The Official 2020 Benefit Art Sale Catalog

OCTOBER 26–29, 2020

Thank You to Our Sponsors

TITLE SPONSOR

AUCTION SPONSOR LIVE AUCTION SPONSORS

RAFFLE SPONSORS

BELL TOWER HOSTS Ingrid and John Amols Allen Blevins and Armando Aispuro Armando Chardiet Olga and Jay Faison Deidre and Clay Grubb Dr. Keia Hewitt and Kenneth Snow Barbara Laughlin Manuel Rodriguez

STUDIO HOSTS Vicki Block Alli Celebron-Brown and Kyle Brown Jennifer Coss Michlene Healy Lisa and Tom Phillips Mary Porter Paige and Arthur Roselle Marcia Tillotson and Sharon Blalock Audra and Ned Tyree Neely and Michael Verano

Welcome

Thank you for joining us for McColl Center for Art + Innovation’s inaugural Benefit Art Sale!

It is with great pride and an abundance of excitement that we share this catalog of contemporary artwork curated by our Art Sale Committee with the theme of Change, Growth, and Connectedness. While we navigate through these uncharted waters and work to remain socially conscious in a physically-distanced, virtual-centric world, art binds us together as human beings. It is through the power of art that we can gain understanding of experiences outside of our own and come together, even virtually, in celebration of our differences.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has vastly impacted the programming and operations at McColl Center, we remain steadfast in our mission to champion contemporary artists and spark creative experiences for positive community impact. It is because of your support and generosity that McColl Center has been able to pivot our programs to align with the current cultural needs in our community.

Your support makes an immediate impact on the health and sustainability of McColl Center and countless artists who rely on our partnership for professional development opportunities and resources to thrive in their creative practices.

Please accept my sincerest gratitude for your dedication to McColl Center and your investment in our future as well as the future of artists in Charlotte and beyond.

Best of luck on your bidding!

Alli Celebron-Brown President + CEO

Order of Events Art Sale Kick-Off Monday, October 26 | 12:00 p.m.

Silent Auction Launch Tuesday, October 27 | 12:00 p.m.

Live Auction Event Thursday, October 29 | 7:00 p.m. ● Special Guests ● Art Sale + Silent Auction Ends at 7:20 p.m. ● Live Auction ● Raise the Paddle ● Raffle Drawing

Art Pick-Up Tuesday, November 4 – Friday, November 6, 2020

event.gives/mccollcenter How it Works Visit on a smartphone, tablet, or computer and log in using the account created when you registered by clicking the menu in the upper righthand corner. The best experience is usually on a computer, using a reliable browser like Google Chrome. If, at any point during the live streamed event, your screen seems stuck or out of sync, try refreshing your browser.

Review the list of artists and artwork within this catalog or directly on the Event.Gives site by clicking “View Items.” All artwork purchases, bidding, and donations during the Benefit Art Sale will take place on Event.Gives.

You will receive emails with information about when each section goes live, how to access it, and how to purchase.

Questions or We are here to help! Contact Vonna Brown, Director of Donor [email protected] Technical Issues? Relations, at to get assistance.

McColl Center Board of Directors

David Campbell Vicki Block Kathleen Jordan Chair Atrium Health Gensler Boxman Studios Nicole Dean Cheryl Kaufman Laura Smith Xavier Austin Group Fundafi Chair-Elect Foundation For The Carolinas Ivan Toth Depeña Yih-Han Ma Brian Bernhardt Alumnus Artist Red Ventures Secretary + Governance Committee, Chair Walter Dolhare Manuel Rodriguez Forrest Firm Wells Fargo Securities Chiquita, Retired

Marcia Tillotson Trena Drayton Paige Roselle Finance Committee, Interim Bank of America Civic Leader Chair TillotsonKenefick Private Wealth Keia Hewitt, MD Neely Verano Management of Wells Fargo Advisors Physician LaCa Projects Co-Founder Betsy Birkner Program Committee, Chair Sarah Hutchins Banks Wilson Alumna Artist Parker Poe Union

Allen Blevins Facilities Committee, Chair Bank of America Private Bank

Audra Nunn Tyree

Development, Chair

Rodgers Builders

McColl Center Staff + Auction Team

Alli Celebron-Brown Alice Cookson Cassie Brown President + CEO Program Manager TCG Events

Armando Bellmas James Minton Daniel Lyles Vice President, Marketing + Events + Operations Manager Daniel Lyles Auctions Operations Laura Thomas Rosalie Grubb Ben McCarthy Marketing Coordinator Development Intern Vice President, Development De’Ja Taylor Art Sale Committee Claudia Gonzalez-Griffin Executive Administrative Assistant Olivia Chrisholm Director of Residencies + Programs Michlene Healy

Marco Heeter Vonna Brown Keia Hewitt, MD Facilities Associate Joanne Rogers Director of Donor Relations Neely Verano

Artists

Tina Alberni Clarence Heyward Molly Partyka Nico Amortegui Sally Higgins Fahamu Pecou Betsy Birkner Meghan Huntly Dorne Pentes Wil Bosbyshell Blaine Hurdle Bryant Portwood Marcia Brito Carmella Jarvi Varsha Pradhan Linda Luise Brown Mert Jones Shamsad Rahman Christina Bukowski Elijah Kell Patricia Raible Dari Calamari Holly Keogh Marek Ranis Shaun Cassidy KHEM Faith Rivers Jean Cauthen Marc Kool Ashley Sellner Javier Collado Daysha Lancaster Susan Sharpe Edith Covarrubias Peri Law La’Porscha Smith Eva Crawford Brittney Leeanne Williams Nill Smith Anna Dlougolenskaia Michelle Levi Laurie Smithwick Christine Dryden Oliver Lewis Bree Stallings Troy Dugas Angela Lubinecky Malu Tan Paul Farmer Nick McOwen ET Trigg Joel Ferguson Jill Martin Anatoly Tsiris Amanda Foshag Beverly Mclver Morganne Van Voorhis Pamela Freeman Lacey McKinney Adrienne Watts Jen Gerena Trey Miles Brooke Werhane Maples Holly Graham Kyle Mosher Bryan Wilson Jason Green Leonor Demori Neisler Andrew Wilson Raymond Grubb Liz Neilson Joyce Wynes Kevin Harris Cecil Norris Carlos Vargas Krystal Hart Sean O’Neill Mary Zio Amy Herman Elizabeth Palmisano

Artist Donations

Thank you to the following artists who have decided to show further support by donating the proceeds from their works sales to McColl Center.

