Catherine Colangelo (b. 1969) 

While navigating motherhood, Catherine Colangelo embarked on a journey of talisman and craft in an effort to protect her child from afar. Influenced by illuminated manuscripts, Islamic and Indian miniatures, textiles, and Ethiopian art, she derives inspiration from universal symbolism and talismanic imagery. Her spiritual paintings echo the practice of Ethiopian healing scrolls – highly individualized manuscripts created by traditional healers and diviners to purge spirits and combat sickness. These sacred scrolls are constructed from animal skin and ink and imbued with magical properties to serve as divine amulets to their receiver.

Through gouache and graphite paintings, Colangelo explores the deepening desire to protect a loved one through rich illustration and iconography

Evil eyes, eight-point stars, symmetrical design, and opaque colors –all serve as essential elements to the composition's fortitude. Her intuitive approach to arranging patterns, shapes, and colors is derived from a slow and meditative process. 

By tapping into the subconscious, she emanates from the psyche and demonstrates the ineffable. Although her paintings are created to protect her daughter, Colangelo attributes them to protecting her as well. "The use of symmetrical design is almost universal in my work. Trying to create balance is an eternal goal, in my art as in my life".

Carlos Hernandez (b. 1961)

Carlos Hernandez never fails to break the boundaries with his densely-layered abstractions and beautifully twisted vision. His conceptually layered pieces are reconstructed from his past assemblages, consisting of discarded and found graphics and hand-drawn elements. 

For Hernandez, he discipline of printmaking is the process of discovery. Hernandez grew up in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Arnett Benson in Lubbock, Texas. Coming from a large family and two working parents, he and his siblings were taken to the local convenience store every weekend for a means of entertainment and adventure His internal world began to flourish from magazines, records, and the latest pop culture. He was deeply enamored and inspired by the bold and colorful art contained within the many mediums of print. 

Having been a drummer in a variety of bands in the late 70s and early 80s, Hernandez took on the position of creating gig posters after falling in love with their printing process and graphic design elements.  

In 1999, he moved to Houston, Texas. 12 years later, he co-founded Burning Bones Press – Houston's first full-service community printmaking studio. As an artist and mentor, Hernandez serves as an important contributor to the development and expansion of the art community.

Claire Cusack (b. 1961)

Through the exquisite medium of sculpture and assemblage, self-taught artist Claire Cusack translates visions and memories of the dream world into a compelling visual narrative. Inspired by found objects and discarded materials, she reinvents the context of these once-forgotten entities and gives them a second chance at life. By providing these remnants of the past with a new purpose, she tells a tale of hope and new beginnings. For Cusack, these discovered wonders possess individual voices that play a vital role in her story. After the passing of her husband in 2005, she began to have precognitive dreams that foreshadowed her future creations. Her art is her great attempt to evocate said visions and transmute them into a tangible experience.

Nearly 35 years ago, while hiking in the remote hills of Cloudcroft, New Mexico's Lincoln National Forest, Claire Cusack heard a voice she believed to be God. This voice of great divinity called to her and said, "Claire, you are supposed to be making art". It was that Monday she quit her job and began creating. What began as cross sculptures made from rocks slowly evolved into idiosyncratic works crafted from an array of found and discarded materials. For what may exist to others as garbage, serves as inspiration to Cusack. Her materials are often gathered from urban intersections, rural roads, railroad tracks, junkyards, natural attractions, garages, and antique shops. Her miscellanea of finds consists of old leather, plexiglass, tools, fibers, fabrics, metals, and more. To her, these worn and weathered materials possess a particular kind of beauty that cannot be imitated. For years, these articles are stored until they present themselves with a narrative to fit into. "I am drawn to pieces with a story to tell. The objects speak to me and each other. They guide me to where they're supposed to be."

Despite the simplicity of her design, Cusack's creative process is nothing short of strenuous. Her furniture-making and fitted techniques require labor-intensive work and often the assistance of another person. From manipulating metal to crafting with wood, her approach requires much self-discipline and control. The juxtaposition of harsh materials yet subtle details speaks to her detail-orientedness and refined wonders. Crosses serve as recurring symbols in Cusack's work, representing hope and perseverance undeterred by life's unpredictable trajectory. Her spirituality and appreciation for life play as fundamental inspirations in her creative pursuit. "I have always thought that the cross should be in one's surroundings. It can give you strength when you need it. It can remind you: that when you come out of your mother's womb, you come out going in one direction, but life doesn't stay that way. There are turns. The cross represents a movement upward, regardless of the different directions life takes, you are right where you need to be."

Eddie Arning  (1898 - 1993)

Eddie Arning’s drawings of agrarian life and popular iconography constitute a singular contribution to the canon of American Outsider Art. He began drawing as a therapeutic process during his stay at rudimentary compositions of flat planes and simple figures. He quickly developed as an artist, moving from crayons to oil pastels and embracing complicated and chromatic compositions. Arning’s subject matter expanded to include references to his rural upbringing and popular advertising figures such as Colonel Sanders, continuing a tradition of artists producing Americana imagery. 

