Exhibition: ART214 BIENNIAL JURIED EXHIBITION – March 23-April 27, 2024
Katherine Baronet
Pink Peach
My artwork is an exploration of both spirituality and space. From outer space, out in the cosmos, to inner space that’s within each of us that is divinity and blissful in nature. A theme of oneness you might say, or it could be our soul journey.
Making works of art emerges from a space beyond the mind – where the master creator takes over. Making art is a spiritual experience that flows though me from the divine.
There are two themes in this body of work. Each connected by space, one in outer space and the other in human form floating in space.
Website: https://www.katherinebaronet.com
Instagram: https://www.katherinebaronetartistdallas
Lynne Buchanan
Mysterious Sonnet
My passion in creating abstract art is to explore and manipulate layers of colors and use mark making to create a visual narrative. Exploring unlimited possibilities of mixed –media, Buchanan works in layers of collage papers, old photographs, paint and mark-making tools.
“Discovery is a major part of my process. I work intuitively to discover color interactions and variety in lines. Our lives are a series of layers that can be scraped away and rebuilt. Working with a format inspired by Nature’s shapes and lines, I try to reveal what can be discovered in the lines and layers of color and leave the narrative open for the viewer to finish.
E-mail: lj8abstract@gmail.com
Phone: (817) 909-5366
Facebook: https://www.facebook.comLynne Buchanan
Instagram: https://www.instsgram.com/lbuchananart
Monica Cowsert
Apples, Trees and Chickadees
My subject matter is nature, whether it is a traditional landscape or a bird and flower painting. Like life however, it is layered, at times completely unorganized, and changes during the process many times. For me personally the painting process has been healing and joyful. Through my artwork, I try to bring the outside in, and while I make no attempt to portray my subjects in an exact likeness, I do try to aesthetically honor the nature that has inspired me in the first place.
Website: www.mcowsertart.com
E-mail: monica@mcowsertart.com
Phone: (214) 385-7768
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcowsertart
Ron Crouch
Seated Woman and Man
Over the years I’ve used narrative elements to explore issues like the nature of relationships, community, and our personal environments – especially that psychological space we all construct for ourselves.
At one level I see my work as loose pages out of a book where the viewer finishes the story. I try not to have a set way I want the story to be completed — in fact if it has only one ending it hardly seems worth looking at a second time.
While concerned with narrative, at its heart my work has always been about the joy of playing with the language of art — focusing on how the tale is told, not what the tale is about. Art is ultimately about language: how we communicate, not just what we communicate. In the heat of the creative moment, it’s easy to lose track of that.
At its core, art is a spiritual journey. This journey is one of discovering what is most important to us. And so I find myself exploring the everyday and mundane parts of my life, painting the people I know and love, and the spaces we all share.
Website: https://www.rontaylorcrouch.com
Phone: (817) 793-7660
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rontaylorcrouch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rontaylorcrouch/
Alec DeJesus
Beat Down
Born in Chicago and raised in Peoria, IL, artist Alec DeJesus turned to art as a means of escaping a rough upbringing, and focuses on enveloping a very real message of “strength and pride through perseverance” in his vibrant paintings and murals.
Alec moved to Dallas, Texas in 2018 to pursue a full-time career as a muralist and fine art painter.
Within the first week of moving, his work began showing in various local galleries, exhibits and events in the Dallas metroplex. Once shutdowns began in 2020, the focus shifted from gallery exhibits into murals. There he found a voice in sharing experiences and human connection through vibrant colors and symbolic animals and figures.
Mainly self taught, Alec uses brush and spray paint intuitively to create expressive and surreal artworks with a focus on energetic marks and emotion. All works are free handed to allow the mind and body to directly translate to his surfaces.
Studio paintings have been shown locally and nationally with many now belonging in both public and private collections. His murals have been commissioned by large companies like Starbucks, Nike, Service King, Trust For Public Land and international design firms like DIRTT Environmental Solutions; as well as local organizations and universities nationally.
Currently Alec is working as an independent artist out of Dallas, Texas.
Website: www.alecdejesus.com
E-mail: adejesus708@gmail.com
Phone: (309) 922-6403
Instagram: @youcancallmealec
Karen Jacobi
Chapter 24
Chapter 24, History in the Making
2024 promises to be a year of unfolding election intrigue. What’s in store for our Republic, our Democracy? Does history provide any guidance or clues? Like the simple objects in this still life, we go about our lives, some of us struggling to be heard and some moving through life like game pieces on a board.