Christina Bukowski Liz Nielson Introspective Aquarium, 2019 Conductor, 2020 Alumni Artist, Winter/Spring 2020 Troy Dugas Molly Partyka Palm of the Hand, 2019 Alumni Artist, Summer 2019 Momentum, 2019

Elizabeth Palmisano Paul Farmer Invocation No.33, 2020 Lichen Constellation No.10, 2020

Fahamu Pecou Amanda Foshag Àwon Ìyá Wa (Our Mothers), 2017 Recollections, 2018 Alumni Artist, Fall ‘10

Jason H. Green Dorne Pentes You’re Doing it Right, 2020 Vectors N.4, 2018 Alumni Artist, Fall 2019 Laurie Smithwick Sally Higgins Balance 8: The Unlikeliest of Places, 2020

Banging on Pots on Friday at 7, 2020 Morganne Van Voorhis

Mert Jones CMYK, 2020

Natura, 2020 Brittney Leeanne Williams Daysha Lancaster Blue Lemon Tree In Victorville, 2019 Alumni Artist, Fall 2019 Hear Our Cry, 2020

Andrew Wilson Beverly Mclver Facial Recognition, 2017 Gracie Girl, 2018 Alumni Artist, Winter/Spring 2020 Alumni Artist, Fall 2014

Lacey McKinney

Reconfiguration III, 2019 Alumni Artist, Fall 2019

ART SALE Starting Monday, October 26, 2020 | 12:00 p.m.

Marcia Brito Photographic Abstraction No.3, 2020 Photography & Painting | 30 x 40 x 1.5 inches $2,500

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I moved to the USA at 18 with a Scholarship Award from the International Institute of Education (IIE) of New York, through juried competition for high academic performance. I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL. Now an American citizen and Artist based in Miami, I’m certified to teach Art and have earned a Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) in Visual Arts from Jacksonville University, FL. As a professional photographer and multidisciplinary artist, my career emcompasses an array of national and international exhibitions, photographic assignments, publications and awards.

Nico Amortegui Dolores Huerta, 2019 Pen & Ink with Watercolor | 10 x 7 inches $1,450

Nico Amortegui was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. He has lived and worked in the United States since the late 1990s. His current artistic focus includes large-scale paintings on canvas or wood panels, sculpting and wood-working with found objects. He enjoys spending time in the ceramics studio and his elaborate garden. In his practice, he leans toward creating portraits of people who have defied the odds and/or were infamous or honorable in one lifetime. Illustrating 'snapshots' of a peripatetic lifestyle — that of his own (which was focused on survival while living undocumented) and of those encountered along the way most often takes over his canvases. A community’s history and roots are other themes that he enjoys learning about and painting.

Betsy Birkner You are the chosen One, 2020 Mixed Media, Ceramic, Found Objects, Gold Leaf & Graphite | 6 x 5.5 x 3 inches $300

The tomboy in Betsy Birkner celebrated the spring ritual of building red clay dams and bridges over the backyard creek, while her tactile need was answered by her grandmother who taught Betsy how to sew and crochet. She made Barbie gowns as her mother made glorious brocade cocktail dresses. She loved science and history projects and made models involving a variety of materials.

Bryan Wilson Work Ethic, 2019 Oil on Aluminium | 9 x 12 inches $800

Bryan is an oil painter who uses his paintings to present the beauty surrounding him while subtly confronting the viewer highlighting some of the inequity that exists. He received his MFA in 2015 from Academy of Art University and then two Elizabeth Greenshields foundation grants in 2017 and 2020. He was also an ArtPopStreetGallery artist, was awarded a 2016 Golden Artist Educator residency, and exhibits throughout the East Coast.

Christine Dryden Allow the Wind to Blow, 2020 Oil Painting | 18 x 24 inches $485

Christine Dryden, is a graphic designer and marketing consultant that lives and works in Charlotte, NC. A graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism, she spent nine years working in a small software company as the Director of Marketing before hanging her shingle as an independent designer. Like most of the self-employed world, Christine wears several hats (often all at once), including that of co-conspirator in a family construction company, Mom to four teenagers, and a student of oil painting.

Christina Bukowski Introspective Aquarium, 2019 Pen & Ink with Watercolor | 10 x 7 inches $75

Christina Bukowski was born in Yekaterinburg and grew up in Charlotte, NC. She is currently a college student and has been practicing art before she can remember. Christina loves anything creative including photography, drawing and painting. She does all her art in her free time and mainly sticks to two-dimensional pieces.

Edith Covarrubias Las Caras, 2020 Oil Painting | 30 x 48 inches $2,800

Edith Covarrubias is an artist from Guerrero, Mexico who works with acrylic and oil paint. She painted for a hotel in Mexico City and expanded her artistry by taking pottery classes in Toluca, Mexico. She currently lives in Charlotte, NC where she enjoys participating in Condom Couture Asheville and Charlotte. She creates condom-made dresses to auction and raise money for Planned Parenthood. She currently works in a program where she paints with families to support the Arts and Science Council. Additionally, Edith is collaborating with the Mexican artist-activist Rosalia Torres-Weiner, painting vibrant murals that represent the Latino community across the city of Charlotte.

Amy Herman mom’s mom’s mom’s hands, 2019 Archival Inkjet Print | 13 x 19 inches $900

Amy Herman is an artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She received her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and her BFA in Fine Arts from Michigan State University. Her photographs have been shown on the international level and are included in the permanent collections of the Kiyosato Museum of Photography and The Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Anna Dlouglenskaia The one who speaks, 2020 Fabric Collage | 32 x 24 inches $300

Anna Dlougolenskaia was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and studied drawing and painting in its great art schools. In 1990 she immigrated to New York, and a chance job sparked her new career as a textile artist. In 1996, this career brought Anna to North Carolina, where she spent twelve years working for Wesley Mancini Ltd. Fabric Design Studio. Since then, Anna has been living and making her art in Charlotte.

Amanda Foshag Recollections, 2018 Handmade Paper, Acrylic & Ink Collaged on Sandpaper 24 x 24 inches $325

Amanda has a background in various media with her current focus being drawing, weaving, fibers, and mixed media sculpture. Amanda took the skills of sewing, crocheting, and natural reed weaving that she learned from her grandmother to find ways to combine these skills with more contemporary sculptural methods, working them in with materials such as plastics, glass, ceramic, and steel and with her new found skills in fiber weaving. Amanda has been included in several group shows and was selected as an ArtPop Billboard artist in 2018 and a Community Supported Artist Grant recipient from the Arts and Science Council in 2019.

Carmella Jarvi Soft Whispers, 2020 Wall-Mounted Kiln Glass | 24 x 24 inches $1,025

Carmella Jarvi (alumna) is a glass artist who transforms private and public spaces, and works with the community around the theme of water. Her art tells a story with contemporary visuals that people connect with. Water is universal, and this abstract approach offers many entry points for viewers. Carmella’s studio practice involves capturing water through kiln glass and painting.

