Portal Of Opportunities IX

Vicki Arthur’s work elicits strong personal emotion through the use of primary colors and abstract movement and planes. These bold colors and patterns touch people deeply by creating a powerful connection to the viewers’ own creative energy.

Vicki Arthur is a native Californian. Her career as an artist began with original designs in precious metals and rare stones. Her hand-wrought, gold and silver jewelry was exhibited throughout California at upscale boutiques in Beverly Hills, Ojai, Los Angeles, Carmel and Santa Barbara.

Vicki then shifted her focus to painting with expressionist watercolors and acrylics. Her series of widely popular sports canvases depicting baseball, football, basketball, cycling, tennis, and soccer are in the private collections of sports greats as Muhammad Ali & Magic Johnson, and celebrities Jerry Seinfeld, Hector Elizondo & Billy Crystal. Additionally, the Deputy Commissioner of Boxing for New York State selected her painting “At the Bell” for the Boxing Commission offices.

She then expanded her vision into the area of sculpture. Her paintings have appeared in the television series, CSI, Station 19, The Mentalist, Six Feet Under, and Sports Night and her sculptures have appeared in films such as Funny People and in numerous commercials.

She has exhibited both paintings and sculpture at the Ojai Community Gallery, the Thousand Oaks Art Gallery, the Rotating Gallery in San Francisco, the Viva Art Gallery, and the Lankershim Art Gallery to name a few. She is currentl a ‘Gallery Artist’ at the Infusion Gallery on Oahu in Hawaii.

I experience much joy expressing my ideas and passions through my art. I am always surprised at the result as I am working spontaneously, focusing on the process as opposed to working for a particular outcome. In my recent work, I am enjoying the playfulness I experience when making my whimsical animal watercolors and my mixed media/collages.

I have evolved through the years and expressed my creativity in different styles--drawing and painting the figure, making expressionist paintings of jazz musicians and singers, making mixed media pieces and whimsical watercolors. I have also acted in the theater, performed stand-up comedy and wrote and illustrated a book of poetry for children. This varied background in the arts has directed and informed my visual art which is my basic focus and love.

Marlaya Charleston has been drawing and painting since the age of twelve. She began her formal training at the age of sixteen at The Art Students League in New York City. Growing up there, she had the privilege, at a young age, to visit The Modern Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum where she was moved and inspired. She continued her studies in New York at Parsons School of Design, Cooper Union and eventually earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The School of Visual Arts.

Her influences are African Art, the German Expressionists, Picasso and Matisse.

Marlaya continued her artistic exploration making compositions combining realistic images with abstract shape, texture and color. As of late, she is enjoying making whimsical watercolors mostly depicting animals and the human figure.

Her works have been exhibited throughout the Los Angeles area and are collected internationally.

Highly influenced by artists like Hopper, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Diebenkorn, I paints multicultural urban Los Angeles with all its contradictions and poetry.

I am trying to blend my classical European artistic background with contemporary conceptual approach. In the LA urban environment I am looking for and finding manifestations of eternal human values, such as love, faith, longing, and the strife for a better life. I try to see real people and their life through the facades of the buildings depicted with much love and connection.

Born in Moscow , Russia /f. USSR/

Moscow's Art School at Kropotkin St.

MA graphic design from Stroganovskaya School of Art and Design, Moscow.

Graphic Design Workshop Artist Union USSR

Group Show at Bienalle/ Chekhoslovakia, Praga

1989- Came to USA, Los Angeles

1990-2009 Decorative painted furniture and murals

2008-1st Solo show TALK TO ME LA1 Modern Art Gallery

2010-2nd Solo show TALK TO ME LA 2 at Modern Art gallery

2012 Group show at Santa Monica Art Studios

2013 Group show "Seen and Unseen"Downtown LA

Phantom Gallery

curator and artist

2013 Group show "Oneness"Phantom Gallery

2015 Group show at Civitella d'Agliano

2015 Group show at Nuremberg ,Germany

2016 Solo show at Lark Gallery Hawthorne

and curator for CALIFORNIA show

Michael Cheung (born 1978, Hong Kong) is a Chinese artist living and working in Hong Kong.

Growing up in the former British Colony - Hong Kong where East meets West, Michael is influenced by both Oriental and Western culture.

His approach is edgy, sophisticated and creative one that understands the value of good art.

His art creation is deeply embedded within perception, memory, identity and communication in contemporary life.

A self-taught artist, trained as a graphic designer, he has exhibited in New York, Seoul, Berlin, Copenhagen, Moscow, with magazines such as Art & Beyond magazine, Don't Panic magazine.

His works are held in private collections in Europe, USA and Asia.

ART FAIR

October 2018 Art Market Budapest

March 2018 Harbour Art Fair Hong Kong

December 2017 Spectrum Miami Art Fair

June 2017 YIA ART FAIR #10 - Basel

February 2017 Pink Art Fair Seoul

April 2016 Kolner Liste 2016

March 2016 Affordable Art Fair Italy

January 2016 Art Rooms 2016 London

October 2015 Art Market Budapest

October 2015 Swab 2015 Art Fair

September 2015 Art Copenhagen 2015

July 2015 Art Monaco 2015

April 2015 Kolner Liste 2015

September 2014 Art Copenhagen 2014

May 2014 Cutlog NY 2014

December 2013 Art Edition 2013 Korea

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

December 2013 " From China With Love " exhibition _ MuseOrfeo Home Gallery, Bologna, Italy

the language of life.

