Summer Salon 2023

Midwest Transplant. Mark Maker. Emo Kid. I make work from the heart. Vulnerable concepts and ideas and stories are something we all share as individuals. My goal is to connect with yours through translating my own.

Rollence Patugan is an American Photographer based out of Los Angeles, CA. Identity, diversity, and visibility are undercurrents of Rollence’s work.

Simonette David Jackson is a San Fernando Valley artist who loves to draw in pen and ink. While she’s still experimenting and exploring the medium, she always returns to drawing people, nature, and the many ways of composing an image, playing with size and repetition.

She is currently planning a body of work that explores Western religious images. You may find her work at local art fairs and at Fold DTLA.

I am a contemporary artist specializing in paintings, murals, illustrations, NFTs, art licensing, and art direction. I have been lucky enough to paint murals from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, to have collectors and support all over the world and continue to grow as a person and artist. I work mostly in acrylic on canvas or paper, digital illustration, pen and ink, and murals. I create art to make something bigger than myself.

Alejandra Germann has always been inspired by color, nature, and the female form. Her work reflects the powerful connections women have in being female and being part of nature’s relentless strength and beauty. Ale has her roots in Southern California and is currently teaching Visual Arts to 10th graders in the Bay Area.

Connie Nakamura finds secret messages in beautiful and funny images torn out of magazines. Listening to ideas that come from everywhere, her curiosity is fed by things like a broken digital bus display or text printed on trash on the street.

A multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Los Angeles. She studied Illustration and received her BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where she found a freedom in working in paint, collage, and assemblage.

Her most recent show is at the FOG Gallery in San Francisco.

Past exhibits include Art Center College of Design and the Folk Tree in Pasadena.

I believe that everyone perceives themselves—in some way—as a minority of sorts. It is my hope that Kondomozo and Ubume may act as an ambassador of “Other-ness” and that people of all backgrounds will feel at home with them, or curious about them.

My name is Ahlise Vela and I am a local LA illustrator and muralist. I make art from wood cuts, to paintings, to sewn things based on characters I have created. I like to create silly moments or every day moments for them to be in so that the viewer, and myself, have a place to live a vicarious existence in or just something to nod at.

RHYESEYES (she/her) is a queer, self taught artist based in Los Angeles. Many of her works are inspired by her friends and family, the human body, and psychedelic vibrations. She currently works as a Resident Service Coordinator, providing helpful resources and technology access to older adults. RHYESYES loves bringing art into the mix, as it enriches and builds community for low-income seniors.

Duncan Sherwood-Forbes uses wire to draw through the air in sinuous curving lines. He began figure drawing at age 11 in the year 2000, and picked up wire at age 16. Rooted in drawing, his wire practice has undergone constant refining and redefining, with formal education and creative exploration in the studio with other media filtering back into his favorite medium – wire. Today his work is dominated by the human figure, simplified down to its essential curves and lines.

I am an artist who has been living and working in the Los Angeles area for over 30 years. I do abstract paintings and also assemblages. The assemblages are made of found materials.

Pulling from personal narrative as well as a lifelong collection of vintage paper and ephemera, Somsara’s work invites the eye to linger on and re-contextualize the familiar. As seen in the mid-century ideal much of her imagery references, rarely are things as they appear. Her collage and mixed-media work weaves in layers of interpretation, hidden messages, and plays with the seemingly random connections between things. Somsara has a deep desire to find magic in the everyday that surrounds us, while exploring the profound inner world that exists in each of us.

Elana is a designer and artist based in Los Angeles. She enjoys the process of collage by layering and combining different elements. She moves from digital to physical by using photoshop, mixed media, collage and paint. Elana incorporates movement into her work by using a range of luscious bodies, inanimate objects, vibrant colors, and distorted figures. The theme of pleasure is seen throughout her pieces and feels like a sensual dream.

Local self taught artist from Whittier. My art is influenced by poetry. “There is beauty in the shimmer of the gutters” is probably the best way I can explain my art.

On a daily basis I am a creator. Most days currently I spend painting, and building art. I paint on found objects a lot, mostly wood from discarded desks and tables and repurposed wine boxes. I usually have one or more different series that I am working on so if I don’t feel inspired to do one, I can distract myself with another and still feel like I’ve been productive. But most days I still wake up and paint.

