ARTIST BIOS / STATEMENTS
ADREON HENRY
Adreon Henry has always been curious about how things are constructed and has always had a drive to create. From a very early age he developed a very specific style through repeatedly drawing imaginary friends; these friends still exist today (i.e.“The Pendletons”).
As a youth, his dedication to art intensified and he sold candy and various oddities to his peers in order to purchase his first screen-printing machine. He quickly utilized this media to make t- shirts of his favorite bands and prints from his drawings. He saved every dime and while still in high school he opened a skateboard shop and started his own line of skateboards featuring his designs.
As a young adult, Adreon formed a band “Single Frame” and in 2000 the band decided to move to Austin, TX to pursue musical endeavors; this is when Adreon decided to commit to his artistic practice. In the intervening years, Adreon explored his creativity and found success in both music and art. Today he continues his creative endeavors, often working with the themes of time, community, and perspective. Adreon’s use of a variety of screen printing and painting techniques on non-traditional mediums has allowed him to create a signature visual style, while his many years as a musician gives him a strong foundation to create magnificent sound-scapes and interactive installations.
Adreon lives and creates in Austin Texas.
BRYN WILLIAMS
Bryn Williams is an interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, CA. She creates portraiture and hanging structures “tapestries” formed from hand-painted acrylic and wire.
While Williams utilizes a vast array of materials and techniques in support of her practice, she has one true aim: to make art that creates space for an expanded understanding of self to emerge. Through her art, Williams seeks to understand her connection to humanity, nature, and the cosmos, and she aspires to document the fundamental, boundless, and interchangeable substance of all things.
Williams attended Mills and Mount Holyoke College and earned a B.A. in American Studies.
CALEY O'DWYER
The excitement and wonder of art making drive my work as much now as they did when I was a child. I simply love to make things. I am a visual artist and writer (primarily poetry), a therapist in private practice, and (for the past 25 years) a teacher in Southern California universities. In these endeavors, in my daily life, and in the pools of memory that delight and haunt experience, I find the inspiration for the works you’ll see in my gallery.
My artwork comes from many different interests but I am particularly drawn to people, urban life, and the areas inside us where the heart and the mind merge. I’m drawn to human tenderness and goodwill. I love color, lines, shape, and intersections between digital and handmade art. My paintings often start from photographs or digital work that is rendered in oil or acrylic or both and pieces started on canvas are frequently figured digitally and reworked, in a process of back and forth between the digital and the real.
My visual artwork has been on display at Beyond the Lines Gallery (at Bergamot Station), Art Share L.A., Groundwork Coffee, Laemmle’s movie theaters and numerous other locations. I’ve had poetry in the Mark Rothko Retrospective at the Tate Modern Museum in London
CHRIS RONK
Thoughtful, almost delicate, juxtapositions of color and shape dominate the surfaces of Christopher Ronk’s work with an energy that reverberates as it soothes. An immediate connection between the artist and the viewer is made through deliberate applications of pigment and form onto richly textured surfaces. His aim is to create a sense of precision and order in a chaotic world.
Ronk’s work is not so much inspired by his difficult upbringing in the impoverished neighborhoods of Long Beach, California, as it is a reaction to those often brutal environments. He never quite fit into the coarse reality of his youth, but ironically, Ronk continues to find himself somewhat detached from the more affluent world outside of it. Having made peace with the demons of his past, he now creates art that reveals a sense of inner peace and serene beauty.
Emotions run deep, yet still, in Ronk’s work. As an artist, he longs for a sense of symmetry, sequence and harmony, but these things do not always come easily. Although he strives for meticulous order, his work ultimately remains flawed. It is in this tension, between his desire for perfection and the ultimately flawed reality of the finished piece, where the true beauty of his work lies.
His subtly textured minimalist colorscapes and bold type influenced paintings echo and oppose the multiplicity of visual stimuli encountered in city life overwhelmed by noise, poverty, excess and an over dependence on technology. Influenced heavily by nature, the human form, architecture, advertising, and typography— Ronk creates visual experiences that viewers are subconsciously familiar with and inexplicably drawn to. Intentional, yet often contradictory, use of symmetry and imbalance, repetition and uncluttered space, rich palettes and monochromatic schemas, all exist within his work. Serenity amongst the chaos, Ronk’s art invites a deeply meditative pause that never ceases to captivate.
Written by Terry Lee Stone - Artcenter College of Design-Pasadena
CHRISTOPHER PETER
Born in 1987, Christopher Peter grew up in Phoenix and spent his childhood endlessly doodling in his sketchbooks. As a teenager, his dedication to his craft earned him scholarships to pursue two degrees in drawing and painting from Arizona State University, where he developed a love for figurative painting from abstraction. His passion for visual art has landed his work in major exhibitions all around the world, and he is proud to have his paintings included among several esteemed national and international collections.