The type of Art that I do is beyond the spoken words.

When it emerges spontaneously because of the process, I accept it with gratitude.

Jenik

No question but the painting of Jenik Cook - and hardly less the work she realizes in other media (most notably ceramics) -is abstract-expressionist. But it is not necessarily Abstract Expressionist. That is, however much it may evince the DNA of mid-century American "action painting," or even European counterparts such as tachism, l'art informel, or CoBrA, Cook's art only incidentally revives the method, much less the look, of these bumptious, scrappy art movements. Rather, to power her vision, she goes back to the roots of gestural modernism, finding dancing line, elastic contour, and fervid color in surrealism, in fauvism, in expressionism itself. The painting of Pollock and Kline, and of Fautrier and Jorn, gives Cook permission to work unfettered like this, and gives us the context to comprehend fully - even to empathize kinesthetically with - what she does. But she is not emulating, much less imitating, Afro or James Brooks in her graceful, muscular paintings on paper or rehashing Sam Francis or André Lanskoy with the rhythmic clots and scatterings of pigment that collect on her canvases (well, on a wide variety of more-or-less canvas-like support material). Look instead to Miro, Masson, Marc, or Münter, Pechstein or Picasso, Marcks or Matisse, for Cook's sources.

Indeed, look into Cook's own cultural heritage. The line that whips and loops throughout Cook's oeuvre, whether hurling forms across canvas expanses or tracing them on the sides of pots, whether describing slashing trails of pure pigment or the sinuous contours of human bodies, is no more a painted line than it is a written one. It is made less with the whole body - although one can sense a change of stance, a hip motion, in so many of these dancing whiplashes - than with the whole arm. These gestures issue from the wrist and the shoulder. They are in fact as much inscribed as painted. Their energy is not just telegraphic; it is calligraphic. If the vivacity of the image bespeaks Cook's Armenian blood, the rhapsodic curvaceousness of her line betrays her Iranian childhood. As comfortable speaking and writing Farsi as she is Armenian, Cook marries her disparate cultural sources -which of course now include the western European and American influences of her adult life - into an aesthetically cohesive mix with a surprisingly broad formal reach.

Perhaps the breadth of that reach, given the variety of sources, isn't actually so surprising. But it is always a bit startling to witness - that is, to be allowed to witness - an artist master such a conceptual and expressive range. Most artists have this range in them, but so many suppress it. For her part, however, Cook refuses to suppress her stylistic multivalency. Not only does she not limit her vision, but she uses that vision very consciously to drive her artmaking in as many ways as it needs to go. She may edit, but she does not self-censure. Her style, ultimately as coherent and personal as a signature, emerges from and among her plethora of approaches, approaches which themselves spring from her persistence, her prolific output, her knowledge of art, and her irrepressible verve. Jenik Cook's art springs forth -in several directions at once.

Peter Frank Los Angeles January 2010

I choose bright colors because that’s what we need in the world right now.

“By painting, I chose first to brighten my own life so I could then brighten the lives of others.”

To experience an ELBE painting is to live a moment of the artist’s exhuberant life.

The artist is Elena Berman. She signs her work ELBE.

Elena is energetic, exciting, complex–an introspective extrovert, you might say.

However, one word mostly defines Elena: passionate. Mostly happy, incredibly upbeat. Sometimes angry. Occasionally relaxed. (Afterall, the artist is human.)

But Elena is passionate–always passionate–in her life and in her art.

She is also genuine, perhaps the most powerful force in her art, as her paintings express exactly what she is feeling at any given moment.

When you glance at a painting signed ELBE you cannot look away. Drawn to the powerful strokes and colorful character, you feel the raw emotion of the artist.

Rooms come alive with the expressive colors and explosive strokes of an ELBE original or print.

“EliZe” da Jose – Artist Statement

I understand art as a way of emotionally experiencing reality and a universal language of

communication.

Without conscious e?ort and thought, I try to fill my paintings with expressions strong

enough to let the spectator feel the energy put in the depth of the canvas, transforming the

perception of picture into his own art act.

Most recently, I find myself inspired to focus on developing and exploring the connection

between iconography and abstraction in light of Cosmism philosophy. The inspiration of

this uniquely blended style came about as briefly explained in the following.

I believe that abstract painting was and still is an artist’s attempt at capturing and

expressing Plato's world of ideas which is invisible to the earthly eyes. Then, at the

beginning of the 20th century came the avant-gardism of Filonov and Malevich which was a

rebellion against physicality, materialism and petty-bourgeois consumption.

Iconography takes its roots from the symbiosis of antique vivid imagery and spiritual

practices of Ancient Egypt. From ancient times to the present day, man has never stopped

asking himself questions about who he is and what his true role in this world is.

My newfound unique style of blending iconography and abstract painting is somehow an

endeavour to continue humanity’s perennial e?ort and desire to capture and express the

depth of the invisible world via visible materials, to have a glimpse of the heavenly realm via

earthly instruments, akin to Plato and Malevich’s line of thinking.

