Agora Gallery is pleased to announce Echo of the Seasons, featuring paintings and digital prints that celebrate nature’s cyclical beauty, capturing the ebb and flow of the natural world as a reflection of our internal landscapes. The work explores not only the external splendor of the environment but also the deeper emotional and psychological resonances that nature evokes within us. Each work on display taps into the collective human experience, revealing how moments in time—fleeting and monumental— shape who we are.
The show reflects a blend of abstract and representational approaches, where crunched paper textures and fluid brushstrokes mirror the forces of change, both destructive and regenerative. Just as nature cycles through birth, death, and rebirth, the artists delve into themes of transformation, personal identity, and the enduring relationship between humanity and the natural world.
The works evoke the mysteries and meditative qualities of nature—lush forests, vast oceans, and the delicate balance of ecosystems. Through these layers of expression, the exhibition invites viewers to contemplate their connection to the rhythms of the earth. Whether through vibrant abstraction or careful observation of the minutiae of nature, Echo of the Seasons offers a reflective journey, capturing the beauty of change and the harmony that exists within it.
Echo Of The Seasons
Darwiche Chamaa
Katya van den Bogaert
Spencer Frazer
Ronnie Genotti
Holly Grosvenor
Howard Harris
Nancy Holleran
Kenji Inoue
Yuji Mostafavee
Rachel Ovadia
Brenda Rodriguez
Rebecca Stenn
Eszter Takács
Anne Tichich
Sanna Vakkilainen
Ai-Wen Wu Kratz
Darwiche Chamaa
Born in Gabon, Darwiche Chamaa is a Lebanese artist who masterfully captures the lush beauty of his homeland’s landscape through abstract art. Influenced by Modernism, Impressionism, and Cubism, Chamaa embraces abstraction over realism, finding freedom in the exploration of colors and techniques.
Working primarily with oils and occasionally using acrylics and soft pastels, Chamaa begins his process with a watercolor wash. Layer by layer, he builds compositions, incorporating thickness and texture with oil paint. Chamaa’s technique involves deconstructing the landscape into color fields and blocks connected by a web of lines. This simplification of structure and palette allows him to convey the pure essence of the Lebanese scenery.
Chamaa had solo exhibitions at Galerie Cheriff Tabet in Beirut, Lebanon, the Grand Egyptian Museum and Alkhaila Gallery, in Cairo, Egypt. Past group shows include Solidere Beirut, UNESCO Palace, the Lebanese Artists Association, Sursock Museum, and Saifi Village Gallery in Lebanon, and the World Photography Festival in France. His work is in the collections of the French Embassy in Beirut, Farhat Art Museum, and many other institutions.
Untitled 2, 2022 Oil on canvas
23.5” x 23.5”
Untitled 3, 2023 Oil on canvas
27.5” x 23.5”
Untitled 4, 2023 Oil on canvas
35.5” x 31.5”
Untitled 6, 2022 Oil on canvas
23.5” x 23.5”
Untitled 7, 2022 Oil on canvas
31.5” x 27.5”
Untitled 8, 2022 Oil on canvas
31.5” x 27.5”
Spencer Frazer
Spencer Frazer’s exquisitely detailed paintings offer an emotional depiction of the natural world while exploring the pressing issues of global climate change.
As one of the foremost voices in environmental art, Frazer’s work showcases a unique visual language characterized by intricate patterns, vivid colors and a strong sense of composition. Elements of wildlife interacting with human achievement urges viewers to question the consequences of our actions on the natural world. With influences from Northwest indigenous art and Japanese ukiyo-e, Frazer blends storytelling, history, and a contemporary narrative to capture the essence of our time and offer a compelling perspective on the urgent need for change.
Fish Out of Water, 2024 Oil on Linen 24” x 30”
The Howling, 2019 Oil on linen
36” x 24”
Wailing, 2024 Oil on Linen 24” x 30”
Waterfall, 2024
Oil on linen
12” x 16”
Ronnie Genotti
Ronnie Genotti draws from his experiences growing up queer in Detroit, Michigan in the 1970s, creating work that draws on universal themes such as religion, bullying, and the impact of AIDS on his community. While this has greatly influenced his work, his art is intentionally abstract in order to create more archetypal experiences for viewers; through universal motifs, he hopes his viewers find their own meaning within his body of work.
