Meet The Artists
Our winter 2018 show exhibited the following artists
1. julian rapp
b. 1985 Julian Rapp is a full time artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. His work is based in abstraction and aims to highlight the motion and diversity of everyday life. Rapp's paintings are collected internationally and can be seen in establishments and homes around New York City and beyond.
Julian Rapp
Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
www.julianrapp.com @jrapp1
"Smile Meditation” Acrylic on Canvas 54" x 50"
How did you utilize the hypnosis recording to create? I used the hypnosis as a guide to quiet the mind while working. It is a reminder that wandering thoughts are natural and you simply need to bring the attention back to the breath each time you catch yourself. This helps to cultivate a more free-flowing space for creating work.
— Quote Source
2. Connie Rose
Connie Rose’s abstract work is a fresh and exciting mix of abstraction and surrealism with a contemporary mix of mediums. Music, meditation, self hypnosis, and breath-work are key components to the creation of Connie’s paintings which take the viewer on a colorful journey of electrifying visual energy to meditative imagined worlds. These worlds tap into a primal feeling that the viewer is both shaken and settled by, it is both truth and illusion. Connie explores the limitless possibilities of universes and existence with deep intuition, passion and wonder.
Connie Rose
Lower East Side, New York
ConnieRoseArt.com @connieroseart.com
“Beyond 13.8 Billion Light Years”
Oil on Canvas 60” x 36”
What inspired you to join this workshop?
Deep meditation and self- hypnosis are richly entangled elements to my paintings, and I am also training as a hypnotherapist, therefore this project was very in line with my current thinking. Expanding my knowledge of hypnosis especially in combination with my art creation excited me, so I knew I had to be a part of this.
3. Joseph Meloy
Joseph Meloy (b.1982) is a visual artist born and raised in New York City. Working in a style he coined “Vandal Expressionism”, his particular brand of post-graffiti abstraction draws heavily from AbEx, art brut and Paleolithic cave painting, invoking primal elements of graffiti and the iconography of damage and intrusion from street art to turn the calligraphic scribbles of the street into a medium for artistic divination.
Unencumbered by distinctions between the abstract and the figurative, his work delves into the impulses of the subconscious, transcribing them spontaneously onto canvas, paper and wall in an otherworldly yet distinctly urban visual language.
Joseph Meloy Chelsea, New York josephmeloy.com @joseph_meloy
"Wireframe” Acrylic, pencil, china marker & ink on dura-lar 12” x 9”
What inspired you to join this workshop?
I've been fascinated with hypnosis since I was a kid, and as an artist, I strive to get ever closer to the roots of human expression and creativity. This workshop struck me as a great way to get in touch with the resources of my subconscious.
4. Bradon Sines
Born in 1986, Brandon Sines was exposed to many cultures while growing up in New York City, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Shortly after moving to New York City in 2010 to pursue art, Brandon combined his use of mythological creatures, pop icons, and made up characters into a new character called Frank Ape. The success of Frank gave Sines the ability to work intensively as a full-time artist in New York City for the past seven years in which he has developed a visual language that is raw, mysterious, and playful.
Brandon Sines
Astoria, New York
Sineart.com
@brandonsines @frank_ape
"Smell the Flowers" acrylic spray, plastic, acrylic, enamel and ink on wood board 20” x 24"
What inspired you to join this workshop?
I had a solo show at Contra galleries over the Summer of 2017 and was introduced to Rachel who told me about the concept. Right away when I heard the concept from a creative standpoint it sounded intriguing and appealing. I decided I wanted to try a new experience and hopped on board.
5. Jeremy Wolff
Jeremy Wolff is a contemporary, pop, street artist from New York City, with a focus in current events, pop culture, and music. Since taking on art full time in 2014, Wolff has been featured at multiple charity events, met a number of celebrities and athletes that have signed his work, and has done live paintings. Most recently, Wolff was featured in Forbes Magazine and with Tommy Hilfiger. With a background in Mass Communications and Art, Wolff has gained a reputable following and aims to present at galleries, have murals on walls all over the world, and gain notoriety for his work. Wolff blends various styles to create a unique look that has transformed into his own. Taking traditional oil painting portraits and mixing it with his often spray paint background and drip style painting, he blends a more modern look with a street/pop art feel. Wolff will be having a solo exhibition with Contra Galleries in March.
Jeremy Wolff
New York, New York
jwolffstudios.com
@jwolffstudios
“King Curious George” 30x40 inches JAcrylic and Aerosol on Gallery stretched Canvas
Tell us about the inspiration for your art in this show.
My inspiration comes from my idea of combining a realism/ more modern style of painting with a pop art element and context. I have a big project with the Empire State Building on the horizon so I am constantly thinking of ideas for that and this one popped up directly after hypnosis, so figured it would be perfect for the show as well as to present to the Empire State Building one day.
6. Mariana Soares da Silva
Mariana Soares is a Brazilian painter and production designer that lives and works in New York. Mariana has a BFA in Fine Arts, BFA in Visual Communication and she concluded the intensive painting certificate program at the National Academy School. Her professional background in visual arts includes positions as the art director in projects for Mattel, MTV and others as well in productions for films and advertising. As a painter she received the Honor Mention Prize at the National Academy Museum, and has had her work auctioned by Paddle 8. In 2017 Mariana was interviewed by Táxi Amarelo, Vogue Brazil and has her work mentioned at Art News Magazine in 2015. She participated in several group shows and had a solo exhibition in New York. Her work is held in prominent collections in Germany, United States and Brazil.