In my work, I try to find an image of the elusive other shore - where every soul aspires to go -

and trying to find artful means to communicate what is di?icult to express in words.

ELIZAVETA DAJOSE (Artist Name: Elize)

Elize daJose is a professional artist, sculptor, iconographer and illustrator.

Her artworks primarily consist of a unique blend of abstract art and icon painting, experimenting with various materials, although her favorite media remain acrylic painting and ceramics.

Born in Moscow, Russia, her life as an artist started at a very young age. One day on a snowy street in her hometown, she bought Kazimir Malevich’s book from a peddler which turned her consciousness upside down and defined her entire life path.

From 1996 to 2000, she religiously undertook painting, sculpture, and graphics in various workshops of Moscow artists.

Since 2001, she has been working in the creative workshops of the Babushkinsky Sculpture Combine and in 2002, she became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists, sculpture section.

From 2002 to 2010, she actively participated in group exhibitions at the Central House of Artists, Gallery on Kuznetsky Most, Darwin Museum, and Timiryazev Museum.

In 2010, she participated in the Annual Art Juried Competition in Los Angeles, CA, and became a laureate.

In 2011, she took part in the collective exhibition "Woman Day Art Exhibits" at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA, and in 2012 she had a solo exhibition "Three Artists" at Liz Loft Gallery, LA, CA.

In 2016, Elize moved to California and actively participated in collective exhibitions, including the "Summer Exhibit" at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica (2016), "Brain Art Event" at Lark Gallery/The Chiari Project in West Hollywood (2017), and "The Art of Transformation" at Brick & Mortar Loiter Galleries in Long Beach (2023), among many others.

In 2025, Elize was awarded the Silver Medal at the New York International Art Juried Competition, "The Light from the Other Shore."

In 2026, an essay featuring Elize's creativity and spiritual development was published in the book "Revelations of the Artist - Deep Calls to Deep", curated by ArtServe International.

Elize is an active member of the Los Angeles Art Association and Riverside Community Arts Association. She is currently represented by Lark Gallery in West Hollywood and Literary Engineers, LLC in Benicia, CA.

While I still love the challenge of portrait work, a more animated portrayal of the female image has become my trademark. My "feminine spirits" have evolved from fairies, yogis and mermaids to women with attitude (the girlfriend's series)..all symbolizing the inner strength and grace of the female, regardless of culture, age or occupation. My paintings often evoke a smile or a chuckle, as the viewer can often see elements of themselves in each.

I was exposed to the world of visual art at young age, in my birthplace, Melbourne, Australia. My mother painted in oils and sculpted, and she often encouraged me to paint along with her. After high school, I went to Ontario College of Art in Canada, where my focus was fine art. I had intended to carry on in my education to become a medical illustrator (as I also had an interest in health care), however I got sidetracked and moved to the Bahamas. There, I married and had two little girls. During my six years on the island, I painted in watercolor and sold my work through local tourist galleries. I eventually moved back to Canada and became absorbed with the demands of everyday life. In the last 15 years, I have been fortunate to have the time to delve more deeply into my art and yoga career. I believe that my diverse life experiences (relationships, travel, career changes and personal interests) are represented in my paintings. My style is considered "whimsical" ....a reflection of my thoughts, dreams and hopes for a happier world. My work can be seen in galleries, restaurants, spas and yoga studios in Canada and the USA.

I studied for over 12 years in the studio of Ilana Bloch. I am a member of three art organizations: Women Painters West, and Los Angeles Art Association and JAI. I have participated in many group shows and received awards on several occasions.

A few years ago, my son created an art website for me. The proceeds of the art I sell on this website, goes to benefit a wonderful local organization: Step Up on Second, where there is help and housing for the mentally ill, It is a very gratifying and pleasurable way for me to use my hands, my time and my inspiration to help others.

I enjoy experimenting with acrylics and collage, exploring layering, pouring and making graphic and soft edges. I like to "mix it up" in one piece, combining the accidental with the planned out, the painterly with the graphic, the atmospheric with the straight edge.

I particularly enjoy adding collage medium. I camouflage the brightly collage pieces within the paintings, so that they can be discovered slowly. They add a vibrant edge and an element of surprise that contrasts with both the graphic or atmospheric background.

I am open to exploring new media, and new techniques each year, but I suspect that color and pattern will remain an important element in my work.

I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but have lived in the USA since 1961. I received my Bachelor's Degree from Pomona College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Yale University. At Pomona College, I majored in French and Art History. My interest in art has been lifelong, although I started painting only in 1998. I was a high school French and Spanish teacher and have been retired since 2006, leaving me plenty of time to indulge my passion for painting. I travel to Italy a couple of times a year where i am always inspired, as many who travel there, by the light, the colors and the art.

Taking "reduce and reuse" principle to the next level I build abstract 2d and 3d compositions with found objects from hi-tech world. Disassembled practical gadgets become pieces of the puzzle that join paint and clay in my artworks. The concept of my current series "Deconstructed" resonates well with "Evolve. Women. Wisdom." theme. It deals with the evolution of knowledge (computers, phones, robot gears, data, concrete) into wisdom (balance, minimalism, harmony, intuitive awareness, abstract).

