils and layersof tissue paper to produce vibrant works of art. The influence of the Fauvists,Cassatt, Van Gogh, and Degas is apparent in Hamdan’s work. With astrong focus on color, light, composition, and texture, she creates short, thickstrokes of color that are abstract up close and blend into believability from adistance. Hamdan’s unique method sets her apart from other artists. Usingbleeding tissue paper and glue, she blocks in colors while simultaneously creatinga dynamic texture. She then skims the tissue paper with a palette knife.The result is art that breathes and vibrates with a life of its own, holding viewersspellbound within its borders.Weeda Hamdan, who began painting at age 10, was born in Liberia and haslived on three continents, each of which has enriched her understanding andher art. She has won major awards for her graphic design, and decided in 2005to pursue her Masters in Painting and Drawing through the Academy of ArtUniversity in San Francisco.www.weedahamdan.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Weeda_Hamdan.aspxBrigitte Balbinot’s powerful, gestural marks drive the composition of herpaintings, which are unidirectional and often colored with a single bold hue.The artist’s mark is central to her style, and Balbinot makes intriguing use ofblocks of vivid color painted on a large scale. Her work is more stripped downand polished than Pollock’s Abstract Expressionist splatter, yet more structurallycomplicated than Newman’s sublime color fields. The paintings have a depth ofenergy that extends beyond the reach of each forceful brushstroke.A self-taught artist currently living in Florida, Balbinot also explores portraitureand “semi-abstract” still life painting using her distinctive techniques of powerfullines and uncompromising tints. The result is a haunting version of reality: afigure transformed into an exaggerated silhouette, against a background thathas simply become a canvas-wide burst of color. Balbinot’s tonal contrasts arestriking, but her lines are truly what animates each piece, drawing viewers in andthen daring them to keep up.Brigitte Balbinotwww.brigittebalbinot.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Brigitte_Balbinot.aspxApocalypse Acrylic on Canvas 36” x 36”105 ARTisSpectrum

The minutely observed naturalism of Mirjana Psakis’ landscapes makesthem deeply rooted in realism and energized by exquisite brushwork.Working in oil on both canvas and linen, Psakis reaches back to the traditionof the European pastoral to reinvigorate the land of the present time, whichcontinues to be profoundly connected to the body even as our modern livescarry our attention elsewhere. As time passes, both the human form and theancient form of a tree remain unchanged. “I aim to express nature as possessingfortitude that is aligned with human vigorous physical qualities, resilient to itsoutside world,” Psakis explains.After returning to her motherland of Serbia and finding it industrialized, Psakiswas inspired to explore the fragility of time. The sun’s fleeting path is a recurringsubject; another is preserving the terrain of the past. The artist paints “to findthose human characteristics within the landscape so that the viewer is lesslikely to play a part in its destruction.”www.psakisart.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Mirjana_Psakis.aspxMirjana PsakisBushfire on the Bathurst PlainsOil on Canvas 20” x 28”Lily Ann PopEscape on the RoofsOil on Canvas 20” x 28”German Expressionism’s world of harsh lights, dark shadows and forcedperspective is given new life in Lily Ann Pop’s paintings. Using such worksas Robert Wiene’s 1920 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as inspiration, Popfollows a starkly graphic vision, transforming the ideas of the Expressionistsinto an exploration of what she calls “the lights and shadows that lie in me.” Inher work, she makes the internal emotional states of her subjects external, asif she is presenting the ephemeral souls within through her intriguing creations.Working with a palette that often uses the colors of black-and-white film asseen through blue or sepia filters, she makes the lights and darks exceptionallyintense, heightening the sense of interior vision and gifting the viewer with theexperience of dramatic, engaging contrasts.Romanian-born Lily Ann Pop lives and works in Italy and captures the essenceof an art form which has inspired her and makes it relevant for a contemporaryaudience.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Lily_Ann_Pop.aspxWith a style that fluctuates between impressionistic and realistic, Italianpainter Guglielmi Giovanni has produced a breadth of work aimed atcommunicating the joys of life. Working within the entire spectrum of colors,and employing an expressive painting technique, Giovanni’s practice is acelebration of art making, in and of itself. Regarding art as the agent andguardian of mankind’s history, the artist endeavors to paint both what heexperiences and what he observes. Having cultivated a sensibility for thepoetic expressions found throughout the environment, Giovanni’s small-scaleworks depict scenes of manmade and natural beauty. Imbued with light andresplendent colors, his elegant still lifes, lush landscapes and blithe city viewsdemonstrate a deeply felt gratitude for all of life’s creations.Born in Pietragalla, Italy, Guglielmi Giovanni now lives and works inMonteriggioni. Beyond his own artistic practice, Giovanni has served as apainting instructor for elementary school children with special needs.www.guglielmigiovanni.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Guglielmi_Giovanni.aspxGuglielmi GiovanniPaesaggio al Tramonto Oil on Board 20” x 28”106 ARTisSpectrum

