Reprisal & Rediscovery | September 7 - September 28, 2021

Reprisal & Rediscovery September 7 – September 28, 2021 Reception: Thursday, September 9, 2021 6-8 PM 530 West 25th Street, New York, NY

Agora Gallery is proud to announce Reprisal & Rediscovery, a collective exhibition which will take place between September 7 and 28, 2021. The show features work by seasoned and budding artists, ranging in styles from Pop Art, Modernism, Impressionism, and Naturalism.

As we resurge from the challenges of the past year, twelve artists look to the future with fresh eyes of hope. Offering much-needed escape for our debilitated souls, they explore different avenues of healing; whether through psychological exploration, closeness to nature, or recollections of times past. Ellen Globokar’s Japanese paper collages emanate the soothing beauty of marine sunsets; a complement to Mauricio Valdiviezo’s idyllic renditions of the Ecuadorian Andes and Dojoong Jo’s thoughtfully-crafted soil paintings. Jerry Anderson’s undulating lines exalt the exquisite complexity of all life forms; while Hawaii native Stephanie Pitoy presents visually compelling pieces blending urban architecture and lush floral compositions. Other artists, like Salome Chelidze, Maisoon Al Saleh, and Rody, look to history for succor. Chelidze and Al Saleh do so by revisiting their cultural heritage; while Rody conveys the lighthearted jubilation of 1920s Paris. Finally, Josefina de León, Jenny Blomquist, David Syre, and Graciela Garza turn inward for answers; instilling a sense of empowerment, joy, and serenity with bold splashes of color or minimalist soft-toned compositions. As a collective, they reprise old forms with a new perspective and look forward with a sense of faith and optimism.

Reprisal & Rediscovery Maisoon Al Saleh Jerry Anderson Jenny Blomquist Salome Chelidze Josefina De León Graciela Garza Ellen Globokar Yu He Soilart Jo-DoJoong Stephanie Pitoy Rody David Syre Mauricio Valdiviezo

Maisoon Al Saleh Born in 1988, Emirati artist and entrepreneur Maisoon Al Saleh works actively as an artist in Dubai and internationally. She graduated from Zayed University with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Design in 2010.

She has had four solo shows, and has participated in around 100 art exhibitions in 16 countries, including the Emirati Expression at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, ‘ART NOMADS: MADE IN THE EMIRATES’ exhibition presented by Etihad Modern Art Gallery, and several other in Europe and the United States. Al Saleh is a prolific and hard-working artist. She continues to actively seek out new challenges in her career, and most recently has been participating in artist residency programs world-wide.

In her paintings and sculpture work, Al Saleh uses bold colors and shapes to create an abstract portrait or image, while implementing unexpected details to add dialogue and visual interest.

She employs a variety of mediums across her works, which include acrylic on canvas, mixed media for installations, fiberglass and mixed media for her sculptures, and painting under seawater. Her style is surrealist, with strong influence and commentary on modern Emirati culture. Her art dives, sometimes literally, below the obvious meaning residing on the surface of stories and accounts of the past. She is interested in the ‘bones’ of a subject, the aspects that transcend age and gender, which often includes actually using skeletons as figures, in or to tell stories that get to the deeper meaning of humanity. Through her work, Al Saleh bring viewers into a discussion about the importance of Emirati history in order to challenge how we think about our history, memories, and representation of them in the mainstream media.

View more of Maisoon Al Saleh’s artworks on this exhibition

Syria, 2021 Digital Print on Fine Art Paper 19.5” x 19.5”

Jerry Anderson Jerry Anderson’s paintings are expressions of vivacity and energy, flowing with bold colors and subtle yet striking emotion. A visceral exploration of human anatomy, using undulating blocks of shape and color to build human forms throughout the breadth of his acrylic paintings. Each piece makes use of a controlled color palette with saturated hues to explore focused sections of bodies. Wavering lines combine with color to evoke flames in vibrant reds and oranges, or suggest water in cool blues and purples. In contrast to simple shapes, the subjects themselves remain sensual in form; somehow familiar and tactile.

