ON VIEW IN HAL GOMER GALLERY
Her Voice, Her Vision - Women’s History Month Exhibit
Hal Gomer Gallery and CAC hallway I March 11 - April 23, 2024
Reception: March 14, 2024 6 - 8 pm
Join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month (March) for our third annual exhibition which highlights women artists working in a diverse range of mediums. Women’s History Month honors the achievements and acknowledges the significant impact women have had on history and society, and CAC is excited to continue to elevate and uplift women’s talents and voices through art.
This exhibition is on view in our Hal Gomer Gallery from March 11, 2024 - April 23, 2024.
Featured Artists:
Brit Alex - “I am fascinated by how a lens, or our eyes, see--through various or narrow dimensions and in limitless or reduced colors. This propels me to depict abstract interpretations of the world through expressive paint strokes, witty compositions, and suggestive textures. I strive to lure the viewer into a piece to promote contemplation, inquisition and pause.”
Visit their Instagram
Hannah Atallah - Hannah Atallah is a muralist and mixed-media artist.
With a focus on large-scale public art projects, she prioritizes the incorporation of community and relevant cultural histories in her practice. As a Palestinian-Lebanese-Irish-American artist, she often draws from her own cultural inspirations. She is a frequent collaborator with educational, healing science and cultural institutions.
Mural commissions include the Murals DC ‘21 season, Sherwin Williams, the Baltimore Running Festival, Eaton Elementary School through the DC Department of General Services, Carefirst Bluecross Blueshield, District bridges, the Haven Survivor Support Center of Colgate University, the community business hubs of Utica coffee, Rodman’s, the Tailor & the Cook, and several residential commissions.
Jovan Bethel - My name is Jovan Bethel, also known as ProtèJay, who is an artist that defies the confines of traditional art forms to create captivating and thought-provoking works. Drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources and inspirations such as Gordon Parks and Jacob Lawrence, seamlessly blending elements of abstraction, surrealism, and social commentary to create visually stunning and conceptually rich compositions. I would say that my art is a reflection of an innate curiosity and desire to explore the depths of human emotion. I enjoy the use of symbolism and metaphors to add depth and ambiguity to my art, encouraging viewers to interpret their work through their own unique lens.
Visit their website
Sandra Blevins - “I call this painting "Borrowed Light". It is 24'' x 36'', acrylic on canvas. This painting was inspired by the poem, "Alabaster Meadow" by Dave Brashears and will be presented at the Annapolis Arts Alliance exhibit, Poetry and Paintings, starting 21 April 2024."
I am a life long lover of the arts and have been painting and creating art using various media my entire life. I paint as a hobby to relax and to transfer creative and emotional energy through me. Thank you for considering my submission. It would be an honor for this paining, that includes the face/silhouette of my two young daughters Saoirse and Phoebe, to be included in the powerful Women's History Month, "Her Voice, Her Vision" exhibit.”
Sara Caporaletti - “My recent work sincerely examines my identity and life as a practicing Catholic. I am curious about how women and the Church relate. Many works are connected to physical characteristics and metaphorical understandings of how the body can be understood as a literal object and as an extension of one’s identity. I am interested in making connections between the physical body and how it impacts spiritual, mental, and emotional health. I refer to aspects of my own physical health too and use my art to process and understand those experiences. My work is project based and is conveyed through a variety of media, such as fabric, wood, clay, and plaster, along with digital drawing or written text. The literal process or materials used creates meaning related to my identity or that of Catholicism at large. Much like practicing Christianity, repetition is also a key aspect of my work. I enjoy laboring in the creation of my work and for that dedication and commitment to be on display through scale or content.”
Visit their website
Andrea Downs - “I am a social practice and mixed media artist. Through my work, I observe, respond to and amplify personal and collective stories with an emphasis on women’s experiences and the value of relationships and connectivity. I use found and personal heirlooms and objects, depictions of nature, text, and symbolic imagery to create work that explores identity, sense of place and belonging. Some of my work focuses specifically on questioning the ever-present and harmful systems of power and misogyny that impact my life and continues to threaten the freedoms and liberties of all women living in the United States. In tribute to many of the hundreds of women who continue to connect through my ongoing participatory visual storytelling movement, Airing Out the “Dirty” Laundry; I created the Balsa Butterflies–a series of 76 painted and printed wood panels in 2022. Each butterfly honors one of many women and nonbinary people who have stood next to me and each other in community.”