The San Francisco, California–based artist creates abstract pieces with an assortment of materials including pastels, oils, and acrylics. Using a variety of techniques to create movement and energy, Genotti puts a strong emphasis on color, line, and tone. His technical process is as important to him as the resulting narrative. His work was recently featured in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, and in Dwell and Luxe magazines. His work has been acquired by hotels and private collectors in the US.
Sweet September Rain, 2022
Oil on canvas
72” x 60”
Holly Grosvenor
Inspired by the hues and movement of light, artist Holly Grosvenor, studies and captures the luminosity of her natural environments. Grosvenor creates her work both on-site and in the studio, as she selects and magnifies fragments of natural settings to translate in oil and acrylics on her canvases. Her work is a response to her personal experiences in the natural realm, as she creates multiple “plein air” observation sketches in watercolor on site, as well as detailed photographs of the space, and returns to her studio to recreate these environments in oils and more recently, acrylics. Acrylics as a medium allowed Grosvenor to delve more deeply into the behavior of reflection and translucency on water and reflective surfaces, as it granted her more time to develop each painting and emphasize the details of the natural phenomena.
One of the most captivating elements in Grosvenor’s paintings is the sense of space and dimensionality she is able to create within the frame of her canvas. The special quality in her compositions invites her audiences to enter the painting and engage with her narrative and with the environment. Grosvenor’s special awareness could be influenced by her training in as an architect. “I attempt to capture the casual observation; to hold a passing moment of uncelebrated beauty in reflected light and changing color. I find profound pleasure in sketching on site surrounded by the rich colors of the natural environment.
Grosvenor has a B.A. in Environmental Design from Brown University and an M.A. in Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She won Best in Show in the 2021 Water Media Spring Juried Show from the Oregon Society of Artists and first place in the Portland Rose Festival Art Show. Her exhibitions include Aqua Art Miami (Miami, FL), the Providence Art Club (Providence, RI), the Oregon Society of Artists (Portland, OR), the Portland Rose Festival (Portland, OR), and the Spring Bull Gallery (Newport, RI). She has been a practicing architect for forty years. Now retired from the profession, she lives and paints in western Massachusetts.
Riverside, 2013 Oil on canvas
24” x 20”
Howard Harris
Howard Harris is an American Techspressionist artist who skillfully combines technology and aesthetics to expand the viewer’s experience of photographic art. He explores dimensional photography, influenced by quantum physics, chaos theory, and op art. Blending media, color, and abstraction, his work attempts to recreate the dynamic perceptual experience with all its hidden complexities. In his patented process, the Denver-based artist uses a single, often abstracted, image layered over itself with a subtle grid printed on a clear acrylic surface and superimposed over the base image. The resulting visual phenomenon infuses the image with dimensionality and fluidity. The combined image is affected by such changes as the viewing angle and light. While perceptual mechanics play a crucial role, equally important are the universal design principles that create the qualities we recognize as beauty. The artist says, “In any given moment, what we see reflects both our inner state and a synthesis of outer qualities—light, color, movement, space.”
Harris graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and the Pratt Institute, earning a master’s degree in industrial design. Harris has spent his career negotiating between art and design, creating within others’ parameters, as his desire to create for others often overpowered his desire to create for himself. He now has shifted his motivation to create for himself first. Deeply interested in the principles of design that produce beauty and aesthetics, Harris’s work elevates the art of photography and displays a deep understanding of abstraction.
Chromatic Thought, 2024
Digital Sublimation Print on Aluminum 36” x 30”
Sublimation
Luminous Motion, 2024
Digital
Print on Aluminum 27” x 36”
Oculus Shadow Dance, 2024
Digital Sublimation Print on Aluminum 30” x 36”
Nancy Holleran
Nancy Holleran’s work attempts to capture moments of life’s fleeting pleasures. As an artist, she seeks to share her interest in discovering beauty in new places, diverse people, and to provide the rare opportunity to simply sit with the sublimity of life’s intimate and ordinary moments. She combines the uniquely nostalgic effect of the photograph, which she uses to guide her practice, with a technical mastery of the watercolor medium to effectively translate her life-affirming positivity into an experience with which her viewers can feel deeply connected.
