abstract – Circle Foundation for the Arts

JinHee Kim is a Chicago-based artist, born in Seoul, and raised in Beijing. The artist received her Bachelor's Degree on Fine Arts in Painting at The Art Institute of Chicago. In May 2018, she received a Master's degree from Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts of Washington University in St. Louis.

“In my work, I present the viewer with canvases and books adorned with yarn and thread. The yarn creates complex organic forms on the canvas. Circular organic forms are either painted in with color, have rhinestones pasted in, or are left empty. These sets of lines create texture and movement, which allow for a distinct experience of the viewer depending on what has been done to these organic forms.

My method of creating each canvas is a very intricate process and becomes a form of meditation, embodying the essential meaning of my work. As creating each canvas requires an extensive amount of time to create, I also make quick studies in sketchbooks and raw canvases that are layered on top of one another; which also become art objects.

Through meditation and layering of yarns, I visually present the process of embracing of myself, specifically my personal traumas, and duality. The tension between concealing and revealing my personal trauma is a crucial facet of my artwork.

Evolving from an art therapy technique, the Winnicott Squiggle Game, I am drawn to the connections one can make with one another from a simple cluster of lines, and create images as a result. These images are a result of intention and accident, a combination that mimics inevitable life choices."

Wolfgang Müller

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Nicole Papaefthimiou

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Allisdhair McNaull

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"I am a self-taught photographer approaching photography with an “artist’s eye” using long, hand-held exposures, letting the movement of the subject of the camera and the subject "paint" themselves on the image. The resulting photographs often appear like paintings with color, light and, movement blending together creating ethereal landscapes and revealing new dimensions of the subject. The creation of each image is a meditation on the subject as I become totally absorbed in the moment, the subject and the camera.”

Allisdhair McNaull is a member of the Cheshire Artist’s Network and regularly exhibits work alongside that of other members of the group.

Makeski ART

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"I get my inspiration from my subconscious, very often I meditate bevor I start to paint.

A typical feature of these meditative times are the faces which appear during the painting process and sometimes merge into one another. Since early childhood, I was accompanied by my father who was an academic artist. The painting process crystallized in my own style and today I can confirm that my Art Style and especially painting medium are totally unique in the Art scene.

The need to express myself artistically gives me the opportunity to let go and let my feelings run free.

My artwork emerges from many different ways of expression.

My abstract paintings are reflections of my emotional experiences and my mood in the very moment of artistic creation. While examining my paintings I feel as if more and more resonances emerge. When I practice such intuitive art of painting I experience a kind of encounter with my self and many paintings are created out of this emotion. If you find my pictures attractive or if you feel touched and inspired by them, then you are close to me."

Born in FYROM (Macedonia) and living in Switzerland, Makeksi is an artist with a very unique technique perfected over the years to capture what he is yearning to express. Discover his beautiful works display bold color, fluid shape and beautiful line work.

Mahood

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“As a teenager, I learned to develop and print black & white film before moving on to SX-70 film manipulation and Polaroid transfers. I then became interested in digital photography which I see as an outlet for creativity and experimentation. There is no set formula for the way I work, and every piece is unique in that respect. I appreciate art that tells a story, makes you look twice, and leaves you in doubt. My photographic art is currently featured in the Contemporary Masters XI edition, Art Professionals 33 (Masters of Today Art Books), Important World Artists, A World of Art 2, and The Art Book 2018 (The Artblend Artist Agency). My images have also been featured in magazines and books including the 2016 edition of "Bird Photographer of the Year”.”

Maria Teresa Guala

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Maria Teresa Guala was born in Turin in 1947. Her father was painter and advertiser (signed with TO-EXPOSITION) and came from an important family of artists of Monferrato. Maria studied at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts of Turin in the ‘60s under Prof. Scroppo. At the same time she studied languages and she has worked as translator. Due to work and family, she interrupted her art practice for a long time. Resuming in 2000 with a solo exhibition at Micrò Gallery, Turin and at the Promotrice of Fine Arts in Turin, 2001. She participated in several exhibitions in Europe and Russia, US and received different awards.