Ben FeldshuhFor Brooklyn artist Ben Feldshuh, art is freedom. In his compellingoil on canvas paintings, he explores the drama of inner life and theoften complex social interactions between humans. Inspired by thecave paintings of Europe (and all that has followed in the thousands ofyears since), Feldshuh uses symbolic representations freely within hispaintings to communicate ideas, feelings, and insights. Demonstrating afascination with color and compositional arrangement, with an emphasison geometric form, the artist weaves brilliant tapestries replete withenergy and life force.In each of his paintings, Feldshuh tells the story as he sees it and allowsthe viewer the freedom to take it from there. Through his masterful useof color and form, he is able to express visually his ideas about life andthe ways the inner and outer worlds intersect. Through this approach,he offers the viewer new perspectives on life and their individual andcollective place within it.Again and again, Feldshuh returns to the primacy of symbolic language,the essence of meaning the shamans conveyed through their cavepaintings so many centuries ago. He reminds us that these earlyartists “taught us that art transmits feeling; art transmits human sharedexperience.” These expressionistic truths lie at the heart of his art andare what make his work such a gift to us all.www.benfeldshuh.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Ben_Feldshuh.aspxWhite Woman Oil on Canvas 50” x 40”Rosa OlivoInfancia Acrylic & Oil on Canvas Board 20” x 20”With an incandescent radiance and joy, Rosa Olivoexpresses an inner dialog with universal truths in paint,finding spiritual wisdom in the richness of her pure hues. Onefeels the passionate living energy of her works through thesearing heat of crimson and fiery orange, coolly vibrant indigoand aqua blues, and warm, glowing golds.As she works in acrylic and oil paints on large scale sheetsof canvas board, Olivo’s bold use of color invokes powerfulsensory experiences, drawing viewers into a luminous worldof pigment and light. The artist applies her paints fluidly,discovering inspiration in the dynamic viscosity of her mediumas she plays with texture and transparency, building hersurfaces up thickly and then drawing away to reveal the stainand clarity which remains hidden beneath.Olivo’s abstract paintings have their start in chaos, becomingfurther refined as her surfaces are continuously reworked inrhythmic brushstrokes and the sharp, linear scrapes andscratches of a palette knife. There is a flow to the transformativemotion of each piece’s completion, an essentialism intuitivelydistilling her vision without limits or preconceptions.Rosa Olivo currently lives in the Federal District in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where in addition to her career as a professionalartist she works in the medical field as a licensed Osteopath.www.rosaolivo.com.arwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Rosa_Olivo.aspx107 ARTisSpectrum

Nadine Y. JenersTirilIn her minimalist paintings, German artist Nadine Y. Jenersmelds emotions with vibrant colors, with the entire expressioncentering around the careful etching of a single word. Here,complex ideas and feelings are reduced to a scarcity of lineand form defined primarily by brilliant hues. Each painting ismeant to be a very personal story of relationship, primarily thecorrelation between the various colors, the typography and theemotions each conveys — and how this is all translated fromartist to viewer.There is great energy in Jeners’ use of typography and singularwords in her art. Here, she relies not only on the power oflanguage but the strength of people’s diverse understandingsof certain words and how this directs their response. Yet despitethese differences of interpretation, there is a universalitypresent in her paintings, an element that each person canconnect with in his or her own way. It is Jeners’ greatest hopethat the viewer find something personal to relate to in herwork. “I think they can find themselves, their own emotion andexperience in the picture. Every eye can find its own detail . ..” she says, movingly.Nadine Y. Jeners has exhibited in Germany, Italy and theU.S. and was recently recognized with an award from theKulturhauptstadt 2010 project.www.wunschrausch.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Nadine_Y._Jeners.aspxNola Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 30”Power - Made by MeAcrylic on Canvas 39” x 27.5”Tiril creates intuitive abstract paintings that are both daringand reflective. Each canvas is fresh and immediate, an intriguingblend of boldness and delicacy. The artist explores thedeep inner messages and emotions that bubble to the surfacewhen she keeps her mind free and unchained – but it isn’t alwayseasy. “The hardest part for me is not the beginning or theending of the communication,” she explains, “but remainingempty of myself throughout so that the concept may remainpure.”Tiril approaches each new piece as an adventure, withoutany preconceived notions, carefully keeping her mind in anempty, Zen-like state. Audacious impasto strokes and shapescomplement graceful washes and assertive color, melding toform a body of work that is truly mesmerizing. Typically, sheworks with a limited palette that embodies the overall moodof a piece, choosing to focus on the shapes, line, and movementthat merge to form a concept. Some of her work is almostentirely black and white with accents of color to heighten theemotional impact; some of it is brashly colorful. Because shedoes not limit her art with planning and structure, concepts arefree to emerge fresh and whole.Born and raised in London, Tiril currently lives in Alabama. Shehas been painting seriously for ten years.www.artbytiril.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Tiril.aspx108 ARTisSpectrum

Creating works that bridge cultural divides, Gwen Graham seeks to expressthose universally felt moments of joy and laughter that touch our lives nomatter where we come from. As she works in oil on canvas, Graham capturesa poignant and personal vision of life. In her heartfelt scenes of women at workand her moving portraits of children and the elderly, which are influenced byher travels to Ghana on a humanitarian mission, one can sense the artist’sdeep affection for the country’s people and their stories. Graham also findsinspiration in the mountains and forests of her Canadian homeland, creatingilluminated landscapes which glow with a vibrant vitality.A self-taught painter, she is actively involved in her local community of artists,finding encouragement and support as she continues to develop her skills, andthis feeling of communal life is also something which seeps into her works.Born in a small town on the Canadian prairies, Gwen Graham now lives andworks in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.Gwen Grahamwww.gggraham.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Gwen_Graham.aspxWoodlandsOil on Canvas 36” x 24”Luciano PrimaveraThe stunning luminosity of color and light that Italian artist LucianoPrimavera brings to his still lifes, nudes and portraits pierces the realisticsubject matter of his oil on canvas pieces, surprising the viewer into a newrealization of what is before them. He achieves an affect which is bothindividual and universal in its impact, bringing the viewer’s experience intocontact with what they know of the world.Bathed in sharp, white hot light, reminiscent of the sun at its highest point ofthe day, his subjects seem to melt into new colors which have been stylizedthrough Primavera’s skill and creative intention. Using his art to meld formaltraditions and personal experience, the artist reevaluates aesthetics, creatingsomething refreshing and penetrating with his thoughtful mix of the modernand the classical. A specialist in large oil painting with a career spanningdecades, Primavera draws upon Realism, Cubism, Impressionism and hisown unique awareness of reality to inform his unmistakable personal style.www.lucianoprimavera.itwww.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Luciano_Primavera.aspxFigura 03 Oil on Canvas 24” x 20”In Ronald DeMuth’s engaging landscapes, light and color take center stage.The way that the sunlight hits the water, or the range of tones that can befound in a sky at sunrise or sunset, become focal points in his oil paintings.DeMuth is a self-taught artist who often uses semi-transparent and transparentcolors on black canvas, creating a world in which the colors seem to giveoff their own light. Nature assumes a majestic presence in these pictures,mountains presiding over peaceful fields and rivers, and forests standing outwith pristine elegance against glowing backgrounds. The many textures to befound in nature are also distinctively depicted — from wispy clouds, to delicateripples in still water, to the rough bark on a tree. Viewers may be reminded ofthe work of such Hudson River School painters as Fredric E. Church whenthey look at this work, but DeMuth’s very contemporary color sensibility makeshis landscapes feel completely modern and utterly appealing.www.Agora-Gallery.com/Artistpage/Ronald_Demuth.aspxRonald DeMuthWoodlandsOil on Canvas 36” x 24”109 ARTisSpectrum