Christopher’s work is often described as a celebration of brilliant color, movement, and light. His unique canvases are filled with complex layers of paint which are punctuated by mixed media elements like handmade papers, silkscreens, and collage. Fans of his work describe it as a positive and enlightening experience of something beautiful and honest, and most importantly, of something new.
FLOR QUINTO
JENNIFER STRASENBURGH
Jennifer Strasenburgh attended the Savannah College of Art and Design from 1990 to 1992; and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.F.A. in 1997.
Strasenburgh creates her artwork from her own designs and sketches. All of her works are created on paper and panel within the flexible environment of her home studio. Some of the materials are applied with brushes in a painterly fashion, while others are applied by hand and smoothed onto the surface with her fingers. She enjoys a very intimate creative process in which she’s able to handle the materials and manipulate them in an immediate way. Strasenburgh’s intimacy with her medium is what allows her to create artwork that most accurately represents her intentions as an artist and to portray strength, beauty and balance.
Strasenburgh’s work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including the Lancaster Museum of Art in Lancaster, PA; Show of Hands in Philadelphia, PA; Arvada Center for the Arts in Arvada, CO; Groundworks Art Gallery in Denver, CO; and the Parade of Homes, Talon’s Reach in Aurora, CO. Her works also appear in several permanent corporate collections. In addition, her works have appeared in the book Going Over East, by Linda Hasselstrom (Fulcrum Publishing).
JILL MARTIN
Jill Martin is an American fine artist who'e known for her floral and abstract work. She uses a unique color layering and texture that gives all her work a signature finish.
Born in Massachusetts, Jill took inspiration from a life on both American coasts, with a 13 year stay in the farmlands of British Columbia. Her mother's appreciation and enthusiasm for art and culture exposed Jill to wonderful artwork at an early age. Many visits to the galleries and museums of Washington D.C. and New York CIty helped inspire her to pursue fine art study.
Jill earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona, Tucson. She later took a post bachelor's education at the Art K-12 Universuty of Arizona, graduating with a Masters of Fine Art degree in painting and drawing. She taught art in different schools in Arizona before she started creating her own artwork as an independent artist. One of those works won a Painting Residency at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. She also took First Place in the juried show at Back Street Galleries in Los Angeles the same year.
Since then, the popularity of Jill's work has skyrocketed. She currently lives in Charlotte, NC and works out of the Hart Witzen gallery, at their artist work space colony.
JILL SYKES
We as artists create objects that nourish and enrich existence, and as such what we do, consciously or not, has profound effect. The images I create are about life and the sheltering aspects of Nature – I focus on botanical forms and the abstracted spaces I find between individual branches and leaves. These paintings are sophisticated in terms of color and form, and yet remain incredibly soothing and serene to look at.
Jill Sykes is a painter living in Los Angeles. Her work is included in many private and corporate collections including Omgivning Architecture Interiors, Kelly Wearstler, Kovac Design Studios, Saks Fifth Avenue as well as many others. Her paintings have been featured in exhibitions throughout Southern California and across the country including Tobey C. Moss Gallery in Los Angeles, Museum of Art + History (MOAH) in Lancaster, CA, the Santa Paula Art Museum in Santa Paula, CA, El Camino College Art Gallery in Torrance, CA and The Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, CA.
JOSHUA ELIAS
Joshua Elias (b. 1957 Chicago Illinois) Abstract artist Joshua Elias a maker of heroic, colorful, narrative works. His focus on creating form, through color and utilizing polarities of color help distinguish his art. The artist accentuates harmonic forms housed by disappearing lines, providing an armature serving as the composition.
Thematically, his interests lay in the interstitial, the tone of the atmosphere, and the mythology of story.
Joshua grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, in an artistic family. Spearheaded by his mother, artist Sheila Elias, he was weaned on Museum outings at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.
He earned a BFA at San Diego State University majoring in film and theater. For a short period afterwards he lived in West Berlin in 1980, surrounded by the Berlin Wall. He was employed by the US Military, the DYA (Dependent Youth Association) teaching art and writing short theater pieces for children in the military.
Returning to Los Angeles he was briefly involved with Performance Art and finding his way with a series of black ink drawings and watercolor psycho portraits. He created unstructured sunglasses made from film stock and called them FilmWear. Appropriation of materials eventually led to dramatic oil paintings of immaterial worlds. He then continue to study, landing at Otis Parsons School in Los Angeles focusing on oil painting, as well as learning Master techniques with Sylvana Barrett, a materials consultant at the Getty Museum.