Guala collaborated with the MIIT Museum of Turin, spending two months in Chicago (Zhou Center). In summer 2017 she participated in the Triennale of Rome. She also collaborated with some galleries in the United States winning a contest with ARTAVITA Santa Barbara to participate in Miami Art Basel. Maria was contacted by VIDA, a fashion house in San Francisco to work as a designer. On November 18.2017 she inaugurates a personal exhibition at Palazzo Ducale Genova.

Michaela Bräunche

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"My entire life I have loved arts and music. I decided to study Architecture, a similar profession, but not as similar as I thought. I never really ceased to paint, to handle with colors. In 2015 I began to express myself while painting. This was an entirely new experience. First I started to work with gypsum, a wonderful material. Later with all kinds of colors, varnish and sometimes with founds from nature. At a certain time, I began to paint those mandala-like pictures. I do not know where they come from. I paint - without thinking about it - without making a concept before. It is a kind of a "marvelous relaxation" - coming from my inside.

At first, when I began to paint those pictures, I ask myself, where are they coming from. I do not know it, and after a while, I do not ask myself about it. I accepted it. In 2017 I began to publish my works, and a few months later, in November 2017 I had my first exhibition in Italy. This was incredible. As a matter of fact, I would say: painting is one of the great experiences of my life, it`s a part of me."

Mary E. Morgan

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"My influence as an abstract expressionist artist is continually impacted by my life's journey. Teaching art as a part of that journey was significant as I researched many artists in order to be prepared to teach. This research simultaneously affected my own stylistic decisions as I finalized my graduate level education.

My artwork continues to evolve through the lens of my emotional and intellectual response to life's experiences. The product is a reflection of the enmeshment of inner world experiences, the soul that holds all the intangible spiritual values and outer world influence, a broad spectrum; meaning, nature, people, and literature.

What I do in my studio is a daily process I call a “vital creative activity.” It stems from what Kandinsky said is an “inner necessity”. My work is 2-D on canvas or paper. Sometimes I use mixed media to communicate a particular theme. I use acrylic and oil, and often I combine these materials. Because I am inspired by the colors of nature, my work is colorful. I would like to quote Helen Frankenthaler who said “it is a combined conscious and subconscious effort “ and I agree that often it can be spontaneous.

I would like the viewer to engage in my art and take away from whatever they feel it communicates to them.

After teaching for over 30 years I have learned that knowledge impedes progress and progress comes through hard work and consistency. It is always exciting to see what the next painting will be. Therefore, I am always expecting the unexpected to unfold in my work; I embrace the future for its mysterious unknown path that keeps me focused and challenges my creative options."

Jay Brown

JinHee Kim

"I present canvases and books adorned with yarn and thread. The yarn creates complex organic forms on the canvas. Evolving from an art therapy technique, I am drawn to the connections one can make with one another from a simple cluster of lines, a result of intention and accident."

Wolfgang Müller

Wolfgang Müller begins with a certain idea, which then expands and concretizes in the course of a longer, sometimes over years extending creative process. He places the human being in the center of a cosmos, where he paints inner and outer worlds in a very own surreal context.

Nicole Papaefthimiou

Nicole expresses the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality and believes that with simple colors and shapes, the spectator can perceive the moods and feelings in her paintings.

Allisdhair McNaull

"I become completely absorbed in the moment of creation blending color, light and, movement, capturing a unique, unrepeatable moment, a meditation captured as a photograph."

Makeski ART

“Art is a mediator of the unspeakable” - J. W. von Goethe

Mahood

“I am a digital photographer who is heavily influenced by nature and the natural environment. I am self-taught in photography and art and use digital techniques to convey the mood and feel of the places I photograph. Early Impressionism is an influence.”

Maria Teresa Guala

Michaela Bräunche

"I always loved painting, to work with colors and different materials. When I begin to paint, I do not know what I am going to paint. It's like a natural process. My personal need for harmony controls my work, and as well it inspires me."

Mary E. Morgan

"My influence as an abstract expressionist artist is continually impacted by my life's journey. I identify my own philosophy with Kandinsky's quote concerning the "inner necessity"; the very reason that inspires me to engage in the creative process."