Farhana Akhter                                       Todd Monaghan                 

C Bangs                                                    Ellen Yung O'Dwyer

Janet Cristenfeld                                     John Sebastian

Catherine Lan                                          Maryann Sussoni

Jeanette Martone                                    Carol Colby Tanenbaum                                                                                                                                                                                   

June 7^th – June 25^th, 2011

 Opening Reception:  Saturday, June 11^th, 2011, 3-6pm 

Gallery Hours: Tue – Sat 12 to 6 pm

Global Fusion Art is pleased to present a group exhibition exploring the nurture matrix, an environment or structure in which nurturance develops in relationship with nature and life. Amidst the self-life-world unity, the matrix encompasses parents, children, family, community, habitat, ecosystem and universal consciousness. The artworks in this exhibition reflect various aspects of this interactive and protective environment, focusing on relationships within the behavioral, socio-cultural, spiritual-ontological and ecological essences.

Global Fusion Art is a nonprofit organization, consisting of multicultural artists and communities committed to support cross-cultural understanding through visual arts, music, performance and multi-media.  We seek to raise awareness of the global community and promote individuals and organizations that provide humanitarian services across the world.  For this exhibition, artists have pledged 15% of sale price of artwork will be donated to the Red Cross to support the relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. www.globalfusionart.com

Farhana Akhter explores the transformative journey from chaos to harmony and grace.  To capture the transitioning stages of motion, fusion and stillness evident in every aspect of life, her mixed media paintings incorporate found objects that are symbolic of the transformative process by combining materials with organic and inorganic elements. www.farhanaakhter.com                 

C Bangs investigates frontier science combined with symbolist figuration and quantum equations as design elements, which refer to the interconnectivity of everything and the relationship of time and space.  Archetypes of the Earth and cosmological elements are depicted from an ecological feminist perspective.

www.cbangs.com

Janet Cristenfeld views life as a fusion of artistic and spiritual journeys. She depicts the emotions, sensuality, and spirit of imaginary human beings, influenced by her own inner contemplation and the surrounding world. In addition to making and exhibiting art that is “a visual manifestation of the soul,” she practices as an energy healer. Over the past few years, she has channeled a set of spiritual symbols, called Souligraphy™, from which she is creating jewelry, books, and paintings. www.janetcristenfeld.com

Catherine Lan explores themes of female identity through a contemporary perspective. The organic, baroque-like forms and patterns are associated with her desires and are linked to her body. Lan sketches with her hands, draws with scissors and polish the work with shavers and poured paint. The fairy tale title - Snake Leaves, is a moral and love story: the princess came alive when the prince saved her from the magical leaves that a snake carried in her tomb. The material - faux fur, fake diamonds, lace, silk, glitter are collaged and assemblaged into three- dimensional "paintings".  They are collaged into an abstraction of an archetypal fantasy character: a princess or prince in Snow White, a bride or groom in Snake Leaves, a wolf or a girl in Little Red Riding Hood. She continues to push the concept of painting into a new territory. www.catherinelanart.com

Jeanette Martone depicts her subjects captured in a moment of time, revealing their inner grace and the beauty that can be found in the infinite details of their environment; the sun cracked earth, the drape of tired fabric, and the detritus of struggle. Her experiences while traveling to various parts of the developing world, participating in volunteer projects assisting the poor, have contributed to the evolution of her work. The simplicity and purity of pencil and paper lend immediacy and intimacy to the complex images formed, reminiscent of the protoplasmic origins of life we share.  www.jmartone.com

Todd Monaghan is a Painter, collagist, filmmaker specializing in what Tony Solomon of the Andy Warhol foundation described as "spiritual surrealism".  Mr. Monaghan has shown in various galleries in New York City and is part of academic, corporate and private collections both in the United States and abroad.

www.tmnorthwood.com

Ellen Yung O'Dwyer describes her work as “Passionate Emotion”. Whether it is passion or fury, joy or melancholy, defiance or playfulness, the many moods and emotions of the human soul are personified with insightful determination. Ellen takes her strongest artistic inspiration, the horse, and captures the magical and undying spirit; and graceful, yet powerful movement of the spellbinding creature and entwines them with the emotions of the human soul. www.globalfusionart.com/id44.html

John Sebastian describes his list of inspirations as ”Earth, Sky, Moon, Sun, and the amazing effects these forces have on the people around me”. Whether he is working in abstraction or approaching his paintings from a more impressionistic perspective the final result is usually a thoughtful and compelling representation of his subjects. Currently John is publishing an inspirational website called www.thenewyorkoptimist.com focusing on Artists and galleries from around the world, featured weekly to provide mass media exposure. 

Maryann Sussoni is a prolific artist who is captivated by all forms of artistic realms. Her abstracts are result of a Zen like sensibility awareness of similarities and differences in all aspects of life. At any given time shapes, colors, textures, lines, sounds flow and converge around her creating a palette for her visual creative energy. Her artistic outpour is due to the realm of deep inner contemplation and outer connectedness. She says, “The more we are different, the more we are all the same”. http://www.globalfusionart.com/id24.html

Carol Colby Tanenbaum believes photography offers the viewer the opportunity to see through the eyes of another.  By taking subjects out of context, and by changing their color and/or perspective, Carol hopes to bring the viewer’s eye to the sensuality and complexity of objects usually rejected as forms of decay and degradation. www.colbytanenbaum.com