Website: https://www.karenjacobi.com/
E-mail: karenjarte@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenjarte/
Candace Kasper
Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob’s ladder, seen within the muted colors of a dream, is depicted as a DNA double helix reflecting his patriarchal position as the founder of the 12 tribes of Israel. The helix is surrounded by 12 triangular flags each in a color attributed to one of the tribes. Jacob saw angels (here represented by points of light) ascending and descending the ladder. Jacob was a shepherd, hence the appearance of a goat. The small jars are valueless objects Jacob kept to remind him that everything God gives is a blessing, no matter how ordinary. The hamsa signifies the protective hand of God Who guided his life.
I used a combination of raw edge appliqué and various paper pieced patterns to construct the quilt.
Leah Lawless-Smith
Dream Poppy
My subject matter is color and patterns. I dive deep into the values of color exploring techniques and variations of layering liquid acrylic paints. I explore translucent and solid forms of paint. I examine patterns in nature, in textiles, and in our commercial world to fuel visual beauty. My paintings are generally cropped views of imagery that focus on the details rarely viewed but at a glance. The viewer is forced to see my viewpoint rather than the whole and miss the splendor of detail. My work is series based objects from automobiles, portraits, architectural details, and flowers.
My work is influenced by artists of the past that have excited my thoughts and emotions of line, color, and pattern. I use these influences to research my own interest in objects to paint with my ever persistent subjects of color and pattern.
The new series is influenced by Georgia O’Keefe and my love of flowers. I am an avid gardener and traveler taking photographs of plants and flowers wherever I may go. The series is taking a look at flowers from the roadside to the sheek prized varieties. Nature is an all inclusive subject. Nature is a part of us and in our cellular construction. We find solace in the wind, plants, water, and the earth. If we are off center, we only need to connect with nature to get back to center. Go outside, breathe fresh air, look at the wildlife, and enjoy ourselves in the sun. In my work, I remind the viewer of our connection and love of nature, color and pattern.
Website: https://leahlawlesssmith.com
E-mail: lawlesssmith2@aol.com
Phone: (214) 532-5785
Facebook: Leah Lawless-Smith
Instagram: Lawlesssmith2
Mikayla Magee
Your perception of me
Mikayla Magee is a painter and visual designer based in Dallas, Texas. She started creating at a young age and has continued to hone her skills over time. After graduating from Texas State University with a BFA in Communication Design, she has been a consistently practicing painter. The work she creates is focused on individuality and growth. The portraits capture the essence of people in her community, inspired by her own experiences and often feature elements of nature.
Website: https://mikaylamagee.com
E-mail: mikayladmagee@gmail.com
Instagram: HTTPS://www.instagram.com/mikaylapaints
Goran Maric
Dva Sokola, dva oka crna… (Two Falcons, two dark eyes …)
I am a multidisciplinary printmaker, artist, and a visual storyteller. The multifaceted statements I make through my work reveal the hope of the individuals engulfed in wartime destitution and lives afterward.
When people asks me, ‘Where are you from, Goran?’ I tell them, ‘I don’t know!’
The country where I was born, the identity I ingrained myself with is gone, erased.
I tell them, ‘I am from nowhere; therefore, I am not. As if I don’t exist anymore, for the land I am from is no longer…’
I approach the question of the identity in terms of cultural markers closely interwoven with my experience as an immigrant artist born in a country long gone, a former Yugoslavia, or as a child that should had been happy when with Santa Claus or associated with a red star of a failed socialist experiment called Yugoslavia.
Yesterday in Socialist Yugoslavia, today in Texas where the child’s dream of being a cowboy is rather an inner retrospective about artist’s assimilation, successful or not, into American dream.
Kauboj (Cowboy), a triptych about the personal experience of a refugee arriving to the USA from the war-torn former Socialist Yugoslavia trying to grapple with the lost country and the lost identity, contemplating the past, embracing the present, realizing that once idealized identity as a Yugoslavian from a former socialist country might not be as just and noble as previously thought. But then whose past had been noble and just, dreams for some, nightmare for the others.