Mert Jones Natura, 2020 Wet Cyanotype | 20 x 28 inches $500

Mert is a teaching artist, artist, and professional photographer who has been working in her native city of Charlotte for the past two decades. Her current work focuses on alternative photography methods, particularly with wet cyanotypes. She is experimenting with themes of self-discovery and creating order in chaos. Mert is a 2020 Community Supported Artist through the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte, an educator at Arts+ and Director of Education at The Light Factory. She has an unconventional studio housed in a 1978 Apache Camper.

Elijah Kell ANEW, 2020 Glass | 10.5 x 7.5 inches $550

Elijah Kell is a glassworks artist from Mint Hill, North Carolina. His artistic journey began at the age of ten as a creative outlet from his academic struggles with dyslexia. His first introduction to glass sparked an instant connection to the medium, combining his innate design skills with his love for tactile exploration. Since then, Elijah has spent the last five years immersed in the art of glass, developing his craft through self-study and experimentation.

KHEM We Are Stars, 2020 Aluminium | 8 x 4 x 2 inches $150

KHEM’s piece, We Are Stars, includes five figures: stand Tall amidst it All (orange), reimagine (red) , breathe (light blue), take that step (yellow), and rest (black) . During the Untitled Street Series for Black Lives Matter in Uptown Charlotte, KHEM debuted an eight food version of the piece stand Tall amidst it All on the Black Lives Matter mural. KHEM continues to push artistic and social boundaries as he creates to understand the Self, collectively and individually.

Angela Lubinecky Into the Abyss, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 11 x 14 inches $250

Angela Lubinecky was raised in a multicultural expatriate community in East Africa and was exposed to a variety of influences. Life in Africa and all its international flavors led to the basis of her visual expression. She will tell you that her art is all about color and an inner excitement about what life has to offer. Angela graduated from UCLA with a BA in World Arts and Cultures and continued her art education at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA and the Loudoun Academy of the Arts, VA. She has exhibited in juried exhibitions and galleries in Virginia, North Carolina and Kenya. Her art can be found in many public places from the Levine Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House to the Pink House in Charlotte, NC. When she is not painting she teaches art and works at the Mint Museum, NC.

Jill Martin The Peripheral View, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 20 x 24 inches $1,250

I graduated with an MFA from the University of AZ Tucson and taught Drawing Foundations in the Architecture dept. for a few years. Since 2004 I have been a full time painter participating in both juried and invitational shows including Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Holter Museum of Art, Tipton Gallery at E. Tenn. State University, the Drawing Discourse Exhibit at UNC-Asheville, and GoodYear Arts in Charlotte several times, to name a few. I am represented by Huff Gallery in Studio City, CA.

Shamsad Rahman Stars in Maze, 2019 Composition on Silk Material | 8 x 10 inches $250

Shamsad Rahman is a designer with a Masters in Business who has a passion for taking photographs as he sees them. In addition, he loves nature, especially trees. Specifically the shapes, colors, textures, and movement of leaves and trees give him great pleasure and inspiration.

Elizabeth Palmisano Invocation No.33, 2020 Artist-Made Paper & Hand Printed Textile | 11 x 11 x 2 inches $264

Elizabeth Palmisano is an award winning, mixed media installation and fiber artist. Her work is in private and public collections and has been exhibited at galleries and museums such as The Mint Museum, The McColl Center for Art & Innovation, and Bliss Gallery. An activist for social justice, Palmisano uses art to spark meaningful dialogue and draw attention to causes of personal significance.

Faith Rivers Divine, 2019 Acrylic Painting | 24 x 30 inches $1,200

Fine artist, educator, and visionary, Faith is the founder of Majestic Hue. A concept born of both reflection and hope, Faith remarks, "My art is a tribute to our past and a preview of our future."Conscious of the power of art and its influence on perception, Faith passionately creates for the spirit and psyche.She shares, "It is believed that through sight and sound we have been conditioned to see ourselves as inferior- if this is valid, then the path to empowerment is also through sight and sound. Majestic Hue is rooted in this truth."

Carlos Vargas Madonna #5, 2020 Digital Art | 9 x 7 inches $315

Carlos E. Vargas is a Cuban American and LGBT artist, artist and author born in Miami, Florida. He is currently living in Charlotte, NC with his husband and their lovely cat, Rose. When Carlos is not working, writing, or creating art, he is either playing tabletop games, cooking, or designing his own escape rooms concepts.

Susan Sharpe Blue Jay Way, 2020 Fiber, Cotton, Milkweed, Iris Paper, Silk, Yarn, Fabric, Ink & Dye Collaged $900

Susan Sharpe works in a variety of fiber media and processes that include weaving, paper making, dyeing and screen printing. She has trained at Appalachian State University, East Tennessee State University, and Penland School of Crafts focused on drawing, painting, and surface design. Susan’s collection of textile artifacts such as aprons, doilies, lace, and gloves appear in her pictorial quilts and she creates patterned and painted fabrics to add to the narrative. From these different experiences and materials her work has evolved into a narrative style that exploits a wide range of fiber fabric processes.

Laurie Smithwick Balance 8: The Unlikeliest of Places, 2020 Acrylic, Conte & Graphite | 24 x 18 inches $650

Laurie Smithwick is a Grammy-nominated designer, the founder of LEAP Design, a partner in the Alt Summit design conference, and a TEDx speaker. She holds degrees from Duke University and Parsons School of Design. She’s native of Charlotte, NC and it's where she actually lives today.

She’s also a mother of identical, redheaded twins and a very happy wife of a cute programmer, an ENFP.

Sean O’Neil Yellow Flowers, 2020 Oil Painting | 16 x 20 inches $500

Sean O’Neil is a Charlotte painter with a studio at the Hart Witzen Gallery on Tryon Street. Sean has participated in many shows in Charlotte, as well as in New York City, Cape Cod, and Black Mountain. Two summers ago I had an artist residency in one of the historic dune shacks in Provincetown, MA. I have been an English teacher and lacrosse coach for forty-four years, the last twenty-five at Charlotte Country Day, and I am the father of four boys.

Brooke Werhane Maples Self Portrait (denial), 2020 Acrylic & Pastels on Paper | 21.5 x 24.5 inches $1,500

Brooke Werhane Maples’ work pulls through the history of 20th century male gaze and painting. She picks up on Matisse’s flatness and two dimensional canvas room and drags it through Basquiat’s chauvinistic farce of inhabiting the space with the self, constantly questioning the role of painting with a diary-like use of words and writing. ‘As I moved through my studies in art history and environmental design I continued drawing and painting, I was inspired by the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Phillip Johnson, Willem de Kooning and John Singer Sargent.’ It is both architects and artists that continued to influence her work. ‘The body, movement, energy and translating human emotion through painting is a constant goal in my practice.’