Fred MouKoki MorimotoKoki Morimoto creates nature-based abstract acrylicpaintings. His graceful brushstrokes evoke calligraphy,and the boldness of his blacks is tempered by open, brightwhite negative space and a delicate textured atmosphere.His art suggests plant and human forms, and his six-year-olddaughter first noticed the bean-shaped motif that is present inall of his work.The bean, a seed that is rich in nutrients and has great potentialfor growth, is a perfect metaphor for Morimoto’s work. His artis full of a tightly coiled, restrained energy that germinates andflourishes in the minds of viewers. The repetition of the simplebean shape frees Morimoto to concentrate on subtle variationsof his theme; each piece is part of the series, yet each pieceis also unique.Morimoto’s use of monochrome adds another element of unityto his work. Without the distraction of loud colors, the artistinvites viewers to relax and concentrate on the line and form. Itis rare for an acrylic painter to work only with black and white,and this, in addition to his unusual inspiration, sets Morimotoapart from others painting in a similar style.Koki Morimoto was born in Hiroshima, Japan, where he stilllives. His work has been featured in many exhibitions in Japan.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Koki_Morimoto.aspxHuman Shells Acrylic on Paper 14” x 11”The Swiss painter Fred Mou’s sinuous lines and unearthlycolors are informed by both his formal training as anarchitect and his extensive explorations of marine andterrestrial environments around the world. Mou takes greatpride in collecting unique experiences and translating theminto unique visual forms under what he calls “the ‘sky ceiling’of our planet world.” He calls his technique “animassymbolism”which refers to the marriage he achieves between man-madesymbols and nature’s colors and silhouettes.Mou’s work - acrylic on a variety of surfaces, including canvas,paper, and board - is recognizable for its confident line, flattenedcomposition, and uncompromisingly sensational color palette.The pieces recall the Japonisme-influenced Art Nouveau intheir cartoon-like strokes, but remain much simpler in detailand arrangement. The artist’s hand, the emotional stimulationof color choice, and the combination of “beauty and mystery”are the key aspects of his art. Mou also allows some works tobe studies solely in pattern, discovering the path of his line ashe goes. In these pieces in particular, the gaps between marksand the marks themselves are equally eloquent. ThoughMou vacillates between recognizable objects and completegeometric abstraction, his titles often place the work firmly inthe real world of the present, referencing anything from currentcultural icons to lingering scientific inquiries.www.fredmou.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Fred_Mou.aspxWith Respect to Area - Repose of Soul -1Acrylic on Canvas 46” x 35”110 ARTisSpectrum

Cheri MittermaierCheri Mittermaier responds to the unconscious and untouchablerealm of dreams through the creation of visceral, tangible sculptures.Her work is unabashedly surreal, presenting the audience with anintriguing and enthralling sight. She is influenced in part by her degree inpsychology, in part by the dizzying colors of stained glass windows andpatterned quilts and in part by the European greats she has viewed onher travels. The result is sculptures that meld grace, power and color intoevocative forms that are truly unique. Mittermaier is continually drawn tothe human form and delights in double meanings, intentionally keepingthe expression of her figures neutral so that viewers can superimposetheir own unconscious response onto her work.The artist uses bronze and clay for her sculptures, applying paint to bronzeto achieve the same brilliance of color that her clay pieces possess.Careful craftsmanship is evident in all her work; the texture and twists aredeliberate and effective, creating works that are a bracing, exhilaratingexploration of the unconscious mind and the creative process.Cheri Mittermaier is an adroit, accomplished artist who has shown herwork in a wide range of exhibitions. She grew up in Indiana and currentlylives in West Palm Beach, Florida.www.Cherimittermaier.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Cheri_Mittermaier.aspxBosom Bunny Painted Bronze 19” x 13” x 8”Steven R. HillSteven R. Hill calls himself a plein air painter,and certainly a distinctive feeling for light and airinfuses his works, whether they show seascapes, cityscenes or interiors. Hill shares with the Impressionisttradition an interest in how light shapes the realitywe see, how it illuminates the space around objects,giving the very air a hazy, glowing physicality of itsown. He makes us feel the mist in the sky over acountry landscape, or the cozy atmosphere of acasual barroom. Shadows take on the exaggeratedcolors often given by a late afternoon sun, whilefigures and objects will sometimes be deliberatelyblurred, their softened edges uniting them with theirbackgrounds.Yet Hill also exhibits a skill for precise rendering instrongly realistic hues, depicting cleanly etched Steven painting en plein airskyscrapers or the perfectly rippling surface of a river.What brings the separate threads of his style together is the overall feeling of peace, the creation of a relaxed, harmoniousworld. The artist says that the thrust of his work “has to do a lot with time and place and escape from the frenetic energy thatunderscores this modern society of ours.” His paintings offer up that escape, but they do it in a way that constantly engages, andrewards, our complete attention.www.windsweptstudios.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Steven_R._Hill.aspx111 ARTisSpectrum