Coriander Focus - “This body of work explores the beauty of the body painted against the backdrop of nature, photographed without digital alteration these images show the magic that exists around us and the human experiences of pleasure. Indulgence and sensuality is what our bodies are made for, exploring the senses is how we connect with the world. These images are a vivid reminder of what magic still plays throughout the world.”
Visit their website
Lillian Jacobson - “As an oil painter who specializes in realistic figure painting, my work explores the complex layers of identity. My paintings aim to reveal the essence of the individual depicted, by using carefully chosen patterns that represent specific characteristics of their identity. The limited, but vibrant color palette, further highlights who the subjects are and the emotions associated with them. I aim to engage viewers on an emotional and intellectual level, giving them just enough insight into my subjects to invite them in, but allowing them to develop their own personal connection with the paintings.”
Visit their Instagram
Hailey Jordan - Hailey Jordan is a biracial, queer, scientist-turned-designer, raised by travelers, who thrives in the in-between. Her work illustrates the vibrancy of Black, Queer adventure on the frontiers of liberation– her subjects often in the midst of dance, exploration, bliss, abundance. To design and live with joy is Hailey’s way of honoring her ancestors and carving space for the Black, Queer imagination in generations to come.
Barbara Dahlberg - “Women have made quilts throughout history to cover beds and warm their families. Today’s quilts not only adorn beds but hang on our walls and in galleries as art. Any subject can inspire an art quilt. Many of my art quilts are nature and wildlife themed and I also like to make pieces that reflect my personal history which includes motherhood and teaching young children.”
Visit their website, Instagram, and Facebook
Kathy Daywalt - “I have always been in love with highly patterned compositions. (Matisse, Klee, Klimt and others) When I discovered YUPO paper, a whole world of possibility opened for using complex pattern in my watercolor work. Human relationship themes have been a life-long interest. I feel the highly patterned nature of my work speaks to the richness of a life of meaningful connections.”
Visit their website
Nina De Angelo - Nina De Angelo: Passionate Invisible Disability, Rare Disease, and Genetic Disorders Advocate
Nina De Angelo was an Invisible Disability, Rare Disease, and Genetic Disorders Advocate. She recently passed away at the age of 22 due to complications from a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. As someone who lived with chronic pain and multiple disabilities her entire life—including medical, physical, and learning disabilities—Nina knew first-hand how difficult everyday activities could be. Being an invisible disabilities advocate was something Nina was very proud of, and using a tool such as art to bring more awareness to this topic was very special to her.
Advocating for people with disabilities is woven into the “Women’s History” of Nina’s family, beginning with her maternal grandmother, who passed the torch to her mom, who passed it on to Nina. Nina’s vision was to create a better world for people with disabilities, and she used her voice to advocate for others like herself who faced the struggles of invisible and rare diseases.
The thing Nina loved most about art was creating something that could have a powerful impact on someone else, and she used art as a way to spread awareness about invisible disabilities. She also loved art because it allows people of all abilities to take part.
Shanti Dixon Gramby - “I paint using acrylic paint and mixed media. My aesthetic is mostly capturing the beauty of women with melanin and combine it with nature.”
Visit their Instagram
Kelly Hall - “My work explores the complex emotional and physical feelings that comes from living with eczema. I utilize a varied combination of vibrant, fluorescent, neon colors with paint, patterns and texture. This highly visual and playful color placement, as well as slightly uneven patterning, results in the viewer having a hard time viewing my pieces. From this, it’s highly likely there will be a vibrating, ringing sensation in the eyes upon viewing the work. This strained, burning, and prickly feeling that occurs in the eyes reflects how the skin feels when an itchy and irritated breakout happens.”
Diamond Jones - “As a multi-hyphenate creative force, Diamond Jones embodies a unique fusion of experiences and talents that shape her captivating artistic journey. Hailing from the heartlands of the Midwest, her work is a testament to resilience, diversity, and the power of self-expression. A veteran who served in the Army, Diamond Jones discovered her passion for the arts as a form of healing and exploration.
Self-taught across various mediums, she fearlessly blurs the lines between disciplines, employing a diverse skill set that encompasses oils, painting, and music production. Her creations are deeply rooted in her personal narrative and cultural heritage, drawing inspiration from the vibrant landscapes of the Midwest and the rich tapestry of Black experiences. Through her art, she offers a unique perspective on the intersections of identity, resilience, and the human spirit. Beyond her creative endeavors, Diamond Jones is a storyteller, weaving narratives that transcend boundaries and connect communities.”