Arning was born to a German homesteading family of the Lutheran faith in Germania, Texas in 1898. He was the youngest of five children and worked on his family’s farm until his mid-twenties. Throughout his childhood, Arning was considered a troubled youth and received only six years of education. In 1928 he was ruled “dangerous” by the Austin County Court for reasons of insanity after an attack on his mother and committed to the Austin State Hospital for one year. After leaving the psychiatric facility, Eddie returned to his family’s farm and remained there for six years until he was recommitted in 1934. Upon institutionalization, Arning was diagnosed with “dementia praecox” - a diagnostic term for modern-day schizophrenia.

After 30 years of institutionalization, Arning was transferred to the nursing home facility, Texas Confederate Home for Men in 1964. It was here that he was introduced to art by hospital nurse and therapist, Helen Mayfield. Nurse Mayfield supplied patients with art supplies and guidance in an attempt at early form art therapy. Arning taught himself how to make art. Starting with colored pencils and eventually migrating to oil pastels, his work depicted still-life childhood memories and human figures. Arning’s geometric style remained rich in texture and color from his dense strokes, abstract shapes, and bold planes of color. His stylized figuration embodied a twisted perspective: flattening the subject. Eventually, Arning began to pull inspiration from sourced magazine advertisements, photos, and illustrations - using reconstruction techniques to reckon with his difficult past through the process of creation. 

In 1967 Arning transferred to a different nursing home with the help of the funds and proceeds from the sales of his work. Upon being asked to leave for non-compliance, Arning moved in with his widowed sister and stopped making art altogether. Although his oeuvre only lasted a decade, Eddie produced over 2,500 compositions. 

Eddie Arning resided in McGregor, Texas until his passing in 1993.

Kelly Moran (b. 1959)

Kelly Moran was born in a rural village of the Catskill Mountains of Kingston, New York in 1959.  Growing up in such countryside limited Moran’s convergence with art.  Her impetus to becoming an artist sprouted after encountering a single painting by her uncle that hung in her grandmother’s home. After moving to Florida at age 10, Moran’s grandmother took her to Five & Dimes – a variety store of souvenirs, antiques, apparel, notions, necessities, and art. For nearly her entire life, she has been an avid collector of ephemera and an art advocate. Moran creates timeless pieces that engage the audience with fragments of the past - evoking nostalgia and a trustworthy appreciation for the easily forgotten. 

With her work, she guides the viewers through the intersections and parallels of present time with the 19th and 20th centuries by utilizing found objects. Moran’s well-crafted creations are assembled by many mediums: screenprinting, painting, textile work, and craftsmanship. Her energetic pieces are drawn from contemporary events, cultures, personal experiences, and observations that evoke reflection on where we are now and were then. By leaving the narrative open, Moran gives rise to the audience’s own introspection and provides the viewer with the opportunity to tell a story of their own

Lance Letscher

(b. 1962)

Best known for his vibrant three-dimensional illusions, Lance Letscher meticulously constructs powerful compositions from a variety of discarded and found objects. From antique notebooks to record covers and fragments, he creates densely layered abstractions fueled by a juxtaposition of strong color and value. Letscher’s fastidious process began after being abandoned by his parents at age 14. During this time, he developed powerful traits of attentiveness, creativity, a strong work ethic, and an unfortunate proclivity towards depression and anxiety. After losing his father to suicide in 2010, Letscher found himself in a time of darkness, isolation, and alienation. This state of being reflected much in his work and pushed him to seek alternatives for a better life.  

Through psychiatric care and personal reflection, Letscher developed a healthy lifestyle. In his creative process, Lance has learned to disconnect from the conscious mind and connect with the subconscious. Within this, he is able to sever all ties with preconceived notions and concepts and transform his angst and grief into creation and life. He leaves you connected to the creative impulse that resides at the heart of human nature - outside of all cultural and societal boundaries.  Lance Letscher harnesses the trauma and hardships of the human experience and uses his transformative power of creation to mirror reality with an immeasurable kaleidoscope of shape and color - showing the viewer through the lens of imagination.

Martin Bernstein (b. 1949)

Martin Bernstein is a multi-disciplinary artist who tells a never-ending story of self-discovery through his mastered works of installation, painting, sculpture, and jeweled objects. He creates a harmonious display connected by its many mediums and countless narratives, told through tendrils of beads and cords and lights alike, intertwined and meandered like vines left to their own devices for a lifetime. With some elements dancing together and some standing alone, Bernstein creates a universe of infinite imagination, playfully taking the viewer through an open-ended story full of ideas, thoughts, dreams, innuendos, and possibilities - bridging the gap between fantasy and reality.