Coco MobuliFrenzied Pace Oil on Canvas 39” x 39” Le Mystère Oil on Canvas 39” x 39”The work of African artist Coco Mobuli is both idealistic and deeply spiritual,a symbiosis between his own personality and that of the artistic universe.Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mobuli combinesidealism, realism, and impressionism to create vivid, striking images that gobeyond figural rendering to something much more fundamental. Indeed, thiswork is inspired not only by the artist’s African roots but by current issues andthe daily lives of those around him. Underscoring this as well is a desire to giveback to his Congolese heritage by building a sense of community and providinga genuine artistic expression that his people can look to.In terms of composition, Mobuli’s pieces are firmly rooted in solid lines, shapes,and colors, which are then muted and blurred to create the dynamism that is ahallmark of his work. He chooses his colors quite specifically, imbuing them withmeanings that transcend simple visual congruity. Warm tones signify dynamismand vitality; tan, stabilization; yellow, revitalization; and purple, both pride anddesire. What results are ambitious pieces that are as grounded as they areethereal, daring the viewer to take a good look at the surface expression andthen go deeper to catch a glimpse of what is, in fact, truly there.For Mobuli, many of his paintings address what he refers to as the “painter triodialogue” of God, Earth, and man. As he explains, “It is through these threeelements that communion in the world of art [is obtained].” The symbolism ofthis is reflected in the triangles that so often appear in his work, a convergenceof lines that reflects the interconnectivity of the world we live in and how this isinevitably reflected in art. He explains, “By the symbiosis of the world, I try tocreate a borderless global village to make a connection between the visual artsand the natural environment.”Coco Mobuli currently lives and works in the town of Barumbu in Kinshasa inthe Democratic Republic of Congo.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Coco_Mobuli.aspxCoco in his Studio112 ARTisSpectrum

Z. TodorovaZ.Todorova in her StudioZ. Todorova’s unique artwork walks the linebetween sculpture and painting. She coversa wide range of subjects in her work, which iscentered around the notion that we, as humans,are inseparable from the Earth. With wry humorand raw symbolism she examines the journey oflife, our personal triumphs and struggles and oursocial interactions, all against the backdrop of theshared experience of being. Todorova most aptlyexpresses this notion by maintaining an anonymousshroud around her characters, each created with the generous application of white paint onto ahighly textured background. There are no discerning facial features or bodily characteristics, yetthrough these characters timeless events and emotions unfold. The everyman speaks to everyone,bringing a message of peace and universal connection.When viewing Todorova’s work, her audience is met with unusual situations that they are encouragedto explore and from which they can divine their own meaning. Figures interact with the earth as if itis a ball or plaything, while at other times it becomes a weight to which they are ceaselessly affixed.This is, once again, very much a symbol of her core personal philosophy. “To think the world, is tothink ourselves,” Todorova states. “We are man and planet in one and without our planet, we arenothing.”Certain works remain quite abstract as Todorova builds layers of mixed media sculpture onto theflat canvas surface or board. Natural materials like bark and wood pair beautifully with aged ironkeys, locks, and lengths of chain. Her textures and palette are distinguished, favoring earthy huesof ochre and burnt sienna punctuated by the oceanic blue of our planet. Acrylic paint is applied tothe surface with gusto, loosely brushed and smeared to give a visually stunning texture that allowsunderlying colors to come to the surface.Todorova has been enchanted with painting since early childhood, and her upbringing in Bulgariainspired a close relationship with the natural world. She has exhibited her work internationally inBulgaria, Germany, and the United States. Todorova resides in Germany.www.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Z._Todorova.aspxUntitled 2Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas Board 82” x 46”DepressionAcrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas53” x 16”113 ARTisSpectrum

Igor PetrovPaul SaucierThe work of Russian painter Igor Petrov stems from thescientific understanding that all matter flows from theparticular to the general and that the universe is actually asystem of microcosms. Following Petrov’s creation of what hecalls “mosaics of space” in a style the artist has named “spacelogism,” all of the artist’s canvases are covered in vibrantactivity and striking color. Not one inch is left untouched by themomentum and energy cultivated by the artist’s implementationof rhythmic and repetitive lines. Avoiding the appearance ofrigidity in any sense, Petrov prefers to draw undulant contourswhich more effectively evoke the movement and fluctuationof the innumerable thoughts, emotions, and actions occurringthroughout our time and space.Trained as a realist painter, Petrov begin experimentingwith abstractions in 2005. Finding abstraction to be a betterrepresentation of the dynamic and constantly changinguniverse, he made the decision to paint only in the abstract,avoiding formulaic renderings or techniques. Striving torepresent all facets of existence through his oil paintings,Petrov’s content moves from the surrealistic to the geometric.He deems all forms and objects worthy of depiction as heworks to describe the cosmos through his artwork.Born in St. Petersburg, Igor Petrov lives and works in Russia.www.petroff-art.livejournal.comwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Igor_Petrov.aspxSleep of Reason Oil on Canvas 28” x 20”La Pleine lune / The Full MoonOil on Sized Canvas48” x 16”strong sense of light, line and movement allows PaulA Saucier to create a distinctive world in his paintings.Water, land and sky are caught up in a swirl that is at timesclose to hallucinatory. The unity of motion and texture dissolvesthe various components of these pictures into a fluid universewhere the elements become nearly impossible to separate fromone another. A raging river’s surface is reflected in an adjacentcliff face, while a bird in flight is absorbed into the colors ofthe sky. Nature’s power is communicated, but it is nature ata remove. It is as if we have crossed over into the pages of achild’s storybook or the surface of an Henri Rousseau painting.The outside world is depicted, but we feel as if we are lookinginside the painter’s mind.Saucier, who lives and works in Quebec, says that he startsworking on his paintings by devising an “internal image,” onethat he puts together by recasting nature through “the prismof previously experienced emotions and feelings.” To putthose images onto canvas, he employs his dynamic paletteto transform them into personal symbols, giving his subjectsthe liveliness of the natural world while investing them withthe purity of icons. The conflicting energies that result engageviewers with forceful power.www3.sympatico.ca/paul.saucierwww.Agora-Gallery.com/ArtistPage/Paul_Saucier.aspx114 ARTisSpectrum

CLOCKWISEFROM TOP RIGHT:1) Maracaibo, Venezuela:LuisaElena Betancourtat the openingof her solo exhibitionin Centro de BellasArtes 2) Doha, Qatar:Jennifer Pinder at hersellout show UniquePerspectives held atthe Grand Hyatt Doha3) New York, NY,USA: Aelita Andreshows reporters herpaintings at her selloutsolo exhibition, TheProdigy of Color atAgora GalleryMEMORABLE RECEPTIONSfrom around the world13115 ARTisSpectrum22