Exhibition: Inner Links

Frankie Fünke (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist in visual & performing arts. Known for her unique style, Frankie’s work has been featured in NFT Now, Superchief Gallery (LA), Neo Shibuya TV (Tokyo), The Crypt Gallery (LA & NYC), Rug Radio (NFT NYC), and TAG (LA). Frankie describes her work as “manifestations for the highly anxious and mentally unstable”, hoping to “inject humour into the black hole that is navigating mental health.” Frankie’s latest work depicts iconic moments in pop culture through the lens of a person on the verge of emotional breakdown.

AG” is a Los Angeles born and raised fine artist whose work is categorized as Afro surrealism. Creating artwork that explores the intersection of identity, culture, spirituality and heritage, AG” creates vivid, dreamlike images that challenge the viewer’s perceptions of reality and invites the viewer to engage in a deeper exploration of the themes represented.

A musician and performer, working on acrylic pieces from salvaged wood. Originally from Asheville, NC. Currently living in Burbank,CA. Inspired by imagination and nature.

Selena Najar is a queer Mexican-American artist born and raised in Inglewood, California. Najar creates paintings and functional ceramics that explore identity through cultural symbols and architecture. Their art is inspired by their study of Inglewood’s cultural history through collecting vintage postcards, matchbooks, and other paper ephemera. They are driven to inspire an appreciation for the city’s unique architectural structures and solidarity with those affected by gentrification and systemic racism.

Azul is an artist born and raised in Los Angeles. Art provides avenues of exploration, a process of the figure escaping into a space beyond. Her work emphasizes the imaginative mind, a liminal space that dares us to cross boundaries of physical distance and time. It reveals the psychological process of reclaiming childhood and its limitless possibilities.

Josh Cabello (b. 1997) is an artist born and based in Los Angeles whose work focuses on creating queer sanctuaries. He paints lush, imagined gardens, conjuring a world where anyone who enters can be still, commune with oneself, and be engulfed by nature. These works draw on queer traditions of play and excess, mingle with themes of intimacy and delicacy, and work to decenter hypersexuality and masculinity within the queer experience. He has exhibited at venues including Lauren Powell Projects, Los Angeles, CA; Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; SoLA Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA; RISD Museum, Providence, RI; and the Cohen Gallery, Providence, RI.

Born and raised in the Midwest, John Lonsdale is a painter based in Los Angeles, with works exploring the relationship between nature and its impact on our emotions.

Selena Xin Jin is a painter, director and costume designer. While painting is the most important way throughout her art development, she started the creation of GALAXY RESEARCH LAB in 2019, intending to explore the mystery of different worlds.

This series is divided into two parts, explaining the upcoming journey『 Travel & Arrival 』, and shows the scenes of traveling before arriving in another world and the new discoveries after arrival.

MFA 2023, graduated from California Institute of the Arts where she received the Lillian Disney Fund Scholarship. BA 2018 in Performance Design from the University of the Arts London.

Vanessa Guerra (they/she) is a multimedia queer Artist from Long Beach, CA. Their current work focuses on digital illustrations however, they also like to use video, textiles, and traditional drawing materials as a form of fabricating. Themes occasionally found in Vanessa’s work are self love and body positivity which are brought to life with the vibrant use of colors that can be found in their culture.

Lynn Heinz is an artist living and working in the Los Angeles area. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA. Her work has been included in shows at Coastline Community College; Lancaster Museum of Art and History/Cedar; Orange County Center for Contemporary Art; LA Artcore; Shoebox Projects LA; and Shockboxx Projects.

I am the Artist Monica Dollison, most people call me Malvi. My paintings boarder on the realms of dreams and reality. I hope to convey through my painting a sense of peace and spiritual awakening.

I like to work with what I have and what I have is usually cardboard. I like to have range in the theme of my art. Those themes can vary between cute, horror, or nature.

Kaitlyn Hahn is an artist and graphic designer working out of Los Angeles, CA. She studied Studio Art and Digital Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH with an emphasis on multimedia and interdisciplinary projects. Born and raised in LA, she utilizes her family history around the garment industry to reflect the experiences in rapidly changing communities. By layering pieces of the places we call home, she uses these elements to reflect on our own built truths and the ways in which we retell these narratives.