The composition of her pieces invites the viewer into a singularly emotional experience of her subjects. Holleran’s process involves a meticulously planned combination of light watercolor washes and transparent overlays, an effort that slowly transforms her canvases into living registers of her subjects’ energy. The resulting characterization of these subjects intends to express a certain closeness, felt in the soft, delicate details of her multilayered scenes. Her desire to convey the feeling of the relationship she has with the people and places she paints suffuses her work, lending the finished pieces an ethereal, radiant presence.
Watercolor on arches paper 18” x 24”
Kauai Na Pali Coast, 2024
Maui Sunset, 2023
Watercolor on hahnemuhle paper
20” x 25”
Playing in the Ocean, 2023
Watercolor on arches paper 9” x 12”
Stohrer Bakery Paris, 2023
Plant-based watercolor on arches paper 14” x 20”
Kenji Inoue
Japanese artist Kenji Inoue prefers not to discuss his work. A firm believer in painting as uniquely capable of communicating the ineffable, Inoue leaves it to the audience to interpret his work. Not only does the artist approach painting as a language unto itself, but in his work he also tends to represent a self-contained world apart from ours. Inoue depicts elaborate dreamlike landscapes, inviting the viewer to travel with him through their fantastical spaces.
The artist applies paint freely and loosely, usually using oil or acrylic on canvas. Fluid brush strokes and thin washes of paint contribute to an atmospheric feel of his work. In Inoue’s fantasy realms, air and water are by far the dominant elements. While the artist generally stays within the framework of representational painting, referencing recognizable objects and characters, his landscapes could also be “read” as abstractions. Inoue’s adept use of his medium allows him to successfully navigate between the two traditions. The representational elements of his work often carry symbolic meaning, whose interpretation the artist leaves to the viewers.
Fire Age 小, 2021
Oil on canvas
36” x 70”
Lily, 2021
Oil on canvas
36” x 24”
Yuji Mostafavee
Yuji Mostafavee creates large acrylic paintings of edenic environments that offer a muchneeded escape from the artificial milieu of city life. Every year, Mostafavee would travel to Mexico for a few months to get a taste of tropical paradise. During the Covid pandemic, she decided to recreate her personal exotic sanctuary with a collection of vibrantly colored paintings featuring lush vegetation and wildlife. A former fashion designer, Mostafavee is heavily influenced by haute couture, keeping up with contemporary trends and patterns. Harnessing Mostafavee’s expert handling of color and compositions, her designs exude the sophisticated glamor of a Chanel purse or a Hermès scarf. They recreate exclusive ambiances where the viewer can indulge in a bit of forbidden luxury.
As an undergraduate, Mostafavee studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York and architecture and interior design at Waseda University in Tokyo. She earned a Master’s in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. When working in fashion, she designed John Varvatos and Ralph Lauren collections and creative presentations, and was involved in award-winning exhibitions and fairs in New York, Hong Kong, and Japan. Mostafavee works and lives in New York City.
Protection, 2024
Oil and acrylic on canvas
48” x 48”
Rachel Ovadia
Rachel Ovadia integrates the mystical and scientific in her art, drawing inspiration from nature and her spiritual journey. Although born in Lithuania, she has made the world her home, living in different countries and now residing in Toronto, Canada. Her compositions and palette reflect an intuitive understanding and keen observation of the natural world. Frequent strolls at the Toronto Botanical Garden awaken her sense of beauty, inspired by lush greenery, plant diversity, and the wide spectrum of colors and patterns.
Insatiably curious, Ovadia resolved to master the properties of acrylics, studying the chemical structure and rheology of the paint to achieve varying degrees of density and elasticity. The fusion of pigments and mediums, applied with wooden sticks and spatulas, creates a vibrant interplay of contrasts, producing artworks that echo the rhythm and harmony of a symphony. This perpetual dance between the subconscious and the deliberate, the scientific and spiritual, reflects Ovadia’s holistic approach to life. Acutely aware of the unity of all things, Ovadia believes in the power of mindset to transform the world, setting an intention to inspire transformation and positivity.
Mixed media on canvas
Astralilly, 2024
48” x 60”
Mixed media on panel
Mare Bianco, 2024
48” x 60”
Momentum, 2024
Mixed media on canvas 36” x 48”
Numbered Fusion, 2024
Mixed media on canvas 36” x 48”
Brenda Rodriguez
Brenda Rodríguez is a German-Peruvian abstract painter and designer based in New York City. Inspired by travels and her recent move to the United States from Germany, Rodríguez’s work arises from personal experiences of cultural identity, motherhood, and immigration. For her, painting is a form of liberation, a cathartic process that lets free rein to her feelings, dreams, and imagination.