CLOCKWISEFROM TOP RIGHT:1) Buenos Aires,Argentina: CarmenErazo at the AnnualLatin American Expoof Plastic Arts 2) Adelaide,Australia: NatashaParenta at herrecent exhibition heldat Artistic LicenseGallery & Studio 3)Tenerife, Spain: AlfredoGonzalez (R) atthe opening receptionof his exhibition at theAperitivos VisualesGallery 4) Sydney,Australia: Cade Turner(C) and guests at hisReflection Exhibitionat Depot II Gallery 5)Stockholm Sweden:Dancers at Peter Sherman’ssolo exhibitionat The Hagman Gallery6) Seoul, Korea:Soojin Hong ather solo exhibition atthe Cafe Bene, Chungmuro7) Holywood,Co.Down, NorthernIreland: Dawn Crothers(R) with guests ather solo show in TheWhalley Gallery67123116 ARTisSpectrum54

5761234CLOCKWISEFROM TOP RIGHT:1) São Paulo, Brazil:Alessandra Busanelliat the opening of herrecent exhibition, PixelArt 2) Ekeren, Belgium:Vera Cauwenberghsat her recentexhibition in the castle“Hof de Bistf” 3)Graz, Austria: GabrielaBittner-Krainz (R)with family and friendsat her exhibition“Women in the Focusof Art” at the “7thAkzenta Graz” 4)Utah, USA: TrevinPrince (C) with friendsat his exhibition at theLogan Arthouse 5)North Bay, Ontario,Canada: Bruce Cull(R) with Dermot Wilson(C) Director of theKennedy Art Galleryat the opening of hisshow “Hybridity andScan Lines” 6) Milan,Italy: CarolinaFerrara at her exhibitionFeminilia duringthe festival “Womenin Art” 7) AkzentaGraz, Austria: MargarethaGubernale(R) with Rena Riefeand Barbara Knuth ather recent 117 ARTisSpectrum exhibition

CLOCKWISEFROM TOP RIGHT:1) Falmouth, Maine,USA: Marcia Fellerat her opening in TheGallery at CouleurCollection 2) Brisbane,Australia: DraganSimic (R) andguests at his exhibitionat the Christina MitchellGallery 3) Ancona,Italy: Corrado Maggiat his exhibition atMole VanvitellianaCultural Center for theAdriatico Mediterraneo”International ArtsFestival 4) Sydney,Australia: RebeccaRath with her niece,Olivia Rath, at her exhibition“Transferringthe Image 2011” atKerrie Lowe Gallery5) Quito, Ecuador:Wladimir Tasoff at exhibition“La Magia deColor” 6) Beit Gavriel,Israel: Rya Oshpizat her exhibition IsraeliSummer 7) Paris,France: CatherineGaillard Perez at hersolo exhibition at FondationTaylor 8) Beirut,Lebanon: RoulaChreim at her exhibitionArtmonies at LeCrypte 118 ARTisSpectrum de St Joseph67851234

6875123CLOCKWISEFROM TOP RIGHT:1) Calgary, AB, Canada:John J. Sayerwith an avid collectorof his work discussesone of his paintingsat his solo exhibition2) Saint Petersburg,Russia: Igor Nelubovich(L) and art directorEvgenia Logvinova athis exhibition at theArka Gallery 3) Cincinnati,Ohio, USA:Pat Gastreich (L) andguest at her SundaySalon 4) Vancouver,BC Canada: BruceLeslie Thomas at hissolo exhibition at theSidney and GertrudeZack Gallery, JewishCommunity Centre 5)Montreal, QC, Canada:Maryline Lemaitreat her solo exhibitionat the Desja Gallery6) Kennebunkport,ME, USA: WendyWebster Good at herrecent exhibition atthe River Club 7) Paris,France: StephanieMackenzie (L)and Parisian guestsat her exhibition inParis at Grand MarcheD’Art Contemporain4119 ARTisSpectrum

ARTbeatAgora Gallery is proud to represent talented artists from all over the world, many of whom are inspiredby their surroundings. Each location is different and possesses a unique atmosphere. Naturally, theart in each place also varies, imparting a particular feeling to the art scene and influencing artists incertain ways. In ARTbeat, some of our artists explain what they think is most characteristic and specialabout the art scene in the city where they live.120 ARTisSpectrum

Christchurch, New Zealandby Joanne WebberBefore September 2010 writing about the contemporary art scene in Christchurch, New Zealand would have been an easy task.However, as people all over the world will be aware, following several major seismic shifts and their thousands of attendants,many of the homes for contemporary art in the area have disappeared.However, despite the quakes the art scene in Christchurch is vibrant and abundant. Christchurch is renowned as the “gardencity” and there are still many beautiful parks and walks to be found, full of meandering streams and rivers and various artworks.Undeterred by earthquakes, this year Christchurch hosted a two month long Arts Festival, which began in August and includedsong, dance and theatre, as well as visual arts. In addition, there are two summer festivals planned for later in the year (rememberthat the seasons of the southern hemisphere are the reverse of the seasons in the northern hemisphere!).Many art practitioners lost their galleries and studios in the earthquake, but the determination and creativity of the residents isshining through as new galleries are starting up. Some are “pop-up” galleries that can move if needed, whilst others are relocatedgalleries in inventive new spaces.The city is supporting visual artists, and they are being offered space to show work in places like top class hotels, which allowsthem to present their art to a new audience. The new art being shown is full of energy and enthusiasm. It is colorful and happy,perhaps in direct reaction to the rough months. The most exciting aspect of Christchurch as it relates to fine art is that althoughthe challenges ahead will be numerous, we are working from an empty canvas.A new city plan proposal has just been released which has been developed with a great deal of citizen contribution. It includesnumerous parks and green areas, with many art spaces and places. These will sit comfortably alongside one another, and willin effect make art more a part of daily life rather than just something one attends occasionally. Christchurch has plenty to offeran art loving visitor already, and in the future, will have even more.121 ARTisSpectrum