Visit their Instagram
Elissa Jones (The Art Bae) - “Welcome to the world of Elissa “The Art Bae” Jones where art and healing come together. Her work is inspired by the beauty found in black women, and she is on a mission to promote self-love, body positivity, and healing through her art. Her creative work is a celebration of the strength, resilience, and power found in black women and hopes to inspire others to see the beauty in themselves and the world around them.”
Sarah Laraine - Sarah Laraine has been an artist for many years. In recent years, stepping into more abstract work using acrylic paint and paint pens.
Brianna Lesane - “There’s should be endless art of showing Mother Nature true beauty.”
Charlotte Kuethe - “My name is Charlotte [Jane] Kuethe and my artistic identity is jane's brain. I have been a passionate artist for as long as I can remember. I graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design last year with a major in illustration. Painting and digital art are my favorite mediums and I like to experiment with mixed media work. A lot of my work has a theme of mental health. I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder in 2019 and it has greatly affected my life and my art. I am starting to create a more comprehensive and quantitative portfolio and I'm excited to share it with the Chesapeake bay area and the world.”
Visit their website
Jamila Mathis - Jamila Mathis is a self-taught mixed-media artist with designs drawing influence from pop culture and Saturday morning cartoons. Her pieces combine bold, vibrant hues, unconventional materials, and wood shadow box canvases to birth or recreate characters that embody a youthful and carefree feeling. Allowing the inner child to express itself at the most primary level.
Cindy Mehr - “My painting is all about embracing diversity, revealing multi-faceted layers of identity, forming unlikely combinations by transcending boundaries, and in general, celebrating the infinite scope of the creative process, which in my case includes, but is not limited to a variety of media such as oil paint, acrylic paint, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, enamel paint, marker, liquid plastic, and a variety of techniques such as stenciling ,spray painting, brush painting, and drip painting, The surfaces look like collage, but in fact are entirely painted. The work included here showcases the many facets of feminine personality and the contradictory elements that lie within the female psyche: masculine/feminine, youth/old age, inner outer personas. The tableaux that unfold are a celebration of cultural and racial diversity as well as an affirmation of the animal spirits that live within us.”
Visit their
Karen Middleton - “The improvisational nature of my work mirrors the universal sense of isolation and the intrinsic human desire for social connection. Utilizing leftover fabric scraps from clothing and home furnishings, my quilts emphasize the narrative nature textiles. My practice includes experimentation blending both modern and traditional quilting techniques from diverse cultures that challenge quilting norms. Degrees in Anthropology and Textiles enrich the conceptual depth and technical richness of my art.
Through my artistic practice, I aim to transcend the utilitarian aspects of quilting, creating pieces that resonate on a deeper, aesthetic level. Central to my work is the exploration of emotions and narratives surrounding anxiety, depression, and isolation. By integrating anthropological insights, I aspire to create art that not only narrates a personal story but also fosters meaningful connections with viewers.”
Diane Osburn - “My vision as an artist is to move the viewer to think, reflect, smile, and enjoy. I am an abstract painter who loves to create feeling, movement, and energy with acrylic and sometimes oil paint. I like creating with bold colors and texture to reflect my feelings at any given time. Every painting starts with a basic idea, but I allow the rhythm of the process to guide me along the journey. That for me is the beauty of creativity.”
Visit their Laurel Art Guild Member Gallery and Instagram
Linda Popp - “I create narrative found object assemblage sculptures. I use artifacts and symbolic objects to convey stories about relationships with family, place, love, faith, nature, self, time, and other themes. During the process, I go beyond my personal stories and the narrative becomes universal as I feel our stories are all connected. Some objects/symbols are obvious; others may be interpreted by viewers differently as they bring their own experiences and engage the work. I enjoy the idea that something from my story may cause others to reflect on their own narrative. Reflection on personal narratives in order to better understand self and others is a very powerful experience that continues to draw me to the studio and my work. I have come to trust my collecting and allow objects to come to me during the art-making process. Many of the titles of my work come from music, books, and poetry that then guide my intention as I assemble my found objects.”