Mariana Soares da Silva
New York, New York
marianasoares.net @marianasdslv
“Night Visions” Oil on Linen 58” x 46”
How did you utilize the hypnosis recording to create?
I used it in a few different occasions. Mostly the moments before I started to paint or when I was stuck trying to figure out the next move. I got different perceptions during each session. Whether good or overwhelming, it was helpful and interesting to have this creative channel to look at.
7. Clay Stapleford
Atlanta-based abstract painter who emerged 2.5 years ago as a professional artist, Clay Stapleford uses a vivid color palette and physicality of brushstroke to imbue vital energy in his large-scale works. He is UNC-educated and from Raleigh, and has been an Atlantan living in the city for 15 years. Stapleford's pieces enrich any home, work or public space. Stapleford recently closed a successful solo show at Made Again in Inman Park, has live painted at Ponce City Market and regularly donates works of art to organizations near to his heart. Featured in LOOKBOOK, American Culture Reporter and several podcasts.
breakthrough Acrylic on canvas 54 x 63.5 x 2
How have you seen your art or process change since using the recording?
My process hasn’t so much changed as it has deepened. I’ve been reminded that presence brings forth unmatched joy and creative opportunity; and an awareness that in both my painting and my life I am better off when I stop thinking so much and get out of my own way.
8. Kate Rogovin
Time: Born in a tumulturous era. Place: A crumbling bankrupt city. Education: Institute of Industrial Grind. Experience: Walking crooked paths in dreams. Exhibitions: Brick walls, open fields, underground tunnels, places of prosperity, salvage heaps, severe galleries, chain link fences. Purpose: Plumbing the depths of the subconscious imagery. Finding recurring symbols. Viewing from several angles simultaneously. Connecting conscious vs. subconscious forms. Manifesting alternative realities. Process: Falling asleep while entranced. Digging through dream memory fields. Shuffling through subconscious slide shows. Piecing all parts together in daytime reality.
Kate Rogovin
Inwood, New York
#kate.rogovin
Mined Time 4’ x 10’ Installation of various materials
How did you utilize the hypnosis recording to create?
After the initial session in the Himalayan salt room I listened to the recorded hypnosis at night before bed. I found many night dream and day dream images merging, morphing and evolving.
9. Mary Mihelic
Mary Mihelic received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Parsons the New School for Design in 2006. She is an activist, feminist and political artist. Her artworks have been shown in New York City and around the nation. Prior to getting her M.F.A., Mary studied art extensively at the Museum School in Boston and at the SMFA’s programs in Venice, Italy.
She is fascinated by the way the imagination makes God a reality in the form of faith. As an artist, she examines what makes us believe anything we don’t see for ourselves: from fake news to the way ISIL beheads an American on camera and we first wonder if it is real. We see images showing the horror of chemical weapons in Syria and question their legitimacy. Her art comments on how the real heroes are the protestors. They have the most faith. They are the first to believe.
Mary is part of the t.Rutt artist team making art about Donald Trump. One of the artworks involved buying a former Trump campaign bus when it went up for sale on Craigslist and transforming it into a contemporary traveling anti-Trump artwork.
“Trump Bus Leaked Oil Painting 4: It’s a Witch Hunt.” Trump bus leaked oil, ink, waterproofing tape, shoebox, LED lights, magnets, pastel and marker. 12” x 12”
Mary Mihelic
In transit
marymihelicartist.com @brklynartist
She says, “I joined the workshop when one of the organizers emailed me and said she had seen some of my artworks in NYC and and invited me to participate. I loved the concept and had been hypnotized in therapy before, so was very intrigued. The timing was perfect. My mother had died a few months before and we were very close. She was my biggest fan. After she died, I stopped making art. I just couldn’t do it. It was too painful. Then I got the hypnosis recording. The first time I listened to it, I thought I fell asleep, but I woke up when it started telling me to count back from ten, so I must have been in a trance. Nothing happened for two days. Then the third day, I started the Fallen Stars and Pussy Stripes piece. I was working so hard on it that I was shocked when I looked at the clock and it was 3 a.m. I had been working through the night. After that, I listened to the recording a couple times a week. It’s amazing. I have found the courage to take more risks with my art, add more layers, and combine materials in new ways. I am making art again. Before my Mom died, I could not make art without music. I still haven’t been able to turn the music back on, I work in silence for now. My art for this show is inspired by all the people who stand up for what they believe in; by the women in America who are speaking out; and by my mother.
10. Pia Marchetti
Pia graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015 with a BFA in Drama and a focus in Scenic Design. She lives in Brooklyn. Pia is seeking employment as an artist, illustrator, and/or reality television star. Her favorite mediums to work in are ink, watercolor, and marker. She is first and foremost a Buffy fanatic, Lana Del Rey devotee, & beverage oriented individual.
Pia Marchetti
Rome, Italy
PiaMarchetti.com @Pia_Marchetti