Copenhagen, Denmarkby Christian BundegaardKnowing that Denmark has made a living from building ships and brewing beer for centuries, visitors will not be surprised tofind two of the most recent art hubs of contemporary Copenhagen situated in the former industrial compounds of shipbuildersBurmeister & Wain and the Carlsberg Brewery.The name Carlsberg has been associated with art for long a time. The art collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder ofCarlsberg Breweries, represents the core of the famous Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum’s exhibitions of antique sculptures andgreat works by Rodin, as well as an extensive collection of French Impressionists.In one of the former factory buildings in the large, 75 acre area of what is now called Carlsberg Byen – “Carlsberg Town” – nineyoung artists have established IMO, an art gallery whose keyword is ”unpredictable.” Since it is run by the artists themselves,one might expect the gallery to present work chiefly by these same artists, but in this, too, the IMO is unpredictable. Thus, onerecent exhibition featured the work of Martin Falch, who is not an artist at all, but rather makes films within the World of Warcraftuniverse. The IMO found him interesting because he represented a phenomenon of mass culture which is rarely explored in theart world.In recent years, several other more established galleries and art venues have moved to Carlsberg Town, making it one of themost interesting transformed industrial sites in the Copenhagen area. Another such site, which is in its infant stage, is Refshaleøen,the former Burmeister & Wain shipyard, in its time the biggest in Denmark.Here, a foresighted deliberate lack of planning by the municipality keeps the area open for activities including “CopenhagenSuborbitals,” a project by two private individuals whose ambition it is to make small Denmark the fourth space-faring nation inthe world by launching their home-built rocket for a manned flight in the near future.Hosting film-makers, photographers, designers, architects, musicians, theater people and chefs, Refshaleøen also sports agenuine loft of artists, Skabelonloftet – “the Shipyard Loft.” At the loft, where once shipbuilders prepared their huge 1:1 workingdrawings for the Danish tankers and bulk-carriers which were to sail on the high seas, paintings, prints and sculptures areproduced in workshops open to visits by the public. In this way, industry, society and art have come full circle in the city, withcreativity and ingenuity as the fulcrum for change.122 ARTisSpectrum

Shanghai, Chinaby Ping HeLocated in East China, Shanghai is the largest economic city in China and a world-renowned port city, playing an important rolein the economic development of the country. As a city full of vitality, Shanghai attracts aspirational young people from all overChina to compete in this place infused with opportunities. Inspired by their dreams, they fight for their goals and enjoy the journeyalong the way. The combination of ancient Chinese culture and modern fashion elements clash and combine here, to give birthto a unique culture.Shanghai is a city of reason and spirit. Shanghainese grow up knowing and grounded in Chinese culture, but at the same timethey aim to see the world, ready to keep up with the development and pace of world technology and culture. Artists in Shanghaiare individuals full of independent thinking. As the city with the most abstract painters in China, Shanghai presents exquisite,calm and rational abstract painting concepts which are different from those in other places but are part of the spirit of thecountry’s largest commercial city. Contemporary artists work hard and designedly to create works with distinctive features andstyles, and never follow blindly. Integrating Tai Chi, martial art, folk paper-cuts, shadow puppets and theatrical characters withcontemporary artistic expressions, they represent the development and change of China over the past 30 years. The variouspainting styles brought or inspired by popular installation art, multimedia, abstract painting, and science and technology aroundthe world have served as fresh nourishment for the artists in Shanghai. The burning passion and clash of eastern and westernculture gives birth to distinctive art.The galleries and art workshops in Shanghai are concentrated on M50, Tianzifang, The Bridge 8 and Wu Jiao Chang 800 ArtSpace. With their dreams and visions of the future in mind, artists work hard, making the most of their art space. The ShanghaiBiennial Exhibition is an international platform for art exchange. Art enthusiasts provide venues for artists from all over the worldto work together and make exchanges, promoting the development of art both in Shanghai and around the world. With the successfulconvening of Shanghai World Expo and the rapid development of the Chinese economy, Chinese art is increasinglydrawing worldwide attention, and offering more opportunities for the development of contemporary art.123 ARTisSpectrum

Dortmund, Germanyby Corina SchmidtWhen people travel, they often visit only the major cities that they have heard of since they were young, and often underestimatethe interest and variety that can be found in smaller cities. Dortmund, in Germany, is an excellent example of this. The city boastsa museum which really is worth seeing if you are in the area and are interested in German art, culture and history.If you want to see the Museum of Art and Cultural History in Dortmund, it’s worth taking your time. For me, this museum is oneof the things most worth seeing in the city, and even in the area. It is the oldest museum of its kind in the area of Ruhr andwas established in 1883, opening in the setting of a historic building, a choice which illustrated the felicitous combination of artand history which characterizes this museum. Exploring from ancient history until the 20th century, the museum offers, overfour floors, a significant collection of paintings from periods up until 1900, as well as furniture, arts and crafts and design whichinclude examples from the present time, graphics, photography, textiles, city history, archeology, and a survey of land history. Itis a history of culture in time lapse: from ancient to modern design.On the ground floor, archeological discoveries are displayed and visitors can get a cultural and historical overview of the areaand its inhabitants in prehistoric and ancient times. On the first floor you can find Christian art from the Middle Ages, includinga painting of the Virgin Mary with her Child by Conrad von Soest, who was one of the most significant painters of NorthGermany and lived in Dortmund around 1400. Moreover, visitors can see living rooms of the 17th century, valuable porcelain andmasterpieces from the goldsmith’s guild of the 16th-18th centuries. My favorite floor is the paintings collection of works from the19th century which includes art by Caspar David Friedrich, Max Slevogt, Anton von Werner, and Lovis Corinth.The museum has two big exhibition rooms where they constantly show new exhibitions. For example, in September 2011 therewas ‘High Sixties Fashion’ which focused on fashion photography and illustrations from that era and included pictures fromLondon, Paris, Berlin, Italy and the USA. The works were mostly from the Modebild - Lipperheidesche costume library of theart library of Berlin. This is an example of the way in which the museum brings impressive and interesting pieces from outsidesources to the city, which is one of the things that makes the museum so continually worth visiting.Alongside that exhibition were shown favorite items of the residents of Dortmund from 1957-1976, including household items,clothes, small furniture, and disc records. This kind of exhibit is another element of what makes the museum so great – itincorporates local history and culture, so that both residents and visitors to the area can learn more about the place in whichthey are standing, enriching their experience of the city and its surroundings.This centrally located museum is worth a visit, not only because of its amazing art collection, but also because it’s a place ofrecreation in the middle of the city. The visit mostly ends in the cozy museum coffee shop, ‘Fluxus,’ where you can discuss thevisit or read an art magazine.124 ARTisSpectrum