Select Highlights:
Commission artwork in the early 2000s, to create 48 paintings by designer Kelly Wearstler. Made for a new boutique hotel in Beverly Hills, Maison 140, and later a double-sided painting for the Viceroy in Santa Monica. He collaborated on several projects with this designer.
Many solo and group exhibitions throughout Los Angeles and in Europe. have followed and continue.
“Rock Light”, a hard-bound publication Rock Light from Lumen Press, a combined of the artists own poetry along with visual printed artworks all written and created by the artist. This book was released in 2016.
Iceland President Gudni Th. Johannesson purchases one of the works, The Skin of the Sea which is now hangs in the State House outside of Reykjavik
Joshua Elias has received many honors- an Artist Residency at Fundacion Valaparaiso Artists Residency in Andalucia Spain 3.1 Arts Artists Residency in Saissac France (2022) Inclusions at the art collection at the RAND Corporation lobby of the Pardee Rand Graduate School,
Artworks featured and exhibited at TED.com Kohler Home for the Future in Long Beach California Toyko Metropolitan Museum Exhibition at Chiba in Tokyo Japaan A group exhibition at the Biblioteca Angelica S’Agostino Rome Italy (2022)
Art Center in Highland Park-Chicago. Exhibition with his mother, Sheila Elias, and his sister Joyce Elias, acclaimed artists in their own right. Lori Austin Galleries New Works Joshua Elias Healdsburg California (2024) LewAllen Galleries True Colors exhibition Santa Fe New Mexico (2024) Joshua Elias works daily at his art studio at the Brewery Arts Complex in Los Angeles.
Kay Nari
"I thrive in a creative environment, and I am grateful for this gift, which I express through the joy I feel when painting"
Kay Nari is an experienced and versatile artist who created paintings that emanate the essence of beauty. Born in Seoul, Korea, Kay's childhood was filled with opportunities for creative expression. Her mother was an artist and seamstress, and her mother's love for art became an inspiring and positive influence for her. While attending school in Korea, Kay received art instruction on subjects such as still life, traditional landscapes, and figurative drawings. This knowledge has become the foundation for the versatility of the subject matter that she masterfully creates. Kay and her family moved to Los Angeles, CA when she was 11 years old. Impressions from her childhood and her schooling in Korea led her to follow her passion and pursue a career in art. She attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, specializing in fine arts and illustration. She received her bachelor's degree in 2000, graduating with honors.
After graduation, Kay worked in Los Angeles as an editorial illustrator for numerous magazines, publishing companies, and record companies. One notable achievement was receiving recognition for the artwork she created for Warner Brothers Records which was featured in the Art Directors Annual publication. During this time, Kay created paintings that were exhibited at art galleries in Los Angeles. In 2012, she moved to the Phoenix area where she continued to work in the art field. During this time, she had many opportunities to collaborate with other artists, art directors, and interior designers.
The knowledge gained from those experiences provided her with the confidence to open her own art studio space in Old Town Scottsdale in 2021. She is an artist who has developed and mastered her own unique style of painting. Kay creates imaginative and emotive paintings that convey her sense of harmony and beauty. She creates her own originals and is equally adept at creating commission art for clients. She remains dedicated to continuous study and believes in learning from the Masters, crediting the influence of Singer Sargent and Monet's artwork..
LEILA
Inspiration
When in the studio, Leila finds herself inspired by the unbridled freedom and rawness of artists like Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and Gerhard Richter. Their works have sparked her passion for experimenting, trying new techniques, and constantly striving to do things a better way. In contrast, the works of Alexander Calder and Paul Klee draw her in with their seemingly effortless balance and harmony. Leila thoroughly enjoys the process and the challenge of creating new art. She desires to find her own ways of embodying balance and freedom during her creative process and embracing experimentation is key.
History
Leila is a fourth generation Arizonan, growing up in the small town of Waddell in the far West Phoenix Valley. Spending her childhood surrounded by farms, animals, and the desert Leila formed a strong connection with nature. Her love for Arizona and all of its diverse natural beauty runs deep.
Shortly after graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Fine Art from ASU, Leila was married to her high school sweetheart. That same year, 2006, Leila began working as Production Artist and Designer at Phoenix Art Group. The next 12 years she spent learning and growing as an artist in this setting. Working alongside many talented, loving, and driven people helped Leila become the person she is today.
Currently, Leila lives near where she grew up and has her own art studio just a few miles away. Sharing her life with her husband, two children and two rescue dogs, Leila’s home life is a source of great gratitude.
LENNY GERARD
LIBERTY WORTH
MICHAEL LAWRENCE
Michael grew up in Colorado and developed a love for the visual arts after visiting the Denver Art Museum on a school field trip. Encouraged by his parents and teachers, Michael followed his dream through high school and decided to pursue a degree from the University of Colorado. After graduation Michael began painting professionally. He has since exhibited work in many important exhibition spaces worldwide, and he continues to explore the breadth of contemporary art practice through abstract painting.