Working in oils and acrylics on canvas or paper, Rodríguez builds up progressively thicker layers using brushes and a palette knife. The process is dynamic and intuitive, moving from floor to easel, without any preconceived ideas on palette or composition. Yet, the paint takes on a life of its own, as figures and landscapes emerge from Rodríguez’s subconscious. “Every artwork is a story that does not need words to be told, a journey without a set destination, a trip of my soul without a predefined outcome.”
Blooming Apple Cactus, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
28” x 18”
Cocoon, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
36” x 38”
Lean on Me, 2023 Oil and acrylic on canvas 36” x 30”
Rebecca Stenn
U.S. artist Rebecca Stenn has been a professional dancer, choreographer, and educator throughout her life. More recently, her artistic practice shifted to include painting when she realized that the paintbrush was an extension of her body’s movement. Intrinsically linked with decades of dance performance, the artist considers space and proximity within her paintings. Acutely aware of the movement during the process of painting, Stenn works with acrylic paint. The artist began with purely abstract painting focusing on the process of a work, such as brush strokes and movement required for various textures.
Over time Stenn has begun to paint landscapes and portraiture. Her work has been exhibited as part of the Coming Out and Paraíso shows, at M.A.D.S. Gallery in Milan, the Future Landscapes exhibit at the Palazzo Abrizzi-Capello Gallery in Venice, and the Body Language 2022 exhibit at the Palazzo Bembo Gallery, also in Venice, the Ars Gratia Artis exhibit in London and as part of a featured artist series at Gallery Andrea, in Scottsdale, AZ. Stenn has exhibited in New York City numerous times with Agora Gallery and will exhibit with them once again, in the fall of 2024. She has taken part in art fairs in New York City, Miami, and South Hampton. Stenn recently won a juried competition at the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts in Mill Valley, California, and had work shown in their exhibit, Women Making Their Mark. Her work has also been exhibited at the Colerida Galeria de Arte in Lisbon, Portugal.
Columbia Gorge #6, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 48”
Columbia Gorge #7, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 36”
Crown Point, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
30” x 48”
Goddess (Triptych), 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 108”
The Morning, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 36”
Osward State Park West, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
48” x 48”
Eszter Takács
Eszter Takács is a Hungarian-born artist, now based in Barcelona by way of Paris, London, and Amsterdam. Eszter creates minimalist collages, assembling nature-inspired images with mindful intentionality. Her compositions rise upward like totems, with half-moons, circles, curves, and arches intersecting into elegant arrangements. Like love notes from the universe, each piece holds a unique message, their structures embedding a distinct and profound meaning.
Eszter taps into her creative well during moments of stillness and self-reflection, with visions unfolding in the quietude of silent meditation or amidst nature walks. Each meticulously crafted piece is purposefully designed to convey a blessing, serve as a reminder, or emanate specific energy, urging viewers to embrace principles of love, respect, and appreciation for Mother Earth. Eszter’s reflective symbols encourage the fusion of mind, body, and soul, tapping into our intuitive wisdom. She says, “You always know the right answer deep inside, there’s no doubt about it. The question is: can you hear the whispers?”
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28” x 20”
Amulette (Lilac) 03, 2021
Balance 01, 2020
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28” x 20”
02, 2020
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28” x 20”
Coalescence
Deep Down 03, 2020
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28” x 20”
Dreams 02, 2020
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28” x 20”
The Water Within You 02, 2021
Giclée print on hemp and cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper 28 x 20”
Anne Tichich
Anne Tichich explores the interplay of patterns, texture, and form within familiar materials, unveiling the extraordinary within the mundane. The idea for her latest series came while disposing of paper packaging. As she flattened it for the recycling bin, she became intrigued with the lines and texture crushed paper produced. Taking an abstract approach, she photographed these details and enlarged them to 60” x 60” canvases, which she then recreated with oil paint in black and white. A former architect and expert draftsman, Tichich meticulously captures every detail of the crushed wrapping, rendering each dip, fold, and indentation. Her work reveals unexpected perspectives and angles, urging us to find meaning in the ordinary.