I am an emerging multi-media artist from Los Angeles, born and raised on the East side of town. A self-taught creative with a passion for art, photography, music and performance. I consider my self a 21st century artist in the making.

Daniel Gonzalez Humegido is an artist from the SGV, specifically near Rosemead and South El Monte area. DGH mainly works with oil and acrylic paintings, with his subjects being from personal experiences to stills from films and skate videos.

Brenda Gonzalez was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College in 2015, majoring in both Studio Art and Japanese Language and Literature. She continued her studies in art through a post-baccalaureate program at Brandeis University from 2017 to 2018. In 2020, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Davis. She has shown work in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Singapore. She lives and works in California and was the Spring 2023 Artist-in-Residence at Arts at Blue Roof’s “A Room of One’s Own” residency in South Los Angeles.

Maximalist illustrator with mixed media techniques.

Bad Talents® is the creative identity of mixed-media artist, Shelby Alexander, and the pseudonym under which she exhibits her fine art nationally. Bad Talents lives and works in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2014, and also studied fashion design at Pratt in NYC. Her artwork explores themes of beauty, consumption, and the environmental impacts of the clothing we wear.

I’m a mixed media artist from India, currently based in Los Angeles. My art is a study of self that aims to discover what influences my headspace as I maneuver social, cultural, and political differences from one country to another—diving deep into the psyche to uncover what lies beneath rather than what meets the eye.

VIKTORIA ROMANOVA was born in Ukraine and grew up in the USSR. In 2002, Viktoria moved to the USA. Education: Art Center College of Design, Pasadena 2009 – 2016; B.F.A. from Pedagogical University of Khabarovsk, Fine Art and Graphic Department, 1990-1995. She’s represented by Los Angeles Art Association / Gallery 825 and her work is included in private and corporate collections in the USA and abroad.

I am a 23 year old visual artist based in Culver City, CA. Ranging from botanical to social commentary subjects, my pieces draw attention to both the natural world and the industrial world. My saturated, vivid color palette exaggerates what is seen in everyday life, striving to move audiences to reflect on the world around them.

Hirotaka Suzuki is a Japanese artist living in Southern California. In his hand brushed painting, he focuses on transforming issues into surreal expressions to emphasize reality. In other words, he intentionally hides his ideas inside puzzles and expects viewers to discover them in his artwork. These representations derive from everyday occurrences, historical events, and imaginary stories. He both enjoys and suffers during the creative process.

While living and having studio in the arts district for over 35 years, my work has shown nationally and internationally. My interests in sculptural forms, both wearable and for the wall, are metal based and inspired by forces of nature. Raised in Connecticut, and after RISD MFA grad, my life has been in the arts district and a high desert studio. Active locally and Assistant Professor of Art, I maintain my development of concepts, form and sharing.

Andrew Murga is a Los Angeles based artist working in the disciplines of oil and acrylic painting. His work is inspired by the rise of meme culture coupled with current social events and issues.

Daryl Bibicoff is a Los Angeles based artist that works with acrylics and mixed media to create textural paintings. He is a diversified painter and has an extensive body of artwork. Daryl has the utmost passion fad a contemporary artist.

Hunter Blaze Pearson is an up-and-coming artist from Malibu, CA. He primarily works in acrylic, colored pencil, and resin. Thematically, Hunter loves to juxtapose the light and dark elements in life to emphasis the beautiful balance of our world. He blends his talent for photorealistic pencil drawing and graphic acrylic painting to create bright and striking pop art pieces that are entirely hand painted.

Sylvia Schorn, an Austrian artist based in Santa Monica, California, is a versatile creative with expertise in various art forms such as painting, sculpting, designing, and teaching. Her works reflect a diverse range of themes that captivate her interest. From an early age, Sylvia discovered her passion for art and received recognition for her talents, winning her first prize at the age of 12 in Austria.

As a visionary artist, she uses her art as a means to transcend the limitations of the material world and delve into the realm of infinite possibilities within the quantum field. Sylvia’s creative process involves connecting different elements, finding threads of unity between nature, sacred geometry, and various subjects studied by humanity, resulting in artworks that defy boundaries and reveal fundamental patterns of unity.

