Publishing in Art & Beyond Magazine 2026

Gianni Chiriatti, known professionally as Borgagne, is an artist from Puglia born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1973. He spent his childhood between his hometown and Borgagne, where he has lived and worked for many years. A self-taught and multifaceted artist, he expresses himself through multidisciplinary practices such as painting, photography, video art, and installations. Wild nature, in its complexity as a plant and animal world, is deeply rooted in his artistic research. During his youth, he worked at an artisanal herbalist specializing in the processing of wild plants. This was the decisive phase that led the artist to also become interested in painting. His motto is: "The smell of the plant is the thought of being transferred to the canvas." Following this guiding principle, Chiriatti dedicates himself to "spontaneous" exhibitions, that is, open-air performances featuring plants and animals as the primary spectators. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions, biennials, and artistic residencies in Italy and abroa.

The first Picture I drew in 2003 after declaring bankruptcy of my “Russian Bookseller Outlet” Store. The Panorama of memory of St. Petersburg was drawn from complete memory! I had been left unemployed for more than a year and took to art which shocked all my relatives and my household. From sheer memory and using simple paper and colored pencils without mistake or an eraser, I depicted a panorama of the Hermitage and parts of St. Petersburg depicting the whole history of my hectic life surrounding those places. Later I found in an album of a book a photograph that accurately conveys my memory. In the picture are six episodes; from how my mother and father brought me to the Hermitage for the first time, to how I brought all my wives and children there.

When a friend Igor Tyulpanov, looked through my entire website and albums of my art he told me “I was an unsurpassed master of writing with painter with colored pencils.” I was convinced of his words after looking upon what I had painted, the first picture in my life. I began to write a book about my life and continued to draw on the four sheets of plain writing paper with colored pencils the "Panorama of memory of St. Petersburg, the Palace and Vasilevskiy Island.”

My friends and family had thought I went crazy but really two events pushed me to create this work, rather two stories. During the 1937 election when my parents met, (where my father was the Chairman of the Electoral Commission from Minsk and my mother, an active member of the Komsomol, was a member of this election commission in the factory in Belarusia). Two weeks later, dad came to mom's parents and asked for her hand in marriage. They immediately though a wedding which my mother was not present, ( she was to ashamed to ask for three days off). The second inspiration for creating this "masterpiece" was a copy from the pictures by Grisha Bruskin "All People came on Elections”. By seeing this picture I began to formulate the plot and continue expanding on my art. When this "masterpiece" was completed, I found in the remains of the last few books from my crushed store the Album "History of the Construction of the Hermitage" to which my surprise so accurately portrayed my art drawn from memory.

At the retired age of 69 and a half, during my time visiting my daughter and grandchildren in New Hampshire I started drawing my next piece. While they slept upstairs, I began to draw again from memory and looking onto the view outside. At the age of 69.5, retired, took up a brush and a pencil, and created it in almost a year my next 25 pieces!

Eduard Klebanov was born on January 25, 1949 in the City of Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad. He was a graduate of the Leningrad Electrical Communications Engineering Institute named after professor M.A.Bonch-Bruevich. Klebanov’s only exposure to art at the time was taking the class ‘Basics of Art Design & Radio for Electronic Equipment’ with the focus on ‘The Basic Principal of Art Constructivism and the Principal of Art Design Radio-Electronic Apparatus (Graduate Department of the Institute of Technical Aesthetics). He graduated from the institute and as his final work wrote a paper on “Magnetic-Record Block of First Class” which was given an academic score of ‘Excellency’ He attended a lecture course on the Theory of Art History at the Herzen Pedagogical Institute at the Department of Art Graphics and Painting under the guidance of the prominent historian of the theory of Arts Michael U. German. On August 19th, 1992 Eduard moved to Boston and from October 1996- February 2001 he owned a Russian Bookstore and Art Gallery. From February 2010 to March 2018 he was the owner of a photo souvenir art kiosk at the Arsenal Mall in Watertown Massachusetts where he took pictures and edited them to be placed on souvenirs for the shoppers of the mall. He began drawing the view from his window, then the interior of his apartment; “Mishin Park” in acrylic, oil and watercolors. Viewing the world like a frog 365 degrees. The scenes from his head his thoughts and feelings of the world replicated in his art. Works like, “Boston College inverted perspective, Halloween in Brookline” a lot of people drawn strange projections of homes not quite where they belong. In February 2019, he went to NY, climbed to the 102nd floor of the Freedom Tower and the new saw the underground Museum. The idea to draw his autobiography through geography to depict his life in the USA through a NY lens. “Panorama of Remembrance 2”, will be forward # 26 - “Panorama of Remembrance 3, Boston and I” all art drawn 3 in a row! There was no such are depicted like this in the history of painting. The closest was Small Dutch, Flemish, Matisse and Van Gogh. Eduard says “I have a lot of things in small spaces with a lot of them in the interior”. From there, this Still Life Collection of the Interior was my muse. Since July 2018 there are 25 total paintings which has absorbed life at the age of 70.

