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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