Sara Prigodich- “My sculptures are physical representations of our psychological incongruities: the doubts, questions, and shifts in perspectives through which we view the memories of our lives. The act of reflecting upon our experiences can become an investigation, a system of discovering and constructing underlying emotional structures. I find that a memory’s ability to mutate—to restructure reality or to erode the truth—is a potent source of inquiry for my work.
The porcelain elements appear soft and pliable, yet they are hardened permanent objects. This perceived softness relates to the flesh of the body to connect with our innate humanness and the malleable perception of our memories. The use of materials such as metal and concrete creates a physical and psychological intimacy around a space that is associated with home, structure and shelter. The making process involves a conscious act of piecemeal construction; building as needed to conceal or support the centralized ceramic form. Along with hand-drawn incised imagery, their fixed state serves to document a single instance of a recalled event, to create a calcified moment of the past. Through various ambivalent postures, encasements, and subtle comparisons, they evoke a curiosity, a desire to empathize with their conflicting state.”
Gail Robertson/ The Gailery - “I have chosen the most amazing carrer path, the creation of art in multiple mediums. My formal studies have taken me all over the globe from the states to the South of France, attending some of the most prestigious institutions such as The Marchutz School in Aix en Provence to studying in New York at the Arts Students League. My choice of expression has always been cusbism and Abtract Expression. All of this artistic experience always tend to lead to emotional expression among people. The way they feel the energy they exube and the colorfulness in the character. My paintings and sculptures always evoke emotion so the focus on the head and face has been my forte. Pleasse take a look at my site and journey through the emotional journey I present.”
Beth Schwartz - “I am a Baltimore mixed media artist. Although I have been studying and making art throughout my life, I am also a retired pathologist. Humor, intellectual questions, imagination, and arresting imagery from my everyday life inspire my art. Using painterly techniques with hand cut collage, I create rich visual layers to engage the eye and invite the viewer in. Since 2018 my artwork has been in galleries and juried craft shows in Maryland and northern Virginia, and I have been selling from my website, www.BethSchwartz.Studio. 15% of my sales is always donated to Baltimore’s Health Care for the Homeless.”
Atalante Shay - “I was born to immigrant parents, making me a first-generation American, and I grew up in Hyattsville, Maryland. From a very early age, I always had a crayon or paintbrush in my little hand, and I was either drawing or painting. I continued my visual arts studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating with a BFA in Painting and Printmaking! Since I graduated college, I have submitted my art to a couple of juried art shows through the Annapolis Arts Alliance. However, I also decided to leap of faith; I submitted my artwork to be part of Gallery 57 West and was accepted. Showing my artwork in Annapolis, Maryland, always has been on my bucket list. While at Gallery 57 West, I co-hosted an art show with the Gallery and Gigi's Playhouse Annapolis, showcasing adults with Down Syndrome! I am a part-time guest artist for the Apex Arts Magnet Program in AAC. My dream for the future is to have an art gallery!”.
Visit their Instagram
Serenity Smith - “I am a visionary surrealist painter who explores the realms of spirituality, metaphysics, dream work, and the sublime power of the divine feminine in my artwork. Drawing inspiration from my inner journey and the collective unconscious, I create visual narratives that transport viewers to otherworldly dimensions. My surreal visions often feature ethereal landscapes, celestial beings, and enigmatic symbolism that explore the interconnectedness of the earthly and the celestial. Through my artistic journey, I aim to inspire others to embark on their own inner quests, to embrace the beauty of their dreams, and to honor the divine feminine within themselves.”
Macy Toalepai - Hello, I am Macy Toalepai and I'm a digital artist based in Maryland. I'm currently working as a independent artist with future plans of publishing fantasy comics and animation. My interest in art began with simple sketches in high school and has developed into a storyline for a future comic series. Aside from making my story I enjoy time with friends, discovering new music, fashion studies, and games.
Visit their Instagram
Chenell Turner - “ From the whimsical strokes of my childhood to the intricate details of the present, my art is a journey through the canvas of my life. Since I was a child, the love for creating has been my constant companion, an ever-evolving muse that breathes life into my work. Each piece is not just a visual representation but an intimate expression of the emotions I experience in that very moment. I find beauty in the objectivity of my creations – a dance between form and feeling. Every brushstroke, every color choice is a dialogue with the raw essence of my emotions. Through my art, I invite you to step into my world, to feel the pulse of each piece, and to witness the harmonious interplay between my inner self and the external canvas. “
Visit their Instagram