Art can seduce us away from the here and the now, and bring us to contemplation of other lives and other realities. Inspired by faces and places, I like to provoke the viewer to wonder: What is he thinking? Why is she so wistful? How would it feel to be in that scene?

Robyn Friend is a first-generation Bulgarian-American painter whose work reflects a deep engagement with portraiture, atmosphere, and cross-cultural memory. She began her studies with noted American painter Leona Wood, and later continued her artistic development with painter and educator Zhenya Gershman, founder of Zhenya’s Art Academy.

Working primarily in oil, and also in pastel, Robyn creates intimate figurative paintings that combine technical sensitivity with psychological depth. Her work is informed by years of immersion in the poetry, music, and visual traditions of Iran and the surrounding regions, subjects she explored extensively while earning her Ph.D. in Iranian Languages and Cultures from UCLA.

Robyn’s portraits and narrative scenes are marked by quiet emotion, luminous color, and a strong sense of human presence. Her paintings often explore themes of identity, memory, and cultural continuity through carefully observed figures and evocative settings.

She has presented solo exhibitions in the Los Angeles area. Robyn Friend lives and works in Rolling Hills Estates, California.

Where are we going?

Aside from the obvious depiction of roads leading nowhere, broken road signs, explosions and fallen trees these paintings are questioning how we, as society, are dealing with our contemporary challenges. We are witnessing wars, civil unrest, polarization of society, growing cynicism, deterioration of moral values and ecological problems.

Roads lay in ruins, great cities civilizations proudly erected are deteriorating, people prefer escapism to engagement in active life, and nature rebels against human abuses. Do we acknowledge the problems? What are we doing about them? Or are we just ignoring the problems and waiting for chaos to swallow us?

The planet lost its way and spins by pure inertia. There is no clear goal or purpose. Where are we going?

My work is shaped by the tension between catastrophe and continuity—between the moments when the world seems to fracture and the deeper forces that endure beyond every crisis. I am drawn to the emotional space where fear, uncertainty, and resilience intersect.

We live in a time when upheaval feels constant. Wars, social division, ecological decline, and the erosion of shared values can make it seem as though we are losing our way. Yet even in the midst of this turbulence, there are elements of the world that remain steady. Nature, in its vastness and indifference, offers a kind of reassurance that human events cannot erase.

This duality forms the foundation of my practice.

One body of work focuses on moments of rupture—real or imagined—set within ordinary landscapes: a road, a stand of trees, the edge of the ocean. These scenes are familiar, yet something has gone terribly wrong. Trees fall, structures break, distant explosions stain the horizon. Through dynamic brushwork, collaged textures, and deliberately unbalanced compositions, I explore the immediacy of fear and the fragility of the everyday.

The companion series turns toward what survives. In four large-scale triptychs, I depict water, trees, mountains, and sky as elemental presences that have outlasted countless human crises. These works are slower, more deliberate, and more monumental. They reflect my belief that nature holds a kind of quiet eternity—one that persists long after our catastrophes fade.

By placing these two modes of painting in conversation, I seek to examine how we respond to instability and what we choose to hold onto. My work asks viewers to consider not only the disasters that shape our lives, but also the enduring forces that ground us, reassure us, and remind us of our place within a much larger continuum.

Elena Kalman is a painter, a creator of public art, and an architect, whose work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries throughout the United States, including:

The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis, MN

New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT

National Aquarium, Baltimore MD

Van Cortland Manor, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Boston, MA

Bijou Box, Bridgeport, CT

Kalman’s work is included in the following permanent collections:

William Benton Museum of Art UConn, Storrs, CT

Iona College, New Rochelle, NY

Jewish Center of Ridgefield, CT

Carnegie Management, New York, NY

Chabad Center of Somerset County, NJ

Kalman received her Master of Architecture degree from the Moscow Architecture Institute and Fine Art degree from Kiev Art Institute. She immigrated to the United States in 1979. She is a principal of a Connecticut-based, design-oriented architectural firm, which she founded in 1988. Her commissioned sculptures and paintings became integral parts of several buildings she designed located in New your City and Connecticut.