Once a viewer engages dialog with Anderson’s work, they discover a sense of intimacy, spirituality, and the connection between masculine and feminine energies. The male and female forms are transferred into landscapes, abstracting contours into hills and valleys. Based in California, Anderson is an American artist who has exhibited all around the United States.

His work has been recognized in China, Europe, and the Middle East.

View more of Jerry Anderson’s artworks on this exhibition

Concept 1002, 2021 Acrylic on Canvas 24” x 24”

Jenny Blomquist New Mexico based artist Jenny Clair Blomquist is a talented oil painter, hardworking mother, and art teacher. She was born with a passion for painting. Of her art, she beautifully states, “painting was always my first confidante, my first therapist, my first deep belief in life and it lent me eyes to see the world.”

After obtaining a BA in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico, Blomquist went on to work as a ranch hand to help support her family.

This was a transformative experience that continues to influence her work as an artist. The power and strength of horses and nature are a major theme in her paintings.

There is a spirit of beauty, strength, and intuition across her portfolio; from wild equine subjects and sweeping Western vistas, to figurative female forms and abstract expressions.

The mother of two teaches community oil painting classes at the New Mexico Institute of Technology. She has been commissioned throughout her life and currently works with local collectors in New Mexico.

View more of Jenny Clair Blomquist’s artworks on this exhibition

Bathing Nude, 2014 Oil on Canvas 16” x 20”

Salome Chelidze Georgian artist and entrepreneur Salome Chelidze aspires to emulate positive emotions in her work, influenced by her cultural roots and her interest in art history. With the message of love and acceptance, Chelidze uses oils and acrylics on canvas to create her vibrant, colorful works that tie in her French and Georgian heritage. Her unique style blends Mediterranean colors, religious and figurative imagery, and impressionistic emotion. She also has worked in interior design and murals, including that of her family’s historic Georgian restaurant in Tbilisi. She hosted Former President George W. Bush at that restaurant during his visit to Georgia. His visit inspired the artist to begin to show her work to wider audiences.

In 2021, the publishing house Cezanne released “Family Chronicles” relating the history of her ancestors with Chelidze’s own illustrations. A documentary will also be released about the painter herself this year. Her work is included in American Artist David Datunas’ Collection, and is also depicted in the catalogs of several museums. Her recent exhibitions include Y:Art Gallery, and in the group exhibition in Natela Iankoshvili Museum in Tbilisi.

View more of Salome Chelidze’s artworks on this exhibition

Tree of Life, 2021 Oil on Canvas 23.5” x 23.5”

Josefina De León Uruguayan Plastic Artist, Josefina de Leon Sorhuet, explores a world of texture, color and sensational techniques. There are no limits in her experimentation as she constantly generates innovative results within her style. Her work gives her a sense of empowerment, freedom, and pride; thus, the work becomes emblematic of women’s empowerment on a universal level.

Her positive energy is clearly expressed and transmitted through her work ‘Volar Alto,’ a piece where she sought to capture an empowered and defined woman emanating peace and serenity. “Close my eyes to see” was selected in 2020 and chosen to be one of the pieces in “Winter with Singulart.” Several pieces have been donated to non-profit organizations in Uruguay, including Los Leones, Teleton and the Rotary Club Uruguay. De Leon has collaborated with recognized brands such as Adidas, Santander and Sodimac, and her work has been commissioned for several property developments throughout Uruguay.

View more of Josefina de Leon Sorhuet’s artworks on this exhibition

Suavidad Infinita, 2020 Acrylic on Canvas 39.5” x 27.5”

Graciela Garza Graciela Garza was no ordinary child. Wildly imaginative and creative, she preferred paintbrushes over dolls. Born into a family of female artists, she learned how to paint in the studio of her paternal grandmother, who was her very first teacher. In the early stages of her career, she adopted a traditional figurative style, focusing on realistic portraits and religious subjects. The chromatic intensity of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art inspired her vibrant, colorful palette, transmitting vitality and joy.

As she delved deeper into her own identity, abstraction became a more suitable vehicle of expression. She transitioned to softer, more subdued tones, favoring whites, beiges, browns, chocolates, taupe, black, and greys. Impressive in size, yet minimal in their composition, her paintings reveal her basic human emotions, conveying a sense of joy, sadness, ecstasy, or peace. Juxtaposed veils of acrylic, ink, and oil paints are pierced by streaks of gold or silver leaves or simply melt away into hazy desert-like landscapes. Her art possesses a meditative, dreamy quality inviting the viewer into a journey of self-exploration.