Rome, Italyby Monica MorgantiRome, ‘caput mundi’ (‘capital/head of the world’), is not only the cradle of Classical and Renaissance Art, but in recent years hasbecome increasingly oriented to contemporary creativity. There is so much to explore and discover in this city, but there are twoplaces especially that contemporary art enthusiasts should make time to visit.The MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts presents itself as a museum of contemporary art, set off by architectureoutside the box. It opened in May 2010 in a building which was a project by Zaha Hadid, and has already gained internationalcredibility. Its collection focuses chiefly on contemporary architecture and art, and the art includes works in diverse mediacreated by artists ranging from young and emerging to established names. A recent collaboration with MOMA in New York meantthat they could promote and support young architects, putting out a call for emerging architects to redesign a space that wouldbecome a part of the backyards of the two museums during the summer months.Among the museum’s goals is to become a place of cultural innovation with an overlap of languages, a laboratory of artisticexperimentation and a center of excellence in productivity. In fact there are already frequent competitions between young artistsand live music events, DJ sets, and video installations. These activities match both the aims of the museum and the structure,which gives the impression of a flow of movement which does not confine the visitors or the art within. The result is the potentialfor a unique moment for the visitor, who is invited to discover the contemporary world around them through new eyes.The Pastificio Cerere (the Ceres pasta factory) has been renovated, so that the factory, while maintaining its original charm, hasbeen cleverly transformed into a new and versatile space that can host any type of event. The space is situated in one of theliveliest areas of the capital, San Lorenzo, where new trends are immediately captured and translated into reality. Exhibitionshere are often worth visiting, both for the content of the show and for the atmosphere of the setting.The former pasta factory is one of the greatest examples of industrial architecture in the artist district and represents one of themost important artistic phenomena of recent decades: the New School of Rome. This building is located in an area with one ofthe largest concentrations of artists from southern Europe. Since 1984, when Achille Bonito Oliva upset the habits of the museumand gallery world by bringing the public directly into the physical space of artistic creation, the workshops are open to the publicand understanding of the work is enriched by the experience of the light and space in which the work itself takes shape.125 ARTisSpectrum

Vienna, Austriaby Gabriela Bittner-KrainzContemporary art has an incredible social importance in Vienna, so much so that it has long since become a fundamental aspectof the lifestyle of the city. The Viennese City Counselor for Cultural Affairs quoted the famous Austrian art-magazine “art” lastyear, referencing the publication’s praise for Vienna as the “new Berlin.” Young, cheeky political artists are causing a sensationin the city and are playing a role in reviving the fine art scene, which is itself a vibrant one, being considered “less hysterical thanLondon and more personal than Berlin.”The high quality of the Viennese art universities, their outstanding lecturers, and various artist-in-residence programs attractyoung artists to the city from all over Europe. Almost every month artists and collectors open new spaces where they come togetherin a cooperative relationship and exchange their views and ideas. The diversity adds to the vibrancy of the contemporaryart scene, stimulating all the participants.Beside this young, active and self-organized scene the city boasts over 150 established Galleries and no less than 25 museumswhich show an enormous range of arts and styles. I am particularly lucky where I live, as I am close to the MUMOK – the formerimperial stables, now one of the 10 largest cultural institutions in the world. Its 60.000m2 space offers a location for modern andcontemporary art and culture, space for cultural initiatives, and huge exhibition halls for classical art, modern art and artists ofthe new century.I am proud to walk the same streets as so many famous Austrian artists of the past: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Alfred Kubin,Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfons Walde, Alfred Hrdlicka, Max Weiler... Even better, many well-knownartists of the present day also make Vienna their home: Ernst Fuchs, Anton Lehmden, Arnulf Rainer, Herman Nitsch, ChristianLudwig Attersee, Herbert Brandl, Maria Lassnig, Valie Export. The past and the present unite to contribute to the wonderful artscene of an inspiring and remarkable city.126 ARTisSpectrum

Málaga, Spainby Carmen SotuelaMálaga is a great setting for enjoying art of all kinds, but the really special thing about it is that there are a number of museumsthat allow you to appreciate the art of the area of Spain which you are visiting, and place it in its historical context. This adds alocal touch to the experience which can enrich both your visit to the city and your appreciation of Spanish art.The Buena Vista Palace houses the Museo Picasso, Málaga, and is located in the historic city center. Málaga takes itsposition as the birthplace of Picasso very seriously, and many of its citizens enjoy visiting the museum. The building itself isa magnificent example of sixteenth century Andalusian architecture, a style that mixes elements of Renaissance and Mudejarwork, contributing another part of the city’s history to the visit. In addition to its extensive Picasso collection, the museum hoststemporary exhibitions of various distinguished painters and sculptors.Also honoring the city’s role as Picasso’s birthplace is the Picasso Foundation in the Plaza de la Merced. Picasso said that “Awork of art is complete only when the public has interpreted, each person sharing what he feels and thinking about what hesees.” In Málaga, the citizens truly can be part of this important interactive creative process.The CAC Málaga - the city’s contemporary art museum - aims to offer an experience of the visual arts from the last third of thetwentieth century to the present. The CAC Málaga was inaugurated on February 17, 2003, and is characterized by its dynamismand the importance it attaches to the reflection on, and teaching and dissemination of contemporary art. The opening of theCAC Málaga has created new possibilities in the field of culture in southern Spain, becoming a part of and allowing access tothe international art community.The Carmen Thyssen Museum in Málaga displays a rich selection of masters from the Spanish painting circles of the nineteenthcentury, with special concentration on Andalusian painting, romantic landscapes and the more genuine Spanish customs, asdepicted in the “costumbrismo” paintings which present and interpret local everyday life and customs as they were then. Later,the Spanish artworks from the end of the century show how Spanish art had become clearly integrated into the internationalart circuit. The modern traditions are also represented – from Monet to Picasso, from Matisse to Miró. Spending time in thismuseum, you can experience the broad journey that joins the collection together – the development of Spanish art from about1890 – 1960, particularly in terms of the local area.127 ARTisSpectrum