Inspired by the captivating beauty of nature, metaphysics, mystical experiences, and ancient civilizations, Sylvia’s artwork communicates a profound language beyond words. Her artistic expressions continually evolve, merging and coexisting as she explores different techniques in painting, sculpting, and jewelry design, all influenced by her quantum journey and her natural surroundings.

Throughout her career, Sylvia has showcased her work in both group and solo exhibitions in the United States and Europe, while also dedicating her time to teaching creative expression to both adults and young learners. She has conducted workshops in schools, galleries, and prestigious institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Deborah Lynn Irmas lives and works in Santa Monica, CA. Her artwork is an exploration of the materials and memories from her childhood that have shaped her life. These elements have become the foundation of her artistic practice and have enabled her to tell stories that resonate with her personal history.

My name is Kishara Buford and I am an artist, creator, and designer. I was born and raised in Southern California and the blend of different people and cultures have had a big influence on me and my work. I love experiencing new things, learning about different backgrounds and expressing out of the world ideas in my art. I’m passionate about my work and strive to create beautiful moments that speaks to a deeper meaning. I let my imagination run wild and filter it through emotions to create surreal experiences.

Janice Lau is an illustrator based in Los Angeles. She draws inspiration from nature and animals. She has two dogs, a Pomeranian and a Corgi, and she loves to imagine going on adventures with her pups through her illustrations.

As a multidisciplinary artist, Mónica works with a wide array of materials and processes. She most often incorporates a technique from sculpting or jewelry-making into her art, although, for her, jewelry and sculpture go hand in hand. Being a tactile person, Mónica finds satisfaction in the smoothness or roughness of metal, the tackiness of paper mache clay, and the dusty layer that natural clay leaves on her hands. She often finds it necessary to marry more than one material in the production of one piece.

Nikki Gagas, born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, grew up influenced by Los Angeles street art and the props/production design of the entertainment industry. She has a strong passion for many types of art and mediums including: design, graffiti, acrylic painting, digital illustration and especially cardboard. After graduating from art school she moved across the country to Los Angeles to fulfill her childhood dream of creating art within the entertainment industry. Today, Nikki has the privilege of working on high profile television shows that give her a wide range of creative freedom.

As a Filipino American immigrant based in Los Angeles, my art is a reflection of my experiences navigating two cultures and the struggles that come with being an outsider in a foreign land. Growing up in a community where conformity is highly valued, I dropped out of art school to pursue my own path and challenge societal norms through my work. My art is an intimate expression of my journey, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the search for a sense of home. Through bold colors, abstract forms, and a mix of traditional and contemporary techniques, I aim to create a visual narrative that resonates with individuals from all backgrounds who have faced similar struggles. My art is a form of resistance, reclaiming my voice and creating a space for myself and others to be seen and heard.

Shannon Kim received a BFA in Practice of Art from University of California, Berkeley (2016) and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. She has shown at the Beverly Hills Art Show; Crea Gallery, Singapore; Cathedral Gallery, Los Angeles; Sola Gallery, Los Angeles; Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley; Hibbleton Gallery, Fullerton; Sourced Collective, Laguna Beach; and Seilers’ Studio, Zanesville, Ohio. Her practice involves line and layered movement, documenting memory, place, and feelings.

“Maedup Arrangements” depict the journey of acceptance of her Asian American heritage. A delicate juxtaposition of flowers to the densely twisted knot tells a story that invites one to notice the duality of fragility and strength that resonates with all who overcome their own journey into their oneness.

As a Bangladeshi artist raised in LA, I was taught to view life through a positive lens, avoiding what was considered “ugly” and “bad.” But here in LA, I couldn’t help but be exposed to it. All of it, the good, the bad and the ugly. I learned there’s beauty in it all, it just depends how you look at it, how you capture it and how you interpret it. With my work I’m capturing that moment of clarity and appreciation of it all through my lens. You can call that personal growth, I suppose. What I once thought was underrepresented or misunderstood became a testament to personal growth, revealing the world’s undeniable beauty.

Courtney (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist based out of Los Angeles. After graduating from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance, they joined L.A. Dance Project where they have worked with choreographers such as Bobbi Jene Smith & Or Schraiber, Benjamin Millipied, Pam Tanowitz, and more. With interest in many different facets of art, Courtney spreads herself across genres such as photography, painting, dancing, and film. Letting curiosity drive their research, Courtney hopes to be able to create safe and open spaces within many art communities around the world for exploration and collaboration.