ET Trigg I Can’t Breathe, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 20 x 20 inches $250

ET Trigg is now 81 years old and only started sculpting and painting three years ago. For thirty years from the age of 21 to 52 ET lived in San Francisco, during which he describes it as the prime of his life in the most beautiful city in the world, at the most perfect time in human history. He surfed, made pottery, studied mathematics, remodeled Victorian houses and met lots of wonderful gay men. Eventually California had changed so much to ET that, in 2011, he moved to his now home, Charlotte, NC.

Troy Dugas Palm of the Hand, 2019 Printmaking Ink, Colored Pencils & Paint Pens on Paper 19.5 x 25 inches $1,500

Troy Dugas (alumnus artist) constructs his collages from thousands of pieces of cut or shredded product labels, vintage ledgers, illustrated book pages, and most recently, painted and hand printed paper. Using repetition and intuition guided by original designs, he explores the infinite possibilities of radial form, symmetry, and pattern. Dugas was raised in a small Louisiana town in the US where the history of the Acadian people is prevalent. The perseverance, humbleness, and resourcefulness of this culture also has a deeply rooted influence on the work he makes.

Joyce Wynes Divided Country-Can We Mend It?, 2020 Acrylic & Mixed Media | 24 x 36 x 1.5 inches $3,000

Joyce Wynes is a mixed media, abstract painter who lives in North Carolina. Her work draws on the concerns for the social issues we face today and the philosophical views on topics such as the environment, diversity, the stress of keeping up, expectations, and her long-standing passion for women’s equality and empowerment. She has shown work in NC, SC, TN, NY & CA including the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Auburn, NY; Tipton Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN; and the Romare Bearden exhibition at the Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, NC; among many others. Her abstract paintings are held in various collections in the US.

Sally Higgins Banging on Pots on Friday at 7, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 30 x 40 inches $1,200

Sally Higgins is a Charlotte, North Carolina artist working in oil, acrylic, encaustic and mixed media. After pursuing drama, music, photography, fiber arts, and other creative endeavors all her life, Sally turned to painting nine years ago. She has taken courses at McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Penland School of Crafts, and Cullowhee Arts, and currently studies with Lisa Pressman. As a lawyer in the courtroom, Sally's profession is filled with words, and she embraces painting to express what is better said without words.

Blaine Hurdle Passaloteuthis Necklace, 2020 Brass, Silver & Copper | 13 x 7 inches $350

Blaine Hurdle is not constrained by the traditional discourse of jewelers and instead seeks to engage the wearer and make a statement. This freedom energizes his designs and creates conceptually powerful pieces. Silver, brass, copper, and precious metals make up the majority of Hurdle’s working materials. Inspired by the abstract expressionists, modern sculpture, and surrealism, his work has a perennial quality imbued with a fresh and current perspective. It is an important aspect of Hurdle’s practice that every piece is made by hand. The hand of the artist is clearly evident in the finished product, materializing as noticeably unique objects.

Dorne Pentes You’re Doing it Right, 2020 Digital Art | 11 x 14 inches $100

Dorne Pentes grew up playing in the woods, swimming in ponds, hunting for all sorts of critters just to hold, observe, and then to set free, sinking him into the rhythms of nature. His father was an artist which influenced Dorne into creating art himself. When he attended college he made movies and eventually became a filmmaker. As “one life is really many lives,” Dorne evolved into taking photos, and making books about nature, art, and spirit.

SILENT AUCTION Starting Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.

Jean Cauthen 2020: And What A Time It Was, 2020 Oil Painting | 36 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $3,400

Childhood pastimes of exploring woods and “fort building” inform Jean Cauthen’s latest vibrant paintings of trees and woods interiors. These creations convey a youthful sense of wonder, magic and transcendence. Jean grew up in Naples, Italy, New Orleans, and the Carolinas. She completed her education with an MFA (Painting and Drawing) at James Madison University in Virginia. Her art career has led her to Moscow, Russia as a set designer and she regularly returns to Italy and Ireland (often leading painting workshops).

Paul Farmer Lichen Constellation No.10, 2020 Digital Photo Montage & Silver Gelatin Print Estimated Value: $285

A native Charlottean, Paul Farmer is a visual arts instructor at CPCC and Winthrop University. He has participated in artist residencies at The Bascom Center, Vermont Studio Center, I-Park, and Keystone Art Space. Paul received a B.A. from the NCSU College of Design and an MFA in Studio Art from Western Carolina University.

Jen Gerena My Thoughts, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 24 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $350

Jen Gerena started her own company, aptly named Jen Gerena Design, where she applies her experience as a graphic designer and marketer to follow her passions in illustration and fine art. She expresses her creative style through designing for textiles, wrapping paper and cards—with watercolor, ink, acrylic, and digital as her preferred mediums. The result is artwork that is simple and lighthearted, meant to spark a smile and evoke happiness of its beholder. Originally from New York, Jen recently moved to Charlotte with her husband and son.

Peri Law Untitled Introspection I, 2020 Relief Print & Pochoir on Layered Cut Paper with Mirror 20 x 20 inches Estimated Value: $450

Peri Law is originally from the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina and currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she majored in studio art and art history. She also worked as a curatorial intern at the Ackland Art Museum. Her art history focus is on contemporary Asian diasporic art. She is interested in the intersections of refugee and immigrant narratives, retaining cultural identity, and contemporary art practices. She is also interested in the decolonization of art museums, with a focus on the naming and placements of objects.

Michelle Levi Tulip Poplars, 2020 Mixed Media with Acrylic & Woodcut Print on Gallery Wrapped Paper | 12 x 12 inches Retail Value: $250

As a Miami native, Michelle’s work is inspired by sunshine and saturated color. Growing up in a French family where travel to France was a summer ritual, Michelle’s curiosity for art and culture began early. She received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Art Education from Florida International University. Inspiring creativity with students in underserved communities, including young adults with intellectual disabilities has enabled Michelle to share her passion for art and art history. Now living in Charlotte, NC, Michelle’s paintings and mixed-media works have been exhibited locally in both solo and group shows.

Oliver Lewis Plastic Heart Study 1, 2019 Urethane Plastic Robotic Creation | 30 x 30 inches Retail Value: $250

Oliver Lewis was an Engineering and Pre-Med student at Penn State when he decided to quit school and road trip for a few months instead. On this trip he discovered his artistic talents and eight months later his work was featured at McColl Center where he later participated in the residency program. He uses robotics to create novel works of art, including this piece, which is the first successful completion made by the Pollock Bot v1, a machine designed to mix urethane polymers and dispense them in liquid form.