Lina was born in Kiev, Ukraine, where she graduated from the School of Visual Arts. She has always strived to find balance between her passion for arts and interest in technology. In 2000 she obtained a

masters degree in computer science with a specialization in multimedia and creative technologies from USC, and now enjoys a successful career in software engineering. Lina has pursued her interest in visual art and has studied ceramics and sculpture in Los Angeles since 1996.

Linas clay and mixed media creations have been very well received in exhibitions at the Orlando Gallery, The Style Lounge, Pacific Design Center, VIVA Art Center, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Xiem Gallery, Red Dot Gallery in Palm Springs, Neutra Museum in Silver Lake. Her art is in private and corporate collections nationwide. Lina participates in the Annual California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art in Davis, California, and is a member of Los Angeles Experimental Artists group.

The initial inspiration for Catherine Kuzma’s paintings, nature, landscapes, serve as the spark that ignite a much deeper and intimate conversation with the subtle through the vehicle of painting. Sometimes the conversations are smooth and easy ones, while others more labored, thick with many layers. Regardless, the process has always been a meditative one for her, rich with realization. “Painting is what feeds me, it keeps my soul lit and burning. Without it I feel only half alive.” Currently her painting Under A Blue Umbrella is being exhibited at the National Arts Club in NYC, for the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club’s 122nd Annual Open Juried Exhibition . Her painting Chill Through The City is on view through February 2nd at the Medford Arts Center’s Faces and Places Juried Exhibition, juror Philip Carroll. The same painting was featured on the cover of the Tishman Review 2018 July issue volume 4, issue 3. Also, in 2019 her painting Winter Pines along with Dave Worrell’s poem Right Here inspired by the painting, is being exhibited at D & R Greenway Land Trust, Lovely as A Tree Juried Exhibition in Princeton, NJ. In 2018 some of her exhibits included the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center, The Philadelphia Sketchclub, The National Arts Club, The Lancaster County Art Association, Medford Arts Center, Lumberton Leas Gallery, and the Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey, Her paintings, current exhibits, and awards can be viewed on her website www.catherinekuzma.com.

Catherine Kuzma

EDUCATION

1986 B.A. in Fine Arts with honors, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ

Nominated for Stedman Art Student Award

SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019 Moorestown Community House, MoorArts Gala Fundraiser,

group show, Moorestown, NJ

2018 Manayunk Roxborough Art Center, member’s group show, Phila., PA 2017-2018 Lumberton Leas Gallery, group show, Lumberton, NJ

2017 Inkwood, Poetry Series, solo exhibit, Haddonfield, NJ

2017 Medford Memorial Community Center, Winter Theme Group Show, Medford, NJ

2017-2016 Manhattan Athletic Club, solo exhibit, New York, NY

2015 PII Gallery, Close To Home, collaboration with poet Dave Worrell, Phila., PA

2014 Medford Arts Center, group show, Medford, NJ

SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS / AWARDS

2019 National Arts Club, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 122nd Annual Open Juried Exhibition, New York, NY

2018-2019 D & R Greenway Land Trust, Lovely as a Tree Juried Exhibition, Princeton, NJ 2018 The National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, NOAPS 2018 Fall International Online Open Exhibition

Manayunk Roxborough Art Center, MRAC Ekphrastic Exhibit and Member’s Show, Phila., PA

Manayunk Roxborough Art Center, MRAC 10th Annual Juried Exhibition, Phila., PA

First Place Award, Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey, Black Run Preserve 2018 Juried Art Exhibition, , Marlton, NJ

Lancaster County Art Association, LCAA Open Door Exhibition, Lancaster, PA

The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 155th Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings,

Phila., PA

National Arts Club , Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 121st Annual Open Juried Exhibition,, New York, NY

2017-2018 Medford Arts Center, Small Works Exhibit , Medford, NJ

2017 Honorable Mention, Medford Arts Center, 9th Annual Fall Fine Art Juried Exhibition, Medford, NJ, juror Frank Hyder,

The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 154th Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings,

Phila., PA

2016 Medford Arts Center, 7th Annual Juried Fine Art Exhibition, Medford, NJ

First Place Award, Oil Painting Category, Lancaster County Art Association, LCAA National Juried Exhibition, Lancaster, PA, juror Neysa Grassi

2015 Award of Excellence, Medford Arts Center, Annual Member’s Show,

Medford, NJ

Medford Arts Center, Juried Member's Show, Medford, NJ

Honorable Mention, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 2015 Large Format Art Open Juried Show, Phila., PA

Medford Leas Gallery, Art at the Arboretum Juried Exhibition, Medford, NJ

Smithville Mansion Annex Gallery, Smithville Annual Juried Show, NJ

Honorable Mention, The Plastic Club, The Great Outdoors Juried Exhibit, Phila., PA

Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey, Annual Juried Exhibition, Marlton, NJ

Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Work, Gamblin Artist’s Color Co. Award, The Salmagundi Club, 37th Annual Juried Exhibition for Non-Members, New York, NY

Markeim Arts Center, Art of Sport Juried Show, Haddonfield, NJ

2014 Second Place Award, Medford Arts Center, Annual Member's Juried Show, Medford, NJ

The Center For The Arts in Southern New Jersey, Annual Juried Exhibition, Marlton, NJ

The Salmagundi Club, 36th Annual Non-Member's Show, New York, NY

Honorable Mention, Medford Arts Center, Happy 350th Birthday New Jersey Juried Exhibition, juror Philip Carroll , Medford, NJ