I am a multidisciplinary artist, born in Oaxaca Mexico and raised in Los Angeles. My art represents my multicultural background and experiences as an indigenous artist raised in Los Angles. My art always tells a story with the colors I use, the typography I create, or in the characters I insert in the landscapes I capture.

Elena Jacobson is an artist in Los Angeles. She also enjoys working with artists in her role as co-curator at Gabba Gallery.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Studied drawing and sculpture at MEEBA, painting at Anibal Carreño workshop and Art Vision with Rosa Faccaro. Specializes in sculpting the human figure in wood. Since 1983 she has participated in both solo and group exhibits around the world and won more than twenty awards and distinctions.

An abstract expressive finger painter with a bold and passionate eye, Kamelyta has always had an eye for colors. Working in bright, vibrant colors, she uses acrylic as her medium. Her assertive, brilliantly colorful palette reflects her own feelings and emotions. Born in Malaysia, Kamelyta is currently living in the Inland Empire with her two teenagers.

Lisa Amundsen Giannini is a visual artist based in Los Angeles. Originally from New York, Lisa earned her BFA in Studio Art from NYU. Upon graduating, Lisa shifted her professional focus to graphic design, and has gained a greater appreciation for the freedom of fine arts after nearly 10 years of designing professionally. During the COVID pandemic she realized how precious and short life is, decided to move across the country to Los Angeles, and devoted more time to her art practice. Since moving to California, Lisa has been exploring her personal history through her paintings. Her art stems from an interest in mortality, sources of life, and the human condition.

In 2000, she graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a Masters of Fine Art (MFA). Joanne has exhibited throughout California; nationally in Korea, France, England, Switzerland, Scotland, Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan’s Belgium, Holland and Italy. Her work has also been selected for Lunar Codex, a very special project partnered with SpaceX to deliver the images of art in a time capsule to be permanently affixed to the surface of the moon, selected by Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of “Legends Of The Moon”.

Thalia Rosa Almeida is a 19 year old Cuban-American artist creating art that reflects the inner world she built within herself. Thalia was born in Virginia, grew up as the youngest of six in Kentucky, then graduated high school at 16 and moved to NYC to pursue acting soon after. Continuing her education in acting, she moved to LA and discovered a passion for painting and music instead. Thalia has focused on creating art that reflects topics seen as “taboo” like mental illness – bringing more awareness to the inner workings of the psyche.

E.L. Rodríguez is an emerging visual artist who had her first gallery exhibition and first publication last year. Her work has been featured in Modern Renaissance magazine as well. She is a self-taught artist with a B.A. in English Literature. She specializes in oil painting and functional pottery.

Multidisciplinary artist TRISHES challenges the confines of art and constructs of self by using live looping, visual art and spoken word to delve into our psyches. As a visual artist, her work has been featured in galleries throughout the United States and as a musician, she has been featured on NPR, Billboard, Rolling Stone, MTV and VH1, and performed internationally at festivals like SXSW, CMW, Cannabis Cup, and Pyramid Yoga Festival. The artist’s passion for arts and activism has garnered her invitations to speak all around the world including a TEDx talk in Los Angeles, The Independent’s 50th Anniversary in New York, and at XP Music Futures in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. TRISHES is currently working on her Sophomore album Superego, as well as her first book, Pretty for a Brown Girl.

Marina Yermakova Timm (b. 1985) is a Russian-born LA-based collage artist. She creates original works on paper as well as designs for commercial projects. Marina’s main influences are the artists of the Russian avant-garde like K. Malevich and A. Rodchenko, as well as the Dadaist movement of the post WWI Europe.

Rocio Magadan is a multidisciplinary artist from Carson, CA. Her paintings, ceramics, photography, zines, and drawings are composed from family, LA music scenes, and community archives. Magadan’s work are abstract compositions of 1980’s geometric shapes, nostalgic images, and Los Angeles South Bay narratives. She has exhibited at O’ Project Space, Lethal Amounts,The Mistake Room, and Espacio 1839. Magadan has participated in yearly zine events as co-planner and member of Xicanx Crybaby zine collective. Magadan received a B.A. in studio art from California State University Dominguez Hills Spring 2022.