Saskatoon, Canadaby Chad RedlSince its establishment in 1906 Saskatoon has been a thriving Prairie City in the heart of Saskatchewan, Canada. One of themost exceptional things about the art and culture in Saskatoon is how it is influenced by numerous attributes, such as the FirstNation Culture, multiculturalism, science and agriculture. All of these and more have worked their way into inspiring many localartists over countless generations.Boasting a beautiful riverbank, Saskatoon has numerous public art installations giving its culture a voice through the arts. Thecity is also known as the ‘City of Bridges’ and it thrives year round (even as a winter city) as its arts and culture scene fuels themake up of the city center and its future development.The Mendal Art Gallery is a cornerstone of the arts in Saskatoon. The doors opened on October 16, 1964. Founded by FredMendel and his original donation of thirteen paintings by the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, this public collection isnow the largest public art collection in Saskatchewan. The gallery attracts a huge following of all ages, and contributes a freshlook at both contemporary and classical art. Over the past 45 years the gallery has experienced great success and is currentlyembarking on a project to relocate the collection and gallery to a new space at River Landing. This new center will be named theArt Gallery of Saskatchewan, and will be situated along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. It will offer approx. 125,000square feet of dedicated art space. This 200 million dollar project will enhance the experience of the art lover in Saskatoon. It isscheduled to be completed in 2014, a date all local art lovers are awaiting eagerly!One of the most prominent galleries in Saskatoon is The Stall Gallery which is also primarily located at River Landing in themidst of the Farmer’s Market. The vision of the Stall Gallery was to create a space that provides people from all walks of lifewith a place to visit fresh, original and thought-provoking artworks. The Stall Gallery is attempting to impact the art world bydiminishing the stigma that makes people think that art is only a luxury item for the rich. Instead, owners Bevin Bradley andRoberta Ross promote the mindset that art can and should be accessible for all: “Everyone should be able to invest in a pieceof art and experience the joys it brings.” They create this vision by being extremely flexible in their payment plans. The peopleof Saskatoon value a sense of community, and the Stall Gallery values it as well, making them invested in creating somethingextremely unique for and as part of the area. As artists themselves, Bevin and Roberta are very supportive to their fellow artistsand clients. They only carry work from artists who are exceptional not only in their practice but as individuals too.Saskatoon is a very inspiring place. Art and culture are becoming ever more popular as our community grows. Through the workof the visionaries like Fred Mendal, Bevin Bradley, Roberta Ross and artists like me, hopefully the future of the arts in Saskatoonwill be bright, continuing to flourish and inspire generations to come.128 ARTisSpectrum

Tehran, Iranby Masoud AbediTehran is the most significant and the largest city in Iran. Its location, next to the Alborz Mountains, makes it a beautiful city, andis a continual inspiration to its artists. The country’s largest society of painters, with a membership of more than eight hundred, isactive in Tehran and approximately two hundred art galleries present the artworks of painters, sculptures, and artists who employnew media in their work. For the last ten years, the art scene has been dominated by artists who are resistant to censorshipand who are eager to participate in the art world beyond the country’s borders. This has brought Iranian art to the rest of theworld, and the new influences, combined with increased international communication, have caused interesting changes anddevelopments in Iran’s contemporary art.Due to Iran’s proximity to Dubai, which has a vibrant art market and plays host to auctions by well-known auction houses such asChristie’s and Sotheby’s, Iranian artists have been keen to develop a relationship with the art scene there. This has stimulatedartists to improve the quality of their works and, generally speaking, a significant growth in the creativity and variety of Iraniancontemporary art has been observable in recent years.Alongside this, a number of galleries changed their work policy to support young and emerging artists in particular, creating anew and interesting dynamic. In Tehran art galleries are not placed in a specific region. Rather, they are scattered over a numberof areas. However, five of them are especially important, and play a leading role in the development of Iran’s contemporary art.The most important museum in Tehran is The Contemporary Arts Museum, which has a very valuable collection of masterpiecesby artists such as Francis Bacon, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Henry Moore, and Giacometti.Teheran is proud to host a number of important artistic events, including two which are particularly notable – the TehranContemporary Painting Biennial and The Painting Biennial of the Islamic World.Art in Tehran is alive and its artists are dynamic. Every art lover visiting the city should make getting to know the art scene apriority!129 ARTisSpectrum

MOCA GRAND AVENUE250 South Grand AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90012THE GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT MOCA152 North Central AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90012MOCA PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER8687 Melrose AvenueWest Hollywood, CA 90069 moca.orgLaPlacaCohen 212-675-4106 Pub: ART is SPECTRUM Insertion date: NOVEMBER, 20117.375 X 4.8 4C MAGphoto by Brian ForrestMOCA_Spectrum.indd 17/20/11 9:11 AMphilamuseum.org“A rare look…Hadid herselfcreated the immersive display.”– EIGHT MUST-SEE SHOWS,The Daily BeastThrough Mar 25Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion is made possible by Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer. Additional support was provided by the Graham Foundationfor Advanced Studies in Fine Arts and Collab—a group that supports the Museum’s modern and contemporary design collection and programs.130 PMA-0038-Hadid_ArtIsSpectrum_7.375x4.8_v5.indd ARTisSpectrum1Z-Chair, 2011, designed by Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher, madeby Sawaya & Moroni, Milan (On loan from Sawaya & Moroni, Milan)9/7/11 10:48 AM

Subscribe to ARTisSpectrumThe Gift of Contemporary ArtReceive four wonderful issues of ArtisSpectrum, featuring profiles ofcontemporary art and artists and important articles.Two year Subscription: $24 for US, $35 for international.www.artisspectrum.com/subscribe.htmlyou are HEREThe Guide to Fine Art and Culinary Delights InChelseawww.youarehereguide.com131 ARTisSpectrum