Garza was raised in Saltillo, Mexico, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design. She trained under renowned local painters, including her aunts, Astrid Naranjo and Sylvia Naranjo, and completed several workshops in New York, Florida, and Dallas. She has successfully exhibited her work in her home country and the United States and was published in Architectural Digest México. She collaborates with many charitable organizations, with the belief that art can enrich the lives of those who are in need.

View more of Graciela Garza’s artworks on this exhibition

Secrets, 2021 Mixed Media & Encaustic on Canvas 70” x 60”

Ellen Globokar Ellen Globokar grew up in western Michigan with a pencil and a sketchpad close at hand. From a very young age, she was commissioned to draw portraits and displayed her watercolors at juried art shows. After two decades working in politics and government, she returned to her passion for art. Citing Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and the Bay Area Figurative Movement as her main inspiration, Globokar paints alla prima, capturing tranquil views of marine sunsets, lush gardens touched by soft rays of lavender light, and solitary rural landscapes. Her collages, made of scraps of hand-dyed Japanese paper, are also inspired by the colors and atmospheres of the seashore and countryside. Different depths and textures are achieved by arranging pieces of varying thickness and shapes, while metallic paint is added for a shimmering effect. Her work emanates a soothing contemplative beauty, an intimate communion with nature, offering a much-needed escape from the mundanity of life.

A resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland, Globokar received formal instruction at the Art League of Alexandria, Virginia. There she participated in numerous juried exhibitions, winning “Best in Show.” She had two successful shows at the Peninsula Art Gallery in Lewes, Delaware, and was featured artist at Beebe Medical Center’s Best of the Beach Art Auction in Rehoboth.

View more of Ellen Globokar’s artworks on this exhibition

Distance, 2020 Collage on Canvas 30” x 24”

Yu He Yu He is a Chinese painter, currently based in Florida, who’s work explores the simple beauty of daily experience. Working mainly in acrylic, though occasionally in oil, tempera, and watercolor as well, she deftly draws upon modernist motifs and techniques from both impressionism and expressionism to create refreshingly light and colorful depictions of her subject matter. Strong use of blues along with wide brushstrokes come together to emit a profoundly calming ambiance from her compositions.

While her handling of paint initially creates a feeling of flatness, the subtleness of her brushwork and choice of color allows for a wonderfully satisfying play of light.

She attended art classes as a child where she learned the rudiments of painting before ultimately ceasing to attend classes. Following this, she continued to hone her skills on her own, arriving at a style that is distinctly her own. Drawing on the daily experiences of life in both Chinese and American culture, she creates a subjective yet universal depiction of life as we all experience it.

View more of Yu He’s artworks on this exhibition

Untitled 12, 2021 Acrylic on Paper 24” x 18”

Soilart Jo-DoJoong Dojoong Jo is a pioneer in the technique of using soil as a material in painting, making him the world leader in the style known as “Earth Painting.” He created the process out of a moment of inspiration and began experimenting and manipulating red soil. Over the past 24 years, he has developed his technique and expanded his materials to create unique mediums, colors, and application processes for soil art. The minerals in soil lend original colors to his works and allow the work to shimmer when illuminated, creating an exquisite effect and impression.

Dojoong holds a Master of Fine Arts from Chung-Ang University in Western Painting. He has devoted his life to art since he won the 16th Korea National Art Exhibition in 1967 when he was a freshman in college. He is the youngest painter in Korean history to receive an ‘honorable mention’.

View more of Dojoong Jo’s artworks on this exhibition

Knar Chorus, 2021 Soil & Ceramic Paint Mixture on Canvas 28.5” x 36”

Stephanie Pitoy Stephanie Pitoy is a Hawaii native, living and working in New York City as a contemporary artist. Pitoy attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where she studied under several influencing artists while earning her BA degree in Art and Communication. In 2012, she relocated to New York City with her daughter and started a new life. She readily admits that her culture and background will always have a presence in her work, but her artistic journey is always evolving with her life experiences.