Tori Holder is a mixed media artist based out of Los Angeles. Her work focuses on highlighting the beautiful mundanities of life through zines, comics, and other works on paper.

Jackie Farkas received her BA in Art with honors from UC Berkeley and an MFA in Studio Arts from Mills College. Jackie’s art has been included in various exhibitions, including Expand at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Terra Incognita at the Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, and Collect! at the Berkeley Art Center in Berkeley. Her paintings are featured in Curate LA and Saatchi Art. Her work is in individual and corporate collections both nationally and internationally. Jackie was born in Los Angeles, California where she currently lives and works. Her works are available at Saatchi Art, the world’s leading online art gallery.

Exhibition: This Town Has HeART

Chicana/LA based Photographer & Artist of 10+ years.

Jazmyn Martinez is a Los Angeles native ceramic artist based in the Arts District. She began her ceramic studies in 2019 and has experience in hand-built and wheel-thrown functional pottery. She is trained in horsehair and raku firing and creates art that can be used by all.

Jaja Dario is a visual artist, philosopher, and scientist at heart, born and based in Los Angeles. With a compass and color perspective, she confronts elements of the collective unconscious by painting patterns of feeling tones that give shape and form to her sublime encounters with songs. Jaja grew up in Manila, where she tripped hard and earned a BFA in Studio Arts – Painting from the University of the Philippines in 2004—her creative experience and practice hones in on the notion of the transcendent function and humanity’s quest for wholeness.

Ree Magaña is a Los Angeles-based artist and curator. Their goal as a creative is to amplify underrepresented artists’ voices and advocate for the decolonization of contemporary arts spaces.

Lois Keller (b. 1968, Greenbay, USA) A reflection of her personal narrative – having been adopted and never knowing her birth parents, Keller’s paintings, drawings, and installations explore themes of identity and belonging with an invitation to embrace the unknown. Keller earned a BA from University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. as well as having a long career painting for Opera, Ballet and Theatre as a scenic artist. Currently she works outside capturing not only time and the environment but the current consciousness of society as well.

Exhibition: Spring Benefit and Art Auction

Born in Tehran, Iran, Sara Janti is a mixed media artist and jewelry designer who currently lives and works in Southern California.

Sara has always had a deep connection to creating objects, her recent works tell her stories of life and own experience as an Iranian woman who is living in diaspora.

Influenced by the recent movements in Iran and the role of Iranian women leading the movement, by mixing images from old Iranian artifacts and self portraits, she has unveiled a series of works that describe Iranian women who are fighting for their own basic human rights. Her mixed media pieces are a reflection of the current status in what is happening and how it is affecting lives.

Exhibitions: There From Here, Inner Links

AnnLi Tico is a Bay Area native and a Los Angeles based artist, who graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara with degrees in Art and Economics in 2021. Her work spans multiple mediums, and focuses on the expansiveness and intricate details of the natural world, as well as the living spaces we create for ourselves. Through the use of found materials, pattern, and repetition, she attempts to create work that captures the feelings these places evoke, and is playful and inviting to the viewers.

Exhibition: There From Here

For me, the process of creativity involves both planning and accident, to be guided by a spirit of the opening of perception — an eyes open meditation where looking for a new way of seeing, an awareness of a disclosure of meaning. Art consists, as Marcel Duchamp said, of the “gap” between what is intended and what is presented, that is, between what one intended and what is perceived. Art therefore uplifts us to the between –that which to Martin Buber indicates an event, where we are both defining and defined through our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world.

Exhibition: Spring Benefit + Art Auction, Locals Only

Morgan M. Barajas is a Los Angeles based visual art alchemist strongly influenced by Romanticism, Surrealism, and Expressionism. He is fascinated by the interplay of the spiritual and the physical, and aims to render this often invisible relationship in his work. Originally trained in Cinematic arts, Morgan was inspired by filmmaker Akira Kurosawa to paint his own storyboards. What followed was an all consuming love affair with visual art marking, that enlightened his approach to creating. Utilizing oil paint, pastels, charcoal, ink, graphite, and sometimes organic matter in his work, every piece is a unique alchemical experiment all its own.

Exhibition: Products of Empire, Spring Benefit and Art Auction, Locals Only