Dva Sokola, dva oka crna… addresses an ongoing struggle against Child Labor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This work is a collaboration between my daughter and myself on this very important subject for which I was commissioned by the Children’s Embassy “Međaši”, one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023. This organization is involved in the case dealing with violence against children in Srebrenik where the poor kids have been exposed to harassment by the wealthy owners of businesses where children had been employed. A child labor at its worst…
In cultures from the Balkans, if we want to address the might of the youngsters, we address them with, ‘Sokole mladi,’ (youthful Falcon). These birds represent the strength of youth in their fight against child labor breaking free from these contemporary forms of abuses.
Website: http://www.gmaric.com/
E-mail: goranmaric58@hotmail.com
Phone: (972) 375-3217
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goranmaric1970
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goranmaric1970/
Roberta Masciarelli
The Black Book of AI Survival
“The Black Book of AI Survival” is an artwork that takes a retro approach to exploring the challenges of technology in today’s world, playfully inviting the imagination to ponder the complexities of our relationship with artificial intelligence.
Website: http://www.robbiemas.com
E-mail: rmasarts@gmail.com
Phone: (214) 830-9817
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobertaMasciarelliArt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertamasciarelliart/
John Reed
Jar 13
My work explores the use of clay, form, texture, pattern, color, and surface, as well as firing and glazing techniques that bring their own music to the creative dance.
Encouraged to “find my own voice,” I have discovered that my “voice” is one of exploration, the “what if” where change is the only constant and mistakes are the forerunners of divergence and success. It is my desire to provide others with a touch of the same pleasure as I get from creating simple but elegant pieces of art.
I have been working in clay since 2007, taking ceramics courses at Brookhaven College in Dallas, working out of my home studio, and attending workshops with several noted ceramics artists. I have exhibited both in galleries and a number of juried shows over this period.
E-mail: reed-john@att.net
Phone: (225) 266-0747
Phil Samson
Anomalous 8
My artwork dialogues with three topics: climate change’s economic and societal impacts, plant genetic engineering advances, and visual art’s influence on scientific creativity and innovation. These intersect in my focus on the mystery and promise of plant genetic research and the creative innovation needed to advance this research. I manipulate, massage, and mix contemporary mediums and traditional sculpture, fiber and painting mediums. The resulting sculptures often have translucent elements that interact vividly with visible and UV light spectrums. My continuing creative interactions with the plant genetic engineering researchers at the UNT Bio Discovery Institute provide robust inspiration for my work.
Website: https://www.philsamsonstudio.com
E-mail: philfsamson@gmail.com
Phone: (214) 906-6535
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philsamsonart/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phil.samsonart/
Anna Schölch
I Never Danced With a Shark Before
Since moving to the United States from Germany when I was 14, I have been interested in long-distance friendships, social media connections, and the alienation and strangeness of a new home.
With my almost life-size pastel pieces, I explore human connection and interaction through magic realist narratives. The distorted familiar environments, odd arrangements, and lack of interactions are my observations and playful interpretations of young adults’ online existences where they are alone together.
Using pictures from my camera roll, I cut apart memories of people, animals, and objects and reassemble them into implausible (but not impossible) scenarios to capture the essence of people and hide their secrets.
Website: https://www.annascholch.com
E-mail: anna.scholch@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna_scholch/
Mandla Senzanje
What If We Can Fly?
Mandla Senzanje is a self-taught artist born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe, whose work brings forth a unique narrative on African life. Born amidst the rich cultural tapestry of Zimbabwe, and having traversed borders and experienced life in Namibia and Tanzania, Mandla’s artistic journey is a testament to his diverse encounters across the African continent. His works serve as a poignant exploration of everyday African lives, particularly emphasizing the nuances of Southern African existence. Mandla’s artistic lens delves beyond the surface, celebrating the moments of togetherness, joy, and resilience within the African community. His work is a powerful advocacy for the richness of African culture, shedding light on everyday rituals and traditions.
Website: https://www.mandlasenzanje.com/
E-mail: mandlasenzanje@gmail.com
Phone: (507) 351-6413
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandlasenzanje/
Claire Terrell
“Lakewood”
The arts, piano, travel and family have been my passions for many years. As a hobby painter and mosaicist I’m thrilled to be exhibiting in this years Art214 exhibition. I studied art growing up in South Florida and come from a family of artists, but made my career in sales and marketing. I’ve enjoyed living in East Dallas for the last 12 years. Am available for mosaic commissions.
E-mail: claire75214@gmail.com