2013 Second Place, Medford Arts Center, 6th Annual Juried Exhibition, juror Fred Danziger, Medford, NJ

Best of Show Award, Markeim Arts Center, Bronze, Russet, Rouge Juried Exhibit, Haddonfield, NJ

PUBLICATIONS

Tishman Review, cover feature “Chill Through The City”, Volume 4, Issue 3,

July 2018

US1 Worksheets Poetry Journal, Volume 60, cover feature “October” painting, April 2015

Burlington County Times, Art Scene, “Happy Birthday New Jersey”, May 30, 2014

Close To Home, Lucia Press, 2015

Fox Chase Review, “Kuzma and Worrell at PII Gallery”, March 29, 2015

www.catherinekuzma.com

I paint what touches me most. Something in my life or in the world around me that moves me deeply. It may be joy or it may be sadness and worry.

Just painting what I feel brings me closer in touch with who I am and what I feel, it helps me process what I might not otherwise understand or be able to digest or let go of.

My artwork always had to do with feelings, my feeling about the world, people, and my relationship with them. I always have put it on paper since I can remember.

Like the feelings between mother and child, that are our most complete bond, or portraits of an emotional mood, that seem to come just out of me when I feel a certain way and sit down with a brush and canvas, to capture the emotion.

Regine Legler Bio

Regine Legler was born in Berlin, Germany during the last days of World War II.

Her first exposure to art was a dark, brown door her mother allowed the family to draw on with chalk, which Regine did frequently. Everything was a canvas, including her schoolbooks, which lead Regine to her first commission; being asked by her fellow classmates to help them with their homework assignment to draw Napoleon.

Regine’s formal education in fine art started at age 17 when she enrolled at the Staedelschule in Frankfurt/Main Germany. There she began a two-year study of figure drawing, portraiture, landscape and still life under Walter Hergenhahn, a student of the renowned Max Beckmann. Later, she underwent three years of intensive study in oil painting, acrylic and watercolor at the Freie Academie in Mannheim, Germany.

In her early years, Regine drew and painted scenes of dreams and emotional situations in a style called Fantastic Realism. Then, in 1994, her interest shifted to wildlife and American Indian scenes. Today, Regine’s style has evolved from Fantastic Realism to a more realistic and personalized technique to create a very bold look and tone to convey strong emotions.

Regine holds juried membership at Women Painters West, Southern California Women Caucus of the Arts, Venice Art Forum, and has taught college-level classes at Santa Monica College and the Fashion institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

Artists Statement; I began painting in 1999, the year before I began my studies in Otis College of Art and Design. Once I began in earnest, I was lead to the landscape, as I have a deep love for nature. I painted these from my own photographs. As I developed further, I began to paint the natural glories which I have experienced at sea as well as on land. Currently, the photographs that interest me were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. When they were first circulated on the net, I was immediately struck by the beauty and the immensity of space. My challenge has been to evoke that sense of immense space in paint. Many say that I have succeeded.

Art: a second career for Dr. Robert Newport, following thirty-one years as a psychiatrist. This was a time of deep explorations into the human psyche-- his own as well as his patient--but then, he comes from a family of explorers who arrived with the first settlers in this country in 1607. He was born in the Midwest mid-century, and has never been in the middle of anything since. A maverick in everything he has ever done, he was said to have invented the term ?holistic psychiatry.\\

Working as an artist continually.

Exhibitions:

Art Exhibitions

Solo and duo exhibitions

2018 Helsinki, Art Restaurant Wellamo "Organized Chaos"

2018 Espoo, Culture House, "Zen" series

2018 Helsinki, Cafe Aalto, "Zen" series

2017 Iisalmi, Gallery Venny, "Zen", new media art

2017 Pielavesi, Library Gallery, "Zen", new media art

2016 Äänekoski, Hoikkassali, "Gardener's Dreams", new media art

2015 Vesanto, Library, "Gardener's Dreams", new media art

2015 Keitele, Talligalleria, "Gardener's Dreams", new media art

2014 Helsinki, Jade Gallery, "tää on meijän juttu", with Leila Näivö, new media art

2014 Rautalampi, Gallery of Library, “Process”, mixed media collages

2013 Keitele, Barn Gallery, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2013 Rovaniemi, Bear’s Lodge Hotel, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2012 Tervo Library, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2012 Suonenjoki, Kellarikalleria,“Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2012 Vesanto Library, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2012 Kuhmoinen, Gallery of Library, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2011 Koli, Nature Centre Ukko, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2011 Hailuoto, Cafe Haiku, “Urban Dreams”, new media art

2011 Savonlinna, Cafe Saima, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2009 Saarijärvi, Cafe Picasso, “Space Dreams”, new media art

2009 Savonlinna, Cafe Saima, “Space Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2009 Jyväskylä, Kallioplanetaario, “Space Dreams”, new media art

2009 Turku, CafeArt, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2008 Äänekoski, Hoikkassali, with Aija-Leena Lääperi, new media art

2008 Pieksämäki, Topi´s Gallery, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2008 Jyväskylä, Freetime Fair, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2007 Jyväskylä, City Library, "Fire" with Mirja Peltola, new media art