Bernstein's array of one-of-a-kind, handcrafted jeweled pieces, are produced with an organic nature that physically accentuates movement and sensuality while presenting a profile like no other. His jewelry and jeweled objects are made with pearls and rough-cut gems that are delicately intertwined in tri-colored palladium chains of the finest and most delicate 14k white, rose, yellow gold, and sterling silver. With no two alike, his jewelry presents itself with apparent individuality and has the power to stand alone as works of art. He works from scratch with fine, raw elements that continuously echo the natural world. His materials consist of fine pearls from the high-quality freshwaters of the South Sea and Keshi, along with vibrant diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, aquamarine, beryls, black opals, tourmalines, tanzanite, and more. These adornments are hand-crafted intuitively by Bernstein - who approaches their design with no prior plan but rather a stream of consciousness.  He believes that the jewelry we wear has the capability of serving as an outer signal to the inner light and hidden treasures that exist within. His pieces help reflect and declare their wearer's individuality.

Martin Bernstein majored in painting and photography at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the late 1970s. Upon graduating, he focused on creating geometric paintings with linear motifs that wrapped around the edges of three-dimensional canvases. But Bernstein never felt as if being an artist referred to any particular medium. Instead, it was a state of mind; a way that he filtered the world. Restrictions of geometric painting became too controlling over the freedom of expression he seemed to be searching for. The physical structure of the conventional canvas interfered far too much with his creativity; it felt neither necessary nor fulfilling to limit himself to a framed rectangle on a wall. This physical restriction was paralleled by his attempt to navigate societal norms and the constraints such things place on one's individuality. In time, he began to move beyond the canvas completely and allowed his expressive form to touch the physical surrounding objects and environment. His environment became his canvas. Dots, splashes, and lines of color shape-shifted into three-dimensional objects: bubbles, beads, strings, and chains, manifesting into a literal, physical sense of paint flying through the air.

How does one free themselves from the constraints of the world around them? Through fantasy? Dreaming? Praying? Perhaps, Bernstein created the world he wished to live in: a realm that knows no boundaries; a world of wonder that provides anyone who enters it the power to become whoever and whatever they wish to be. In opposition to just being an observer or remaining as a separate entity from the piece, Bernstein enables the viewer to become enveloped within his installation, transforming the audience member from a mere bystander to an essential piece in a moving picture. This process of immersion illuminates more information for the viewer and permits them to enter the psyche of the work. "Just as dreams or free associations can unveil subconscious motivations behind the waking life, I choose to use my work as a map to decipher my own personal motivations. By interpreting my own footsteps, I find it possible to secure an understanding of the underlying motivations that guide my trek along the pathway of life."

Sally Bennett (b.1935)

Self-taught artist Sally Bennett attempts to free herself from all confining mental structures and self-imposed systems.  Through an intuitive process, Bennett paints to then only deconstruct- By deconstructing and reconfiguring her piece, she allows her intention to become intuition in the act of letting go. 

“My paintings are heavily rooted in daily experiences, past, present, fact and fiction. An obsessive fascination with patterns manifests the work. It offers a way to reconstruct and organize the chaos around me.” I accept a new relationship, a fresh beginning and an unexpected ending when the canvas is cut and reconstructed by my son. The work responds with a language of symbols, patterns, markings, colors, and collage that promotes a meaningful viewing and intimate engagement between the piece and the viewer. 

For most of her life, Sally’s notion of becoming an artist was widely rejected. Having started her domestic life young and coming from a conventional household, Bennett was discouraged to become an artist, as a common belief throughout the 60s and 70s was that women could not create and be a mother simultaneously. And however present that critical voice may be, for over 50 years Bennett has painted every day and continues to do so at the age of 88. 

She was discouraged from pursuing a life of the unconventional. Throughout the 60s and 70s, it was believed that a woman could not pursue motherhood and a career simultaneously, let alone be an artist. 

W. Tucker (b.1959)

Upon moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, W. Tucker embarked on his artistic journey after attending a weekend writing workshop. Hosted by his friend Lucia Capacchiona, a registered art therapist and psychotherapist, attendees were instructed to write with their non-dominant hands to create a dialogue with their inner child. Upon leaving the workshop, Tucker felt as if he had unlocked another part of himself. Slowly his acting pursuit ended after being overtaken by his desire to draw and paint. 

By using his left hand, not only does Tucker create space between the thinking mind and the canvas, but he builds a pathway for the voice within. Largely guided by his intuition, the work begins unplanned. Lines, markings, strokes, and scribbles are made with numerous mediums including oil, ink, charcoal, graphite, lumbar and resin stick. Piece by piece, a story evokes. From animals and people to inanimate objects such as a mug or boxing glove, Tucker’s catalog of characters parallels with the world we live in today. Despite how mundane these entities may appear, they serve as key ingredients to his masterpiece – symbolizing everyday encounters and shared experiences. 

His work reflects a strong relationship between the found and discarded materials that he creates on and the subject he depicts on their surfaces. The finished work represents glimpses of moments, stories, dilemmas, and everyday experiences that all walks of life undergo.