Paper Five
Oil on canvas
60” x 60”
Paper Two Oil on canvas
60” x 60”
Sanna Vakkilainen
Sanna Vakkilainen’s paintings explore the fluidity of abstraction through dynamic gestures and rich color, creating compositions that evoke the rhythms and energies of everyday life. Working primarily in oil on canvas, she also incorporates other mediums such as aquarelle on paper and acrylics or spray paint on plexiglass, hardboard, and metal, blending traditional techniques with experimental surfaces. Her process begins with the canvas laid on the floor, where she paints from multiple angles, embracing the physicality of creation and allowing elements of action painting to emerge organically.
Rooted in the sensory experiences of her surroundings, Vakkilainen draws inspiration from life’s fleeting moments—whether it’s a vivid sunset, a city’s unexpected color combination, or a melody that resonates deeply. Music, in particular, plays a crucial role, guiding the rhythm of her brushstrokes and influencing the layers of each painting. The interplay of sound and color transforms her canvases into a visual expression of emotion and movement.
Vakkilainen studied fine arts at the Free Art School in Helsinki. She exhibited in galleries locally and internationally and completed large-scale public work in Finland. Her paintings were featured in Vogue’s Gallery of the British Vogue as well as the May, June, and July 2024 paper issues. Her art is present in private and public collections throughout the world, including the Finnish State Art collection and the Finnish Art Society’s Art Lottery collection.
Far from the Highways, 2022
Oil on canvas
39.5” x 47.5”
Flying Around, 2022 Oil on canvas 79 x 71”
Superball, 2022
Oil on canvas
47.5” x 39.5”
Here and There, 2022
Oil on canvas
39.5” x 39.5”
Superball, 2022
Oil on canvas
47.5” x 39.5”
Katya van den Bogaert
Katja van den Bogaert creates intricate narratives that lie beneath the surface of her work, inviting viewers into a realm where secrets and revelations intertwine. Central to van den Bogaert’s philosophy is the belief in the interconnectedness of our internal and external worlds, empowering individuals to shape their own realities. Her creative odyssey unfolds on canvas, a visual chronicle of her inner landscape, where impressions, emotions, thoughts, and dreams converge.
Drawing inspiration from the natural world and the fluidity of water, van den Bogaert endeavors to forge a profound communion with nature, extending this communion to her audience. Working on linen canvas with acrylic paint, she initiates her process alla prima, employing brushes, rollers, and sponges to construct layers of meaning and texture. Each stroke and gesture contributes to a rich tapestry of hues and forms, reflecting the depth of her introspection.
Van den Bogaert’s artistic journey is characterized by intuitive exploration, unencumbered by conscious restraint, “I see my paintings as a mirror of my journey, a testament to the connection between our inner worlds and external realities. Through my art, I aim to engage viewers on a visceral level, eliciting a profound emotional response.”
Adulthood, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
47.5” x 39.5”
Layers of Healing, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
47.5” x 39.5”
Ai-Wen Wu Kratz
Ai-Wen Wu Kratz is originally from Hong Kong. She received a BFA in Painting and Mathematics from Fort Wright College in Spokane, WA., and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. She is an alumna of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. She holds a diploma, “Breaking Into Print” from the Institute For Writers, Madison, CT. In addition to exhibits in the United States, Kratz had one-person exhibitions in France, Germany, England, Egypt, and Austria. Her works can be found in private and public collections in Canada, Germany, Bangladesh, Argentina, and the U.S., including the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Mara Ferloni, Critic and Journalist commented on works by Ai-Wen Wu Kratz:
“A fascinating language rich in meaningful forms with a dialectic indicating a style of maturity, an emotional lyricism which becomes a protagonist across a palpable rendering for forms. A scenic rendering full of joy, in which one is surrounded by a joy of colors which testify to a great creative sensitivity expressed in a language which preserves fascinating poetry in its structural integrity.”
Echo of the Seasons, 2017
Acrylic on canvas 30” x 96”
Gallery hopping in New York
Agora Gallery is located within the heart of the Chelsea Arts District with available hours from Tuesday – Saturday 11 am - 6 pm.
Opening receptions are held once a month, giving you the opportunity to meet the artists and view a variety of original artwork. Visit our website and subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date on all events and happenings – www.Agora-Gallery.com/mailinglist