Her series of 30 paintings “Timeline” illustrating Jewish history through the ages, ceramic relief “Jerusalem” and outdoor sculptures: “Flame” and “Holocaust and Rebirth” are commissioned by The Chabad Center of Somerset County, NJ. These are integrated into a religious building designed by Elena Kalman, AIA

I SCULPT TO PROVOKE AND INSPIRE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THINGS LEFT UNSAID.

MY ART IS NOT ABOUT ONE PERSON.IT'S ABOUT THE WHOLE WORLD.

A WORLD THAT IS BEAUTIFUL AND UGLY,

RUTHLESS AND HUMANE.

MY ART IS ABOUT TRUTH.

BORN IN RUSSIA TO RENOWED PAINTER LEONID KOGAN,HAVE BEEN AN ARTIST SINCE CHILDHOOD.

NY BACKGROUND IN MUSIC, CLASSICAL INFLUENCE AND MULTICULTURAL EXPOSURE HAS LED TO DEVELOP UNIQUE PHILOSOPHY AND TEHNIQUE BEHIND MY ARTWORK.

MY WORKS ARE A DEEP REFLECTION OF IMPASSIONED VISIONS AND COMMENTARY ON SOCIETAL CONVENTIONS.

As an E-painter, I am incorporating my previous painting skills as an oil painter with my technical knowledge acquired from Digital Photography. I create my E-Paintings organically from my mind, using my stylus as my brush and my touch screen laptop as if it were my Canvas. Having a hands on approach every step of the creative process is essential to myself as an artist.

Nature has always captivated me with its natural beauty and the solace it offers. As an artist and photographer, it is my duty to both capture and create beauty. My artworks prompt us to value nature, our environment, and to conserve, cherish and utilize our natural resources as nature naturally intended.''-Artist, Photographer Nicole Martinelli

“If my art can inspire, raise awareness, provoke thought, and evoke emotions offering solace, peace ,and happiness to others as I have found through my own artistic practices, then I have fulfilled my artistic goal.’’– Artist Nicole Martinelli

“During these ever changing times among mankind one thing that never changes is the solitude and beauty of nature that surrounds us I have always been captivated by the beauty nature naturally offers us all Nature never falters and is always there for you! During the storms we are presented with through out our lives,"There is always an ocean or a stream to catch your tears and a sunset to brighten our lives."- Artist, Nicole Martinelli

Nicole Martinelli is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist and photographer whose innovative e-paintings and photography have been exhibited across the United States and Europe. Her work has appeared in notable galleries and institutions including Rossocinabro Gallery (Rome and Barcelona), Primo Piano Gallery (Lecce), the San Diego Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Waterfront Coalition Gallery, Core Art Space in Denver, and the Marblehead Arts Association in Massachusetts.

Her international exhibitions include a five-month juried show in Gstaad, Switzerland (June–October 2024), followed by major Italian exhibitions such as Primo Piano Gallery, Weaving Dreams, Living Time (Lecce, March 2025) and the Lecce Arredo Art Expo (May 2025). The Artists current and upcoming highlights include the Primo Piano Gallery Le Temple des Rêves, Barcelona Contemporary at Rossocinabro Gallery, Madrid Art Week (Spring 2026), and a solo exhibition at Artifact Gallery, Manhattan (August 2026).

Martinelli’s work has been recognized by distinguished jurors including Sandy Gellis, Crista Dix (Griffin Museum of Photography), Nancy Lim (SFMOMA), Armando Garcia, and musician Billy Corgan.

Nicole Martinelli’s pioneered artistic medium, hand-painted E-Paintings, exemplify the innovative potential of digital media in contemporary art. Drawing on her background as an oil painter, she merges traditional painting techniques with digital tools to Utilizing a stylus as a brush and a touchscreen laptop as her canvas, she engages with each composition organically, layering color, texture, and form in a process that mirrors the intuitive gestures of traditional painting. Exploring themes of resilience, renewal, and transformation, Martinelli creates emotionally resonant works that connect humanity, memory, and nature. ​

At its core, Nicole Martinelli’s art reflects the beauty of renewal and the balance between fragility and strength, memory and rebirth. Through recurring floral and natural motifs, she explores transformation and healing, revealing the quiet resilience that connects nature and the human spirit. Each piece invites viewers to pause, reflect, and find gratitude in life’s continual evolutionl a visual reminder that even in darkness, beauty endures. Her work consistently challenges audiences to consider the nuanced relationships between human perception, human experiences, memory, nature, and the environment. Inviting a dialogue that is simultaneously both personal, and universal. The Artist is also truly honored to be graciously sharing her artstic accomplishments and her personal life story on the new empowering inspirational television series Women in Power,in 2026. “Nicole Martinelli hopes to inspire others to realize that it’s never too late to pursue their dreams. She believes we each hold the pen and the brush to our own life’s story and always have the power to create a brighter, happier chapterand future!