2007 Turku, Osaava Nainen Fair, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2007 Jyväskylä, FinnGraf Fair, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2007 Kuopio, Kivigalleria, “Archaic Dreams”, with Aija-Leena Lääperi, new media art

2007 Petäjävesi, Lemettilä Farm, “Archaic Dreams”, with Aija-Leena Lääperi, new media art

2007 Saarijärvi, Town Hall “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2007 Manamansalo, Art House Kassu Halonen, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2007 Jyväskylä, Tuulikaappigalleria, “Archaic Dreams”, new media art

2007 Kuopio, Café Burts, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2006 Tampere, Café Valo, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2006 Kuopio, Café Burts, “Archaic Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2006 Viitasaari, Library Gallery, “Urban Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2006 Jyväskylä, Gallery Mystic “Urban Dreams”, with Leila Näivö, new media art

2005 Vesanto, Library, "Departures", with Leila Näivö, new media art

2004 Kuopio, Gallery Kapriisi, "On the Road", with Leila Näivö, new media art

2001 Jyväskylä, City Library, new media art

1999 Jyväskylä, City Library, new media art

1994 Mikkeli, City Library Gallery, paintings

1994 Jyväskylä Municipality, paintings

1993 Vesanto, City Library, paintings

1990 Vesanto, Library, paintings

1990 Jyväskylä, City Library, paintings

1989 Jyväskylä, City Library, paintings

1987 Jyväskylä, City Library, paintings

1984 Vesanto, Library, paintings

1971 Vesanto, Library, paintings

Some group exhibitions

2018 Varenna, Italy, Villa Monastero, Dö

2017 Berlin, Marzia Frozen, Artopia

2017 Florence, "Le Vie Art", Gallery Mentana, Urban Dreams, new media art

2013 St. Petersburg, Ratio Art Gallery, "Space in ancient and contemporary art", with Norwegian and Russian artists, new media art

2011 Keuruu, Museum of Art, “Unreal world”, new media art

2004 Oulu, Gallery 5, Game of Light, new media art

2004 Jyväskylä, Galleria Mystic, Game of Light, new media art

2004 Hämeenlinna, Paperihuone, Game of Light, new media art

2003 Jyväskylä, Wanha Woimala, Game of Light, new media art

2003 Kuopio, Game of Light, new media art

2003 Mikkeli, Kenkävero, Game of Light, new media art

Be it brush on canvas or a camera lens to the world, creativity, from an early age has been a significant part of my life. It has led me to destinations such as New York, Berlin, Rome, London and Amsterdam in search of material for my projects. Urban Dreams is such a collection that draws inspiration from the streets of these iconic cities.

Most of my artworks are digital collages. The process to create a final version of my artwork can take quite a long time. It all starts with an idea. After that I start to gather material, this could involve for example going to photograph Scandinavian rock art as I did for Archaic Dreams series.

Materials can be almost anything – hand drawings and paintings, my photos and even sometimes vector graphics. The most important thing is that they are my own unique creation. The final stage of my creative process involves a lot of choices and decisions between slight variations in tonalities and saturation that will result in the final version.

I have used the artist name Mirja Birgitta since 2015 and I write also an artist blog Arshop in my native Finnish language.

I have five hand-signed museum quality prints of each piece available. They are also available as poster quality re-prints, bearing my logo and can be found on the Saatchi Art online store.

Series of Dreams is a project that has spanned over 10 years and is still marching forward with my collection of abstract works growing at steady pace.

I hope to create work that reveals the organic foundations of humanness.

As a woman, I believe there are always parts of ourselves that carry the innocence and curiosity of a little girl. That energy—the wonder, the fearlessness, the vulnerability—still lives within us.

"Mirror Twins" are characters that many people can see themselves in. I choose not to reveal too much about them—I’d rather let viewers discover their own meaning and stories within the work.

Now more than ever, artists and creatives must stand up for the value of art. Even when the world isn’t ready to hear our voices—especially as some are being censored, edited, or erased—we must keep creating. It’s painfully clear that many of our communities are being silenced and pushed to the margins.

As an artist, cartoonist, creator, and teacher, I’m committed to encouraging others to stand boldly and make art that speaks truth. My own journey is always evolving. Maybe it’s okay that I don’t reveal everything. Maybe my role is more about connection—and keeping a few secrets of my own.

—Cristina Natsuko Paulos

Cristina Natsuko Paulos is an award-winning artist, animator, cartoonist, designer, and educator. She currently teaches commercial arts and digital media at a high school in the Clark County School District, and works as a freelance artist and workshop leader. She also likes to remind people: she’s a good human.

A BFA graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, Paulos’s work blends fine art and illustration, often featuring mirrored or twinned characters, expressive portraiture, and imagery inspired by real life. Her style draws heavily from cartoon aesthetics and deeply personal themes, creating a space where vulnerability, identity, and duality intersect.

Her original animation work has appeared on Sesame Street, and her artwork has been exhibited in prestigious galleries including La Luz de Jesus, Giant Robot, and the Cirque du Soleil Contemporary Art Collection. She has also been featured in two published books: Garden of Eye Candy and La Luz de Jesus 25: The Little Gallery That Could. Her films have screened at festivals in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and she has collaborated with puppeteers to create toy theatre performances.