Cecil Norris The Mother, 2020 Oil Painting on Linen | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $350

CJ Norris makes paintings and drawings that draw on the canon and popular culture to create a contemporary vision of race, masculinity, sexuality, and trauma through the act of portraiture. Norris’s paintings disrupt the tropes of classical portraiture through the juxtaposition of black culture. Examining the urban fabric, Norris aims to blur the lines of realism and abstraction to reveal something that has been lost from history and investigate the ambiguity and perplexity of black identity. CJ was born in Shelby, North Carolina, where he currently lives and works. He received a BA from the School of Architecture at UNC at Charlotte. He is now an art teacher at Crest High School, where he hopes to cultivate a new age of artists.

Molly Partyka Momentum, 2019 Acrylic & Gold Pigment | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $450

Molly Partyka is an abstract expressionist painter who’s currently exploring change, transitions, and new directions in both art and life. She always wanted to be an artist since her first art lessons at the age of four. After many detours, creative journeys, and raising a daughter and sending her off to college, Molly feels right at home being back in the studio in painting. Her Change in Motion collection delves into reflecting where she’s been, learning to appreciate the little nuances and beauty of life, and the freedom of color & texture experimentation. Molly’s hope is to use the simplest art elements—color and texture—to abstractly capture universal feelings of unity, change, balance, love, and hope.

Varsha Pradhan Dream City, 2020 Mixed Media | 24 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $3,000

Originally from India, Varsha has displayed and sold her paintings nationally and internationally. She has traveled extensively and is fascinated by architecture all over the world. She likes to explore styles of twentieth century masters like Pollock, Picasso, and Rothko. Her style has evolved to abstract expressionism, using oils and acrylics on canvas. She finds new textures by blending colors with palette knives. She is always inspired by colors and shapes in nature and how harmoniously balanced nature can be.

Marek Ranis

Polar 3, 2020 Acrylic Mixed Media on Board | 48 x 48 inches Estimated Value: $5,000

Ranis has a master’s of fine arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland, and is a sculptor, installation and video artist, photographer, and a painter. Since 1994, Ranis has focused on environmental art and is the creator of more than 50 large-scale environmental installations in the United States, Poland, Germany, France, Iceland, Holland, Taiwan and Australia. Ranis has received many prestigious grants and has participated in numerous residencies and art symposiums in Europe, United States, North America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. He has participated in more than 70 international solo and group exhibitions. He is currently a professor of sculpture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an alumnus of McColl Center.

Patricia Raible

What Happens In Between, 2020 Mixed Media with Collage & Fabric | 16 x 26 inches Estimated Value: $910

Though Patricia completed two writing degrees, she decided to continue taking art classes while pursuing a career and raising a family. Then a retrospective of the late collage artist Romare Bearden ignited her passion once again, and she began studying on her own and with other artists locally and nationally. A 2010-11 McColl Center alumna artist, her work has been shown in galleries and corporate institutions, as well as held in personal collections.

Mary Zio Futura, 2020 Acrylic on Cradled Wood Panel with Matte Varnish 40 x 40 x 2 inches Estimated Value: $1,800

Mary Zio recently relocated to Charlotte, from Sunset Beach, N.C., but is originally from New York. She received a Bachelors of Fine Art from Purchase College (S.U.N.Y.), outside of New York City. She also studied and worked under a two year apprenticeship with world renowned artist, Bruce Bleach, in New Rochelle, N.Y. Mary has displayed and sold artworks in various galleries, museums and shops in New York and North Carolina, as well as founded and ran her own art gallery in Ocean Isle Beach before moving to Charlotte.

Adrienne Watts Reaction in Red, 2020 Mixed Media on Birch Panel | 12 x 12 inches Estimated Value: $280

Adrienne Watts is a Wilmington, North Carolina artist who began working as an abstract painter in 2018 after retiring from a career in accounting and real estate. Watts’s art has been included and awarded in local, regional, and national exhibitions. She is a member of the Wilmington Art Association and Art League of Leland and her work is available at Water+Color Gallery, Wilmington, NC, Sunset River Marketplace, Calabash, NC, and at her studio.

Trey Miles Sunday Funday, 2018 Collage on Canvas | 28 x 40 inches Estimated Value: $5,000

Charlotte artist John “Trey” R Miles III epitomizes the classical renaissance man. Miles earned his BFA from Western Carolina University and concentrated in Graphic Design. After college, he taught high school photography and arts, designed hot air balloons, worked in a print shop, and began a family. Through it all he honed his own talents, inspired by artists Romare Bearden, Ernie Barnes, and Jacob Lawrence. His work tells a powerful story of the black neighborhoods and families he has had the advantage of knowing. Trey wants the world to understand that collage is not just the cutting and pasting of pictures on a page. Instead, it's more like taking puzzle pieces that were never meant to fit together and manipulating them to not only fit.

Tina Alberni Holding On To A Lifeline, 2020 Acrylic & Ink on Gallery Wrapped Canvas | 20 x 20 inches Estimated Value: $950

Tina Alberni’s bi-cultural heritage and upbringing weave throughout the fabric of her art. She brings layers together in a variety of techniques and materials to build her framework, and geometry, color, and symbolism fuse to complete a narrative often rooted in the themes of hope and survival. Much like her years in printmaking, her process is intentional and rational, but her creative journey flows through intuition.

Anatoly Tsiris Untitled, 2020 Elmwood | 20 x 17 x 28 inches Estimated Value: $3,000

Originally from the small Ukrainian town of Kmelnitsky, Tsiris has lived in the U.S. for over twenty years and has been a resident of Charlotte, NC for over a decade. Hailed as the next American master woodturner, he has gained high recognition for his large-scale woodturnings. He was awarded Collector’s Choice, Best in Show Award at Green Hill Center for NC Art in 2009, and was an artist in residence at McColl Center for Art + Innovation. Tsiris's love for wood began as a child and later in life working as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. His sculptures are simple, organic shapes inspired by nature. Tsiris's work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and can be found in corporate and private collections around the world.

Pamela Freeman Listening, 2020 Oil Painting | 30 x 40 inches Estimated Value: $950

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Pamela Freeman studied with Andy Braitman at Braitman Studios in Charlotte, NC before continuing her education through a roster of workshops, including Incamminotti Philadelphia, PA; Scottsdale School of Art with Milt Kobayashi Oil Painting; Henry Yan Figure Drawing; Rose Frantzen Portrait Painting; Scott Burdick Portrait Painting; and Rob Liberace Figure Drawing and Anatomy. With minimalist technique and a palette of neutral and natural hues, Freeman creates elegant work that draws inspiration from distorted perspective.

Jason H. Green Vectors N.4, 2018 Terra Cotta, Slip & Glaze | 12.5 x 11.5 x 2 inches Estimated Value: 850

Jason Green received his MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University in 1998. He returned to Alfred in 2009 to live and work after teaching Ceramics and Sculpture at Walnut Hill School for the Arts for 11 years. Green currently teaches Tile, Digital Fabrication and Make:Lab Workshop in the Division of Ceramics and Freshman Foundation. He has taught mold making and tile making workshops nationally. Most recently, he taught a workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts titled Form and Surface: Strategies, Tools and New Technologies. Green is interested in exploring the intersections and opportunities that can be found between traditional methods of making and digital design and fabrication technologies. For the last two years he has been a collaborator and participant in the Architectural Ceramics Assemblies Workshop. At ACAW artists, architects and façade engineers research, develop, and explore the use of terra cotta in high-performance façade design. He is a McColl Center alumnus artist.

