COLLEEN CHAN
I was born with a hereditary eye condition that required surgery when I was two years old. I was determined to see the world differently, and used a handheld monocular in fourth grade to imagine I was a photographer in my classroom.
At age eight, I was given my first 35mm Kodak camera. Then, at age 16, I saved up enough money to purchase my first digital camera. In 2019, I proclaimed my major would be in photography, still as a visually impaired person.
In high school, I studied Salvador Dali and surrealism. A memorable piece that I grew fond of was “Persistence of Time” and “Geopolitical Child Watching the Birth of a New Man.” I knew there was a deeper meaning within the juxtaposed imagery. Time was needed for me to grasp how great those meanings were. In community college, I furthered my education with Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol. Like Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills and Warhol’s Screen Tests, I was fixated on solely using myself as a character model as Sherman did and creating elaborate stories for one single image. I produced exactly as I saw it in my mind.
Fast forward to Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where I discovered the Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel collection of found photographs entitled Evidence. This book inspired me to think about how photography is not always what it seems. The photographs in Evidence are all anonymous, and there is no context to tell us who the people are or what is happening. This lack of information compels the viewer to question the veracity of the photos and to wonder about the stories behind them.
The series “Curious Behavior (2001)” continues in the spirit of Sultan and Mandel. The photographs I work with are usually vernacular or amateur in nature, and I’m interested in the way they can be both personal and universal. By juxtaposing these images and creating a new narrative from them, I hope to explore the complex relationship between photography as it relates to truth and fiction alike.
Colleen Chan can be found on social media at @_colleenchan and the website https://colleenchanphotography.com/.
GJ GILLESPIE
Deeply inspired by art history and the profound emotions it evokes, my work is a journey into the abstract realm where existential meaning intertwines with cultural iconography. My collage-based approach, utilizing diverse materials such as colored tissue, disassembled newspaper clippings, and Fred Meyer grocery ads, allows me to create unique interpretations of universal imagery. These become enigmatic entities when placed in new contexts.
GJ Gillespie is a collage artist living in a 1928 farmhouse overlooking Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, WA. A prolific artist with 22 awards to his name, his work has been exhibited in 65 shows and appeared in more than 165 publications. Beyond his studio practice, Gillespie channels his passion for art by running Leda Art Supply, a company specializing in premium sketchbooks. Whether conjuring vivid collage compositions or enabling other artists through exceptional tools, Gillespie remains dedicated to the transformative power of art.
GABRIELLE MILLER
Gabrielle Miller is a Virginia-based painter and fiber artist. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from James Madison University. Her work utilizes self-portraiture and symbols of desire to capture an intimate view of female identity. Introspective exploration of self-image and sexuality results in vulnerable, dream-like compositions. Her Instagram is @gabbypainting.
ZENZALI LAEL
Zen’s work explores different aspects of the human condition within marginalized communities. Their delicate interplay between light, emotion, and narrative, aims to elevate stories and beauty not recognized in mainstream culture. Through portraiture, environment, & photo-documentation digital and 120 film photographs and digital collages, Zen’s work brings people closer from all walks of life to share that we all exist as the universe experiencing itself through billions of experiences simultaneously. Individualism, greed, and selfishness are the killers of humanity. The point of every project is to see the subjects as oneself. Understand that we’re all human and worthy of love, connection, and hope. "Love is not just a verb it's you looking in the mirror" (K.Dot). Photography is my mirror. The closer I get to my subjects, the closer I am to myself, and thus the grand cosmic connection.
Zenzali Lael is an artist and photographer (any pronouns) and can be found on Instagram @Zergination_.
K.G. RICCI
selections from Incongruities
K.G. Ricci, a self-taught New York City artist, made a collage on a file cabinet in 2015. The creative possibilities of the medium immediately inspired him. Fifty cut and paste panels followed, visual improvisations on 20” x 40” or 2’ X 4’ hardboard. Next, Ricci completed another series on 8” X 24” hardboard with implied literary reflections or narrative lines. He categorized hundreds of his panels in line with the evident themes of “Femma Dilemma”, “Hotel Kafka” and “3:43 A.M.”
Recently, Ricci sustained his implied narrative focus in “Numbered-Not Named”, a series of original pieces, 6” x 9”, on black stock. He followed the idea further with two projects: “Random Thoughts in the Waiting Room” and “Wait…what?,” a pair of visual flash fiction series of books with a single word or a fragment of text in each collage 7x10 composition. His current series, Incongruities, explores the narrative on a larger scale (18x24, 11x14) and with an extended text.
K.G. Ricci has exhibited in 27 galleries, including solo shows and many more online galleries. His collages have been published in poetry and literary magazines nationally and internationally online and in print. Instagram: @kennethricci
KIERA STUART
My art practice explores relationship dynamics, vulnerability, and the connection and similarities between the body and nature. I create surreal figurative oil paintings as psychological maps to process complex emotions and help gain a deeper sense of self-awareness while creating safe spaces to heal.
I begin studio practice by sketching on paper with a pencil or with my body in front of a camera or researching contemporary dance photos with dancers engaging each other. This helps form visual ideas of human connection, whatever feels the most urgent to explore at the time. I then consider how these characters could connect or interact with nature. What environment they might live in, how they are connected or separated from the earth, in what ways can I reflect the similarities between organic patterns and anatomy.
Meditating on our connection to each other and nature helps combat my depression issues, it reminds me that I am not alone. This also reminds me that most people have similar internal conflicts, we have more in common than we usually remember. It's also a way to pray for a future where humans might live in harmony with each other and the planet.
I aspire to offer viewers a dreamscape—a space for introspection on fragility, beauty, and the interconnected nature of our existence. I hope this will help to embolden ideas of women's rights, social and environmental justice. Creating art is my way of healing and hoping for a better future.
Kiera Stuart is a contemporary artist focusing on surreal figurative oil paintings. She grew up learning about local native cultures that lived in harmony with the earth and modern environmental justice and sustainable living from her parents in rural Long Island, NY. Transitioning to NYC as a teenager, she studied anatomical drawing and fine art at the Fashion Institute of Technology and The Art Students League. She later received a Bachelor's degree in studio art from Hunter College in 2018 followed by an MFA in fine art from Brooklyn College in 2022.
Stuart has spent time in Mexico City, Guanajuato and the Yucatan peninsula studying Mayan and Aztec art and history. She also attended the Sachaqa Art Residency in Tarapoto Peru near the Amazon Rainforest where she learned indigenous methods of building, making pottery, paper and pigments. She also was selected for Soaring Gardens Residency in 2019 & 2020. She had her first solo Exhibit in 2022 at the Box Factory Gallery in Bushwick, NYC.
Currently based in Bushwick, Brooklyn; she maintains a studio practice while continuing to explore interests of pre-colonial cultures, sustainability, environmental and social justice while actively participating in the vibrant NYC art scene. Instagram: @kierastuart Website: kierastuart.com