Since relocating from the San Fernando Valley to Las Vegas in 2002, Paulos has received multiple grants from the Nevada Arts Council, including two Jackpot Grants, a 2008 Artist Fellowship, and a 2005 Sesame Street Workshop Scholarship.

Paulos works with a wide range of materials—ink, paint, dye, handmade paper, canvas, wood, and mixed media. Her process is rooted in the philosophies of drawing, aiming to expose the raw, often hidden elements of identity.

“My artwork derives from life, juxtaposed with the cartoon world,” she says. “Using drawing philosophies, I try to reveal the marks we often try to erase—the flaws, the discomfort, the quiet parts of ourselves. Whether through cartoons or figures drawn from life, I explore what it means to be fully seen, completely vulnerable—naked, beyond form.”

I discovered my interest in art at a young age visiting art museums back in Russia. In my childhood I occasionally entertained myself by drawing caricatures and small sketches. They became popular and were collected by friends and family. I gravitated to portraiture and figurative art. What intrigues me most is uniqueness, emotions, and harmony I see in the faces of people around me. I want to share and expose this inner beauty. As I struggled to find my own path, the works of Sergei Bongart, Robert Henri and Joaquin Sorolla guided me.

Learning in art is a never-ending and exciting journey. I have spent much time improving my skills and studying the figure at life drawing and painting classes of California Art Institute and Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, LAAFA.

I am a member of Portrait Society of America and Oil Painters of America. My work could be found in private collections nationwide, as well as in Italy, Peru, Chili, Japan, and Russia.

I discovered my interest in art at a young age visiting art museums back in Russia. In my childhood I occasionally entertained myself by drawing caricatures and small sketches. They became popular and were collected by friends and family. I gravitated to portraiture and figurative art. What intrigues me most is uniqueness, emotions, and harmony I see in the faces of people around me. I want to share and expose this inner beauty. As I struggled to find my own path, the works of Sergei Bongart, Robert Henri and Joaquin Sorolla guided me.

Learning in art is a never-ending and exciting journey. I have spent much time improving my skills and studying the figure at life drawing and painting classes of California Art Institute and Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, LAAFA. I feel lucky and privileged to study with wonderful artist Glen Orbik, Ignat Ignatov, Vadim Zang, and Millie Green.

I am a member of Portrait Society of America and Oil Painters of America. My work could be found in private collections nationwide as well as in Italy, Peru, Chili, Japan, and Russia.

Once upon a time, when wheels were made of stone and phones had no cameras, lived my grandma. I loved my grandma and loved her stories about the people and places she photographed. There was one story about a photographer. There was no name, just a guy who could make any woman look beautiful with his camera. I envied him. I wanted to be this guy. I wanted my grandma to say that about me some day.

A lot of time has passed. I've travelled all around the world, changed jobs and cameras, taken pictures of unbelievable people, places, and things. But through all the life’s journeys I was in pursuit of beauty. I want to hear some day: “He can make anything look beautiful with his camera”.

Alex Sher is a fine art photographer from Los Angeles, California recognized as a prolific underwater wildlife photographer. A few years ago Alex transitioned into the rare form of underwater fashion and art photography, which instantly heralded him to worldwide acclaim. His award winning photographs have been exhibited in world greatest museums and galleries, published in photo books and magazines.

As Agnes Martin said, "art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings". That's what I believe. I believe each shape, line and paint stroke carries weight and comes from the soul.

Drawing inspiration from the nuanced colors and movement in nature, I seek to distill color, contrast, and composition down to each essence, while maintaining a sense of spontaneity. Using acrylic and oil on canvas, with wide brushes and squeegees, I fabricate the illusion of texture and layering.

My art seeks to create a delicate balance between freedom and discipline. Sometimes I ask myself, "If I were to paint a daydream, what would it look like?". Come along on this journey with me and explore the beauty of the world through my eyes. I like to play with the senses and bring forth the passion I want each one of us to experience. Connection and emotions are the most important part of life. I wish to connect each person to their deepest self and to the elements that surround us every day.

I am an abstract painter native to Southern California. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, I spent time in New York City but I call Los Angeles home. I was originally trained as an illustrator and figurative artist. I wanted to break away from what I'd been doing. I emptied my studio of all sketchbooks, drawings and photographic references, and began to paint without any preconceived plans.

To make art and see it being born from my own hands fulfills one of my

greatest dreams.

I like the moment when a new creation is not yet mine, not yet in my

imagination - but already is tickling my subconscious.

Working with paints, knowing their elasticity, and exploring new

textures and color shades allows me to move them on the canvas

spontaneously.

But it only seems so. In reality it happens under the guidance of my

soul.

It is my soul that expresses itself on canvas, showing its flights and

falls, joys and sadness, and then gives birth to an image. My hands only

choose and move colors around, before the appearance of a new image

gives rise to new fantasies.

When a fantasy desires to continue over a series of my art, the process

gives birth to imaginary realities which emerge from the depth of my soul

and cry out to find release on the canvas. Only then can my hands

themselves put down the paints and hang alongside my body. Fatigue and

relief cover me with a light veil. Nothing more needs to be corrected

and completed.

My soul enjoys the liberation of previously collected feelings and

impressions of life whose meaning was unclear to me but which I can now

express. Also what my paintings let me express on canvas is a joyful light shining

from the soul. It is the wonderful space of creation.