Holly Graham Connected Emotions, Apart, 2020 Mixed Media Collage with Paper, Canvas, Cardboard & Balsa Wood on Wood Panel | 26 x 38 inches Estimated Value: $1,400

Holly was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. Her process-based method of painting has come about after creating a solid foundation in art education. Holly graduated with Honors in Studio Art from Wake Forest University. There, she studied traditional oil painting, printmaking, and photography. After working at the prestigious National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Holly decided to return to art. Today, Holly builds on her knowledge of composition, color theory, and art history while finding freedom in abstract expression.

Dari Calamari Trifecta, 2020 Acrylic on Wood | 21 x 26 inches Estimated Value: $2,020

As a child, Dari Calamari drew sacred geometry symbols despite not understanding geometry. She also loved brain teasers, legos, riddles, numbers, optical illusions and more. These childhood interests influenced her work, leading her to bring images into mathematical planes and discovering the mysteries of life.

Fahamu Pecou Àwon Ìyá Wa (Our Mothers), 2017 Print | 24 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $800

Dr. Fahamu Pecou, an alumnus of McColl, is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture. Pecou’s paintings, performance art, and academic work addresses concerns around contemporary representations of Black men and how these images impact both the reading and performance of Black masculinity. Pecou's work is featured in noted private and public national and international collections including; Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Societe Generale, Nasher Museum at Duke University, The High Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Paul R. Jones Collection, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection and Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia.

Andrew Wilson Facial Recognition, 2017 Fabric | 14 x 12 inches Estimated Value: $1,200

Andrew Wilson is a multimedia artist working in the intersections of the consumption of the Black body and queerness. His work is at once beautiful with an attention to craftsmanship and repulsing in its graphic subject matter. He wants to create an extra moment of confoundment for the viewer to contemplate their relationship to the work and the imagery and histories it evokes. He received his BFA from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2013 with a concentration in Jewelry/Metals and his MFA from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017. Wilson’s work has been in many galleries and institutions including: The Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and SOMArts. His work has been collected by Michigan State University and the University of New Mexico. He is an alumnus of McColl Center.

Raymond Grubb Crowfoot Chantillyii, 2020 Archival Pigment Print | 13 x 19 inches Estimated Value: $1,500

Raymond Grubb is a native of Morganton, NC. He is a graduate of Davidson College and is one of Charlotte’s most recognizable cultural icons. For over 25 years, he has photographed his partner––the multi-media artist Tom Thoune. Raymond’s century-old platinum process imbues his images with a warmth, tenderness, and candor that is difficult to attain with modern techniques. During the pandemic, he produced a series of meditative knolling studies, including this piece. Raymond is an alumnus of McColl Center.

Bree Stallings The Fool, 2020 Oil Paint & Origami Paper on Wooden Panel | 24 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $2,500

Breanna "Bree" Stallings is a North Carolina-native multi-media artist, illustrator, writer and activist. Bree graduated from Queens University of Charlotte in 2013 with a Bachelor Degree in Studio Art and Creative Writing. She resides near uptown Charlotte where she works as a painter, illustrator and muralist. Currently, she teaches adults and children intermediate and advanced drawing and painting techniques at her studio called the Learning Lab. Using art as her vehicle, she raises awareness for many causes that affect her life and those closest to her such as economic mobility, sexual health advocacy, displacement and homelessness and environmental consciousness.

Morganne Van Voorhis CMYK, 2020 Oil Painting | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $2,000

Seeking inspiration from the likes of Matisse and Degas from an early age on, Brooke Werhane Maples’ work pulls through the history of 20th century male gaze and painting. She picks up on Matisse’s flatness and two dimensional canvas room and drags it through Basquiat’s chauvinistic farce of inhabiting the space with the self, constantly questioning the role of painting with a diary-like use of words and writing.

Bryant Portwood The Search For Connection, 2020 Oil Painting | 24 x 30 inches Estimated Value: $3,000

Bryant Portwood explores concepts of escapism and isolation through a vibrant lens that draws on pulp fiction illustrations from the 20th century and pop culture imagery for inspiration. The color palette and imagery allows the work to be approachable and present itself with familiar iconography. His goal is to create both a sense of ease and anxiety. The colors, friendly references, and nostalgic aspects combined with subject matter and manner in which it is painted creates an unavoidable tension that keeps the viewer engaged in a state that is welcoming but at the same time, too ambiguous to escape.

Meghan Huntley Palimpsest, 2020 Acrylic & Pastel on Canvas | 18 x 14 x 1.5 inches Estimated Value: $275

Meghan was born and raised in Charlotte, NC, and has been creating art professionally since 2017. She is self-taught and continues to explore and experiment with her voice through new mediums and approaches. Not one to confine herself to a specific style, Meghan lets the story of each piece tell itself through her painting. The story has its own intentions, she sees herself as a mechanism to bring it to life. Meghan often takes inspiration from the beauty of the world around her and her dreams and meditations. She is a firm believer in magic and tries to suffuse her work with that spirit, channelling it into formats large and small and incorporating a variety of mediums including acrylics, watercolors, inks and pastels.

La’Porscha Smith So Much Goes Into Who I Am, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 40 x 40 inches Estimated Value: $3,500

La'Porscha Smith is a self-taught visual artist who lives in Charlotte, NC. She began painting as a means of self expression and to inspire others who have a passion to create. Her work has also been displayed at Spirit Square during the 2018 Uptown Gallery Crawl and other spaces such as South End Arts. Her body of work focuses on topics such as self-love and the importance of being vocal about mental health in the black community.

Marc Kool Samba em Fragmentos, 2020 Digital Art | 26 x 32 inches Estimated Value: $700

Marc Kool’s interest has been in photography and digital art with an eye towards abstract expression. Marc often melds the two mediums together, deriving one type of work from the other. Themes in his work have ranged from existential states of climate change to emotional expression. As we see our society entrenching itself into defined positions--with historic challenges to come, he beleives art is needed more than ever as an agent for accepting new ideas.

Joel Ferguson Driftwood, 2019 Collage | 26 x 19 inches Estimated Value: $950

Several years ago, Joel Ferguson decided to get serious and learn to oil paint. Joel’s mom was a pretty good oil painter so she had high hopes it was in the blood. At the time, Joel decided to start where she felt comfortable-drawing -and moved into oil pastels as a first step. Joel was learning and progressing, until the day she got hung up with a composition dilemma. Joel was able to resolve the problem by using simplified paper cutouts to mock up different ideas...And that coincidentally ended her oil painting journey. She loves the boldness of color and the rich texture of art paper. .