In her collage-based works, Pitoy strives to think outside the box. She incorporates spatial depth and creates visual tension into each piece by layering and combining multiple media sources. Her goal is for her pieces to translate the layered complexities of the human experience into a visually compelling narrative that speaks to a universal audience.

After experiencing great personal loss and grief, Pitoy turned to art as a means of healing.

She describes her higher calling in life as one to help others with their own grief through her work. In her words, “Art has an indescribable way to heal sadness and release negativity. Once released, the Soul feels much lighter and the feeling of Joy is restored.”

View more of Stephanie Pitoy’s artworks on this exhibition

Unfinished Thoughts, No. 9, 2021 Digital C-Print 12” x 12”

Rody Paris-based artist Rodica Iliescu, known as Rody, is notable for her playful portraits of early Parisian life. She was born and raised in Romania as the child of a painter, and always knew that the arts were her future. Growing up in a communist country, Rody describes how she would seek refuge in her own imagination. As an adult, she applies that childlike imagination to her artistic skill to create her artworks. Inspired by vintage scenes of the French capital, her paintings are steeped in nostalgia for a bygone era. They are almost romanticized fantasies of a time when men and women roamed the streets, wearing chic clothing and looking for love and adventure. Rody uses a limited palette of soft monochromatic tones, adding splashes of reds to excite somber grey backgrounds.

Like an old poster or postcard, every scene Rody creates feels intelligently staged. She employs an impressionistic-inspired style, which feels proverbially French. Using soft, light brushstrokes, the artist chooses to capture the light and emotion in each scene, rather than spoil the fantasy with too much detail. Her works are whimsical, light-hearted odes to a belleepoque in French history, through which she invites the viewer to embrace the ways of the past without losing sight of the present.

View more of Rody’s artworks on this exhibition

Utrillo Street, 2019 Oil on Canvas 18” x 15”

David Syre David Syre is a self-taught multi-disciplinary visual artist who creates large-scale acrylic paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installation-specific pieces. In his creative process, the artist draws inspiration from his travels, his subconscious mind, and the natural world. He combines bold lines and vivid colors with archetypal symbols, numbers and words referencing the moment of creation. He produces his pieces at an accelerated pace, conveying the spontaneity and authenticity of a single expressive moment.

Syre’s creativity is inspired by an ever evolving psyche and internal dialogue; spontaneously manifested as an intuitive offering. He creates pieces daily on an endless array of subjects – always exploring new topics and perfecting his craft. His representations of the countryside, dreams, people, and creative visions are expressed with different styles ranging from abstractionism to action painting, minimalism, and surrealism.

The artist has developed an intimate relationship with nature and landscape as a symbol of realization, intuition, power, and creation.

View more of David Syre’s artworks on this exhibition

Three Friends, 2017 Acrylic on Canvas 48” x 48”

Mauricio Valdiviezo Mauricio Valdiviezo is a landscape artist and architect originally from Santa Isabel, Ecuador. In his work, Valdiviezo celebrates nature in all its magnificence and glory. Although drawing inspiration from views of the Ecuadorian Andes, his paintings are fantastical representations of actual places, existing only in his imagination. They are lush valleys encircled by imposing mountains and meandering rivers; immaculate Valhallas uncorrupted by the presence of man, emanating a celestial quiet. Despite his predilection for landscape art, Valdiviezo displays an incredible stylistic versatility, executing portraits, caricatures, and scenes of everyday life in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and ink. Imbued with pathos and characterized by a stark contrast of light and shadow, his paintings reflect the melancholic reverie of Romantic art.

Valdiviezo earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture in 2003 and a Master’s Degree in Arts in 2013 from Universidad Católica de Cuenca. He teaches in the interior design program of the Department of Arts, at Universidad de Cuenca. He counts numerous solo and group exhibitions in his home country. Most notably, he was featured in Ecuador: Light of Time, as part of Imago Mundi, a collection of artwork commissioned and collected by Luciano Benetton on his travels around the world.

View more of Mauricio Valdiviezo’s artworks on this exhibition

Jauria, 2020 Oil on Canvas 32” x 48”

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