In my artistic practice, I explore the delicate boundary between reason and emotion, translating complex philosophical concepts into visual forms.

i'm a dentist from Russia with the passion for art.

Artist Statement

I was always fascinated by the ability of art to capture an emotion, a thought or a feeling in ways more powerful than can be expressed by words. Art to me is a doorway to the subconscious and hence to exploration of the deeper human experiences. My fascination with human psyche, the human condition, duality of sexes, flaws of the human nature as well as various interactions between humans has been an endless source for artistic inspiration and creative ideas. My subject matter has been depicting a state of mind, the folly and farce, the anguish and despair, the falling and the struggle, the reactive behaviors of mankind .

Throughout the years I tried to develop an ability to translate my thoughts and feelings into artistic forms which could be understood by others. Actually it has developed into a different language for me in which I can communicate with others on a much deeper level of understanding.

Being mostly self-taught I learned unconventional ways of using various materials and along the way acquired the necessary skills for their use and application. Despite developing a myriad of approaches and techniques, the subject matter has always remained the guiding focus in my work. Therefore a statement the work makes and its hidden meaning are paramount to its creation and execution.

Even though I command a number of styles I prefer not to sway with the currents in the Art world but rather to concentrate on advancing my own creative process in pursuit of new and better ways to achieve my set objectives.

I strive to create artwork that will capt

Biography of Emil Silberman

Was born on 7/11/1960 in Riga, Latvia. Parents were jewish human rights activists against the Soviet regime and childhood was marked by constant harassment by the KGB and the authorities.

Started to do art at age 3 when received a box of plasteline as a birthday present. At age 8 started to take art classes .

In 1971 the family immigrated to Israel. Lived through “Yom Kipur” war of 1973 . Was accepted to the Art Academy in Tel Aviv but prents didn’t approve to study art. Parents demanded that Emil will pursue a career of a doctor since his mother was not allowed to become a doctor in USSR during Stalins’s famous “Trial of the Jewish Doctors” and the following dismissal, imprisonment and killings of prominent Jewish physicians and others.

Continued to study Art on his own through different venues and after school programs in Haifa, Israel.

Immigrated again in 1977 to the USA and lived in Brooklyn and then Queens. Attended Yeshiva University and later Queens College and studied sciences and Biology in preparation for Medical School. Continued to study Art in parallel to other studies.

Married at age 21 in 1982 while still in college.

Entered a UTESA Medical School in the Dominican Republic in 1982 and graduated in 1986.

Completed residency in Internal Medicine from 1986 through 1989.

Worked as an Emergency Room physician in Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Trauma Center , Jamaica, NY since 1990. Was an Assistant Director of Emergency Department at Jamaica Hospital between 1998 and 2014, currently continuing to work

The joy of painting and the pursuit of creative vision are at the core of my artistic practice.

Since early childhood, making art has been inseparable from a sense of wonder—an experience of connecting to something greater than myself. I have long been drawn to the mysterious ways in which art comes into being, as if it possesses a life of its own, capable of guiding both the creator and the viewer. In this process, art has the power to engage, mesmerize, and even transform.

Like Wassily Kandinsky, I believe that art can generate a spiritual and healing atmosphere. Whether consciously or intuitively, the artist may access a higher source, allowing the work to emerge as an expression of inner necessity. Kandinsky described art as a manifestation of the soul, suggesting that “everything which adequately expresses the inner need is beautiful.” This idea continues to resonate deeply within my own practice.

My background as an art historian has further shaped this perspective. Across cultures and historical periods, art has often been linked to ritual, transformation, and shifts in perception—experiences that move beyond the material and temporal toward the infinite and eternal. Ancient philosophical traditions recognized art as a means of transcending ordinary reality, a concept that continues to inform my work.

As an artist, I see the act of creation as sharing affinities with mysticism and the idea of “traveling between worlds.” In this sense, art becomes not only a form of expression but also a process of discovery and connection. It serves as a vital and generative force—one that supports both spiritual exploration and personal well-being.

Tatiana Sizonenko, PhD, is an art historian and a beginner painter. Originally born in Ukraine, educated in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in San Diego, CA, Tatiana currently resides in San Diego. Tatiana teaches history of art at CSUSM, Design Institute of San Diego, and UCSD.