NATASHA JORDAN
natasha jordan was born and raised in the south and feels she happened upon art. after being surrounded by artists for years, she utilized her extensive knowledge of art, color and design and opened up to having a life that included art thus pursuing life as an artist. first she began experimenting with colors, textures and different mediums. she feels the creation process for her is similar to one of a child; constantly using different materials keeps her always open to new ideas. when she is in her studio, nothing else matters except what is in front of her and what surprise she feels will be created. everything feels like a happy accident and nothing keeps her from always challenging herself. for natasha creativity comes from the materials she uses, whether it be acrylic paints, dyes, inks and using them on either canvas, wood, metal or glass.
natasha jordan currently resides in north los angeles, ca.
NATHAN SAXTON
Nathan has immersed myself in the Arizona art scene ever since working in galleries and fine art logistics firm starting in 1996. In 2008 he opened Borealis Arts in Tucson, with his partner in life, art, and business, Brandi Saxton. After serving the Tucson artist and art collector community in that capacity, he joined the University of Arizona Museum of Art as the lead exhibition designer and installer. Although currently working in a hospital setting as an engineering director, art remains a constant thread through my contributions to Tucson Medical Center’s Healing Arts program.
The desert is his home, where I grew up and currently resides in Tucson. But he ignored its unique beauty for years. The crisp light, towering cloud formations, and unusual plant life were just background noise, even though he was surrounded by others making art about this exceptional part of the world. Nathan is making up for lost time by painting every vista, rock formation, and photon of desert light that he possibly can. Often, feeling like he is seeing these things for the very first time, after decades of them being right in front of him.
NK
Nicola was born and raised in Atlanta; it’s a time and place that still inspires her gritty aesthetic today. She embraced art as a lifestyle when she moved to Los Angeles and surrounded herself with artists, working with them in various capacities before trying her hand at the creative process herself. Nicola draws upon her extensive background in design and color but also makes an effort to keep herself open to new ideas, experimenting with materials and techniques. In the studio, nothing matters but the creation unfolding in front of her; the results can feel serendipitous, unforeseen, opportune.
Nicola uses the urban landscape as her guide, finding beauty where others may see grime. Her art is a combination of her photographs, creating new stories, sometimes including stenciling, acrylics, reclaimed barn wood, reclaimed corrugated metal, as well as the occasional found object. All of her work is then applied onto a wood panel and finished off with several coats of clear resin.
Nicola currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
RICHARD BUCKLEY
Buckley, as he prefers to be called, is a Chicago native who has always been captivated by the gritty aesthetic of his hometown. After moving to Los Angeles, he immersed himself in the world of art, working with various artists before eventually trying his hand at sculpting and painting. His passion for the creative process took him to Italy, where he spent time refining his craft.
Since returning to Los Angeles, Buckley has been creating functional art and paintings for local galleries and boutiques. He draws inspiration from his extensive background in design and color, while remaining open to new ideas and techniques. In the studio, he is fully focused on the creative process, allowing the results to take shape naturally.
Buckley's art can be found in numerous private and corporate collections across the United States, and he is constantly traveling to maintain relationships. While he enjoys exploring new places, his heart remains tied to the urban essence of Chicago and Los Angeles.
TANNER GOLDBECK
My current focus has become an internal process of tearing down and re-purposing my own existing art and in new ways, find a larger voice. There is an element of play and artistic freedom in dismantling these images and abstracting them into new organic constructions. I’ve found that in developing this process, every line revisited still holds a personal history and a memory. The results are perhaps best described as a form of visual chatter. A feeling not unlike entering a room full of people all talking at once. This process is a struggle between control and spontaneity. The streets downtown have a memory too. A history that I can dig into and gain inspiration from. That energy has a volume. My linear work is quite specific and sets the tone as an initial voice. However, I maintain a loose concept of where each piece might go. Multiple layers of colors add and subtract positive and negative shapes in an exchange of speed, cadence and volume equivalent
to the mood as it evolves.
Much like downtown Los Angeles, my work has a feeling of organized chaos. There is a rhythm within the composition the viewer can follow even though it seems totally random. Downtown is undergoing major changes on almost every level. At first glance, it may seem out of control, but there is an underlying rhythm to life here as well. The city never stops changing and it never will. Some of the best ways to blend the old and the new can be seen through its art. I want to connect the levels of distortion and emotion in scale directly with the idea of an audio volume. Large paintings within the confines of a gallery space increase the inescapable sense of motion and tension. From a distance, the less imposing work can easily be seen as one identifiable whole, but up close the viewing experience is much more fragmented and detailed. It is up to the viewer to decide just how involved they wish to become.