Ashley Sellner Surface currents II, 2020 Oil & Cold Wax on Canvas | 36 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $995

Ashley Sellner is an artist and photographer who has worked in the visual arts for twenty years. Originally from the mountains of southwest Virginia, Ashley received her Bachelor of Arts in art history from Wake Forest University. Here she had the opportunity to spend time in both the studio and the dark room.Her fine arts practice focuses on both painting and collage. She explores the sacred spaces of her childhood through both abstract and landscape painting. Ashley currently lives in Charlotte, NC.

Kyle Mosher Apollonian vs Dionysian, 2020 Acrylic & Paper on Canvas | 40 x 30 x 1.5 inches Estimated Value: $3,200

Kyle Mosher is a multidisciplinary artist currently residing in Charlotte, NC. In terms of art periods, the synthetic cubism movement is his biggest inspiration. His art falls in the intersection where contemporary culture, music and aesthetics meet traditional fine-art techniques and ideas. It is a stylized collaboration of juxtaposing ideas, teachings, and movements. His signature style brings together a mix of paper and hand painted acrylic to create art in both analog and digital mediums.

Wil Bosbyshell Tree Series: Drawing 9, 2020 Graphite on Paper | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $890 Wil earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Georgia. Taking a detour from the artist path, he served in the army as a Field Artillery captain. Wil also taught drawing and design at the college level for over 15 years in Charlotte as he believes teaching and sharing your artistic insight is a requirement of being an artist. Wil’s own art transforms natural detail into massive, solid shapes, achieving unique perspectives from an up close and personal vantage point, as well as, explores the impact of humans on the landscape and climate.

Malu Tan There’s Something About Golden Yellow, 2020 Acrylic, Graphite & Plaster | 24 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $1,200

Malu Tan is an award winning abstract expressionist artist known for her strong gestural marks, texture and color palette. She studied at the Art Academy in London which was the catalyst to pursue a childhood dream. Malu has shown work nationally and internationally at various museums and galleries, including Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Katonah Museum at Schoolhouse Theater, Monika Olko Gallery, Charlestown Gallery, Faber Birren, and The Philippine Consulate in New York. She currently lives and works in Charlotte NC.

Daysha Lancaster Hear Our Cry, 2020 Oil & Acrylic on Canvas | 30 x 40 inches Estimated Value: $5,000

Daysha Lancaster was born in New Haven, CT. She then moved to Queens, NY but currently resides in Charlotte, NC. Her first experiences as an artist began as a small child watching her brother create graffiti. He taught her the techniques of shading, having a light source and what a shadow was. He taught her the basics for setting the right tone to becoming a creative, despite Daysha not knowing what was already instilled in her. Daysha believes the best part about her work is her unpredictability in range as she tends to also have at least 30 artistic styles.

Robert Lazzarini M1, 2015 Archival Pigment Print | 19 x 30 inches Estimated Value: $550

Robert Lazzarini’s artwork springs from a desire to understand the perceivable limits of the material world. Conceptually and formally rigorous, he pushes ordinary objects to their limits by mining the twined threads of distortion and material veracity. By fully devoting himself to these indispensable characteristics, Lazzarini negotiates a place between two and three dimensions that challenges his viewers’ understanding of the physical world and their visual perception. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally in venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, the Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, and the Kunsthalle Berne. Some permanent collections include the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, the Milwaukee Art Museum, WI, The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, the Newark Museum, NJ, The Toledo Museum of Art, OH, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, and Davidson College, NC.

LIVE AUCTION Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

Linda Luise Brown Courage, 2020 Oil Painting | 30 x 40 inches Estimated Value: $1,400 - $3,400

Linda Luise Brown is a painter, writer and teacher from Charlotte, North Carolina, with over thirty years of experience as a professional artist and published writer in regional, national and international media. Much of Ms. Brown's writing focuses on the visual arts. Her work hangs in private and corporate art collections across the nation, including Bank of America, the Federal Reserve, Commerzbank and IBM. She is a Fellow of the internationally renowned MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, and was an Artist in Residence at Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi, Perugia, Italy. She is an alumna of McColl Center for Art + Innovation.

Eva Crawford Laundry Day, 2019 Acrylic & Plastic on Canvas | 24 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $980 - $2,380

Eva Crawford is a native Charlottean and full-time artist with a studio and gallery space at C3Lab in Southend Charlotte, NC. Art began with her at age three and hurdled its way through awards in high school, a BFA in studio art from UNC-Chapel Hill, a side trip designing furniture, then an unexpected season teaching high school art.

Kevin Harris Nana’s Love, 2018 Oil Paint on Board & Paper | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $665 - $1,615

Born in Washington, DC, Kevin Harris is an oil paint and pastel artist specializing in the creation of art that moves people. Be it via portraiture, figurative, abstract or land and seascapes, Mr. Harris looks to life and translates his perception to the viewer. Considered an impressionist, his style is a free-flowing collaboration of color and texture - intended to inspire a sense of fullness. This is moderated by a structured focus developed from 6 years in the US Army. Mr. Harris’s work can be seen in numerous galleries in the Charlotte area.

Krystal Hart New Bridges, 2020 Watercolor, Charcoal, Ink, Silver Leaf & Colored Pencils on Watercolor Paper | 12 x 12 inches Estimated Value: $210 - $510

Krystal employs regional soils, inks, metals, pigments, and minerals intermingled with man-made materials or structural imagery to further explore the dichotomy of our delicate existence. The organic and inorganic materials and process also hints to the glass and metal in her body. Getting to know people and their stories is as much a part of her process as being in the studio. Krystal travels to slum communities, volunteers with cancer patients, and sits under the stories of war veterans, refugees, trauma victims, and any who will share their life with her. As actions of intercession she paints the joys and sufferings of lives onto various substrates. Her work seeks to capture and express the delicate balance of loss and finding within matters of life.

Nick McOwen A Queen No More, 2019 Photography | 12 x 17.75 inches Estimated Value: $210 - $510

A Charlotte native, photographer Nick McOwen discovered his love for photography while touring around the eastern United States with the band Bubonik Funk. It is through the trial and error process of teaching himself and the experimental ethos garnered through creating music that he found his voice in photography. By warping and transforming colors in a style influenced by psychedelia and Surrealism, he attempts to present ordinary objects and scenery through a curious lens.