Tatiana Yartseva is a Siberian and moved to California in 2024. She is an artist and interior design and lives and works between the city of Omsk and Los Angeles, where she received her formal art education and immersed herself in the local art scene, working at the Lark Gallery. In addition to solo shows, the artist is an active participant in international projects such as "Peaceful Freedom" (2018), "Evolve. Women. Wisdom." (2019), and "Homage to Russian Avant-Garde" (2019) in the USA, "Seeking inner Joy(2002) in Russia", "The Temple of the Dreams"(2025) in Italy, "LAOpen" (2026) in the USA. Visionary Art Show Artsper Award. Since 2025 showing her art work at Artsy platform.

Participated in Digital Art Exhibition organized by Art Screen TV in the Biennale, Florence, Italy in 2025.

Her works have been featured in the American art publication Art & Beyond, Artistinish, and are held in private collections.

My paintings come out as attempts to "translate" from ideograms and fantastic hieroglyphs that I see in the patterns of nature, most often in the tree bark.

It is like listening to a song in an unknown language. Everyone will have their own guess of what the words might say, but the main theme of the song will be recognized.I am so thrilled by the moments of gazing into the patterns of nature when intuition gives a glimpse from the world of archetypes. I think that trees are books and libraries that can be read, perhaps as well as any thing around if we attune to it…

My paintings are sort of "snapshots" from the process of reading the Book of Nature by the mind;these "snapshots" are somewhere in between the imagery and the language.The mind projects meanings onto the shapes and lines, but they are being reflected back, startling and puzzling… there is always a sensation of a mirror dialog, of having been "read" yourself by the Book of Nature...

born in Baku, Azerbajan, lived in Moscow since 16 years old, moved to L.A. in 1992;

M.F.A. in Film &Tv( Animation major) from UCLA;

involved in painting, writing and illustrating, cartooning, mixed media, paper theatre, small size dioramas

"Goddesses of Nature" is an ongoing photo project celebrating the beauty, wisdom, and mystery of the divine feminine whose true essence lies in a deep connection with Mother Nature. In my interpretation, the Goddess is a metaphor of Nature and every woman's soul - be she Native American, African-American or Caucasian, model-thin or Rubenesque, be she a little girl, a teen girl or a woman - as well as being a metaphor for their mysterious, loving, light-bearing divine essence. In my photographs, the subjects not only join with Nature, they are part of Nature. They not only speak to the trees and flowers, they are in union with them.

I see every woman as beautiful! I believe that women in our everyday life have natural, unique, individual beauty in themselves ? not matter their size, shape or age; therefore, I photograph real, everyday women, not professional models.

I do not use Photoshop to create or merge images as is popular in the artistic world today. My images are actual photographs of young girls and women in actual natural settings representing my ideas about our one-ness with Nature. I help my subjects feel like goddesses during the session, and that is the secret to the Goddess art: finding the goddess inside of every woman and girl." ~ Yelena Yahontova

Yelena Yahontova, M.A., is an award winning photography artist, costume stylist, speaker, and healer with a camera residing in La Jolla, California. She was born in the Eastern European country of Belarus. She has had her photography studio "Yelena: Photographer of Joy" for over 15 years.

Yelena is a woman on a mission. Her mission is to heal and transform how women see themselves by portraying them as beautiful goddesses. She sees every woman as beautiful - no matter her size, shape or age!

Yelena's studio is Nature, and her backdrops are forests, lakes, oceans, and mountains. Yelena uses costume styling, floral accessories and her imagination to transform little girls and women into angels, fairies, and goddess of nature into photographs that bring fairytale magic back into reality.

As an educator and visual artist in New Orleans and now Chicago, I first became attracted to recycled, found, free, or cheap materials as a means of creation due to the equity and accessibility of material, and the accessible visual language found in that material which both inhabits and defies the concept of “fine art.” While living in New Orleans I saw Henri Matisse’s cut out forms everywhere — in the tropical foliage, the shapes of cast shadows, the Old World architecture, and especially in the vibrancy of Caribbean colors. I began to experiment with naturalist shapes inspired by Matisse and the fragmented, yet cohesive book cover designs and collages of John Gall. Then I gravitated toward using materials with variations in value and hue to create a sense of light and movement in works comprised of naturalistic shapes. Since returning to Chicago, I’m moved and constantly inspired by the intuitive compositions my students create as well as the stratified elements of Chicago — its people, languages, architecture, and ever-changing borders. In my abstract series of paper collage, I investigate images of nature and manipulate dissected parts of those images to create compositions that are layered and shifting.

Alicia Zapata received her Master's Degree in Art Theory, Criticism and History and Certificate of Museum Studies from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. During that time she completed internships with Brooklyn Museum and International Center of Photography. Her academic focus was on American photography of the twentieth century and during this time she began to work in analog photography as an artistic medium. After graduate school, she taught middle school and high school darkroom photography at Marwen Art Center in Chicago for years before becoming an elementary school art teacher. From 2015-2018, Alicia taught visual art in New Orleans where she created and built two art programs as well as worked on large scale abstract paintings and began two different collage series which she continues to work in today. Currently, Alicia teaches middle school art on Chicago's northside and continues to work in collage and painting.