Beverly Mclver

Gracie Girl, 2018 Oil Paint & Collaged Fabric | 16 x 18 inches Estimated Value: $3,500 - $7,000

Beverly McIver is widely acknowledged as a significant presence in contemporary American art and has charted a new direction as an African American female artist. She is committed to producing art that examines racial, gender, social identity, and occupational identity. McIver’s work is in the permanent collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the NCCU Museum of Art , the Asheville Museum of Art, The Crocker Art Museum, the Nelson Fine Arts Center Art Museum at Arizona State University, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and the Mint Museum as well as significant corporate and private collections. She had a solo exhibition at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in 2017, North Carolina Museum of Art in 2011, and at the Mint Museum in 2012.

Liz Nielsen Conductor, 2020 Analog Photogram on Fujiflex | 12 x 15 inches Estimated Value: $1,050 - $2,550

Liz Nielsen is a Brooklyn based artist whose works have been exhibited in New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Budapest, Amsterdam and Berlin. Her photographs are printed in the analog color darkroom with handmade negatives and found light sources. Each photograph is unique, ranging in size from 100" x 100" to 8" x 8". Liz earned her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004, her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002, and her BA in Philosophy and Spanish from Seattle University in 1997. Nielsen's works have been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Financial Times, The British Journal of Photography, The New York Times, LensCulture, FOAM magazine, and ArtSlant among others. She is an alumna of McColl Center for Art + Innovation.

Nill Smith Ode to The Forging, 2020 Acrylic Painting | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $230 - $550

Nill Smith creates heavily symbolic and iconic artworks in the styles of surrealism, pop art, and abstract. Her paintings range in subject matter from religious figures from different time periods around the world, subcultures, and cuisine. While her style ranges, she always focuses on creating a narrative within her work. This piece embodies the notion that women are warriors. They stand tall, square off, and fight back when needed, even more so women of color. When stabbed in the back, when hit with pain, they find a way to dust themselves off, walk through the flames, and come out the other end stronger than where they began. As still as the water’s edge.

Lacey McKinney Reconfiguration III, 2019 Oil & Acrylic Paint on Paper | 40 x 44.5 inches Estimated Value: $4,340 - $8,500

Lacey McKinney uses painting media to explore embodiment and implications of power structures. Her interest lies in expressing complexity, movement and heterogeneous visual representations thereby expanding convention. She uses her art practice as a tool to enact political and social rearrangements that question the roles and dominance of specific images and image makers. McKinney’s work can be found in various private collections and featured in publications including ARTnews, Huffington Post, International Gallerie, The Jersey Journal, The Post-Standard, Syracuse New Times, and Style Weekly. Awarded artist residencies include McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Post Contemporary in Troy, New York; and Fremantle Arts Centre in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Clarence Heyward The 001, 2020 Acrylic & Gold Leaf on Canvas | 18 x 24 inches Estimated Value: $980 - $2,300

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Clarence Heyward is a painter and collagist. He relocated to North Carolina to study Art Education at North Carolina Central University. His work investigates life as a Black American. Clarence believes it is important to “paint his truth” and use people of color as subjects in his work as homage to his culture. Heyward’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationally.

Shaun Cassidy Finding True North, 2020 Powder Coated Steel | 20 x 20 x 9 inches Estimated Value: $1,050 - $2,550

British-born artist Cassidy has been making work in the US since 1991. He studied sculpture in England and Canada and worked as a studio assistant for Sir Anthony Caro in London. His work spans a diverse range of materials, processes, and ideas. His work has been shown extensively, including exhibitions at Socrates Sculpture Park, N.Y., Grounds for Sculpture, N.J., and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Marseille, France. His art has been featured in Sculpture Magazine, Art in America, and the Wall Street Journal.

Brittney Leanne Williams Blue Lemon Tree in Victorville, 2019 Acrylic & Gauche on Paper | 10 x 13 inches Estimated Value: $1,400 - $3,400

Brittney Leeanne Williams is a Chicago-based artist, originally from Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Venice, Italy, London, and Hong Kong, as well as in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. Williams attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipient and a Luminarts Fellow. Williams’ artist residencies include Arts + Public Life and McColl Center for Art + Innovation, among others. Her set design for the short film Self-Deportation has been featured at film festivals nationwide and internationally, including Anthology Film Archives and the Pineapple Underground Film Festival.

Anatoly Tsiris Untitled, 2020 Walnut | 36 x 16 x 14 inches Estimated Value: $1,400 - $3,400

Originally from the small Ukrainian town of Kmelnitsky, Tsiris has lived in the U.S. for over twenty years and has been a resident of Charlotte, NC for over a decade. Hailed as the next American master woodturner, he has gained high recognition for his large-scale woodturnings. He was awarded Collector’s Choice, Best in Show Award at Green Hill Center for NC Art in 2009, and was artist in residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation. Tsiris' love for wood began as a child and later in life working as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. His sculptures are simple, organic shapes inspired by nature. He aims to help the shape emerge from the wood, rather than forcing something unnatural. Tsiris' work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and can be found in corporate and private collections around the world including the permanent collections of the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC and Gregg Museum of Art and Design, Raleigh, NC.

Javier Collado Juanito Alimaña, 2020 Oil Paint, Soft Pastels, Acrylic Paint & Sand on Canvas 48 x 60 inches Estimated Value: $1,120 - $2,700 Javier Collado Llantin is a fine artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Born and raised in Puerto Rico. He started his art education in the Liga de Artes de San Juan in 2004. Upon graduating from high school in 2005 he proceeded to start his Bachelors in Fine Arts at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas de Puerto Rico. In 2009 he left Puerto Rico and moved to Concord, North Carolina. After a 4 year hiatus from education, in 2013, he then proceeded to restart his Bachelors in Fine Arts at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Holly Keogh Every Eye Was Turned, 2020 Oil Painting | 16 x 28 inches Estimated Value: $1,050 - $2,550 Holly Keogh is a contemporary painter living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her distinctive style explores the space between memory and representation, and seeks to create new narratives using existing family photographs. In 2012 Keogh lived in Cape Town, South Africa where she studied painting. She graduated from UNCC with a double major in Fine Art and Art History. She has been an artist in residence at Goodyear Arts, curated art exhibitions, and designed public murals. Her work has been featured in Hi-Fructose, Home Design and Decor Magazine and she is currently represented by SOCO Gallery. She is an alumna of McColl Center for Art + Innovation.

Leonor Demori Neisler

Tres Unisonos (Three Unisons), 2020 Acrylic & Gesso on Three Wood Panels | 16 x 36 inches Estimated Value: $840 - $2,000

Leonor Demori was born in Caracas, Venezuela and currently lives in Charlotte, NC. Before moving to Charlotte, she lived in Caracas and in Washington DC. She received her Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from Winthrop University, SC. She also holds a BA in Business and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). After several years of a successful career in international finance, Leonor decided to pursue another profession in the arts, converging her passion for both areas. In her studio she has defied the new process of photography-based dynamic painting, creating rich, geometrical compositions.