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The artists:
Greg Lamarche
Inspired by the dynamism of his native New York City and its role as an incubator of the outlaw art of graffiti, Greg Lamarche’s collages combine the city’s relentless rhythm and graffiti’s aggressive presence to express the power, elegance and rebelliousness of urban creativity. Using found materials and commercially printed papers from his vast collection of vintage printed matter, Lamarche abstracts graffiti’s visual language, playing with a profusion of font styles, word fragments, multiple layers, bold colors, rhythmic repetition, multiple perspective and movement. Each unique work of precisely hand-cut paper thus becomes an interplay of the directness of graphic design and the aesthetics of fine art.
Born and raised in New York, Greg Lamarche created his first collages in the sixth grade when he used fireworks wrappers found in his schoolyard. In 1981 he began writing graffiti on the streets and subways, and published SKILLS, the graffiti movement magazine, in the early 1990s.

Erin M Riley
Erin M Riley earned a BFA in Fibers from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a MFA in Fibers at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA where she currently lives. Her hand woven tapestries are featured in the Spring 2011 issue of FiberArts Magazine, will be in an upcoming solo exhibition at Sky High Gallery in Milwaukee, WI, and featured in the store at the Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA in Fall 2011. She is an upcoming Artist in Residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, NE.

Pauline Galiana
Pauline Galiana literally uses leftovers from different stages of her own work — ideas, forms, emotions or material. She collects with the patience of a forensic scientist, paper stripes emerging from her discarded and shredded documents, notes and artworks; she stitches her oil painting paper rags into apparently fragile floating grids; she creates a personal diary–each having a theme or story–based on products she has consumed, and other sticky material that make their way into her life. 

In New York, Galiana’s work has been singled out by the UBS and Paine Webber collections and, through shows ranging from West 57th Street’s Baron Boisanté to Ramis Barquet Gallery, now appears in private collections from New York to Paris to Riyadh, London and Sydney.

“Kitchen Art is an ongoing series of sticker collages that I began many years ago. They are a personal diary -each having a theme or story- based on products I’ve consumed, museums I’ve visited, and other sticky labels that make their way into my life. Each piece is named after one of the labels within the piece. Through the activity of collecting, grouping and arranging this material, I sensitize myself to overlooked and discarded details of everyday life and to the patterns of my own consumption. The title Kitchen Art suggests a domestic domain as well as the kitsch aspect of sticker designs and messages.”

Derek Gores
Derek has gained national attention for his collage portrait series, recycling magazines, labels, and found materials to create the works on canvas. The series showcases Gores’ contrasting interests in the natural beauty of the figure, the angular design aesthetics of fashion, and a fearless sense of play.

Isaac Salazar
“I see my work as a way to display a meaningful piece of art onto a book that would otherwise sit on a shelf and collect dust; it’s also my way of recycling a book that might otherwise end up in a landfill.  The words or symbols I use are drawn from anything that invokes inspiration or encouragement, such as “Read”, “Dream” and the Recycle symbol.  If my work also makes people look at a book and even art in a new light then the piece has done its job.“

Keetra Dean Dixon
Keetra Dean Dixon is a designer and artist working under the handle FromKeetra. Her often frazzled workshop pushes its focus towards non-commissioned work, but occasionally finds the lure of a shiny client job too seductive to resist. Voted most likely to meander, FromKeetra straddles a wide set of mediums in the design of 2D, 3D & experiential projects. Keetra Dean developed many of her core objectives during her masters studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her ceaseless pursuit of wonder and irreverent whimsy previously landed her the role of Art Director with motion graphics studio Brand New School and a position as New Media Lead for the LAB at Rockwell Group. Her work continues to attract media giants such as Nike, The New York Times Magazine, Sony & MTV.
Dixon’s work has been recognized on several fronts including a place in the permanent design collection at the SFMOMA, the choice for STEP magazine’s Emerging Talent ’09, and the honorable ranking of ADC Young Gun ’08. She has been featured in numerous publications, speaking engagements, and exhibits, including feature articles in Etapes Magazine, works exhibited for the ’09 U.S. Presidential Inauguration, and highlight pieces in several publications by Die-Gestalten. Dixon’s first solo exhibit opened it’s doors in November 2009 in London’s Kessel Kramer Gallery: KKOutlet.

Meg Hitchcock
Meg Hitchcock was born in Springfield, Vermont. She studied painting in Florence, Italy at the Cecil-Graves Studio, and received her BFA in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her background in evangelical Christianity, as well as her ongoing interest in Eastern spiritual practices, inform her work. She has lived and worked in New York City since 2006.

Michiel van der Born
Michiel van der Born is a painter and lettering artist working and living in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Michiel graduated “cum laude” from the Royal Collage of Art with a degree in Graphic and Typographic design. Here he learned to draw type, building fonts, writing with a brush/pointed pen, etc. Directly after his study at the Royal collage of Art he was spending his time developing his painting skills, something he didn’t learn at art school. After about a year of painting pop-surrealism images he reunited with is old love…letters!  Michiel is part of the Dstruct Collective, a group of artist and musicians who found each other through electronic music.
Ryan Cronin
Ryan Cronin was born in 1972 on the front seat of a late 60’s Plymouth Station Wagon and has kept his parents, friends and audience on their toes ever since.  Growing up in the 1980’s Cronin was surrounded by and embraced Pop Culture. The bright colors and sounds of punk rock, skateboarding, MTV, graffiti and the youthful, push-it-to-the-limit attitude of the time became an integral part of who Cronin is today. This influence is apparent in his playful, yet tongue-in-check approach to painting.  His work is held in several private collections in Miami, NYC, Brooklyn and California. He is currently showing work with Scoop Studios Contemporary Art Gallery in Charleston, SC, the Van Brunt Gallery in Beacon, NY, the Brill Gallery in North Adams, MA and is participating in several group shows up and down the east coast.
“Cronin’s work is immediately compelling, visually stimulating and thought provoking. He masks deep commitment and seriousness of intent behind a “primitive” facade. He knows exactly what he is doing and he does it very well.” Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon, NY.

Brandon McLean
Brandon McLean started making art after a blood clot bombarded the right side of his brain, resulting in a stroke back in May of 2000. A young man, a son, thinker, artist, covert achiever who is happy with his imaginary worlds, and minimal responsibilities, but feels the pressures of an objectionable world and the impossibilities of living up to what his father was. So he makes things up; a de-personalization from today.
More than anything I aim to not take art that seriously, instead I intend to take the process into the unknown. Emerging myself in the mysterious bits of the art pieces and the characters they portray. Embarking on these so-called character excursions, collecting odd remnants of lives, the heroes you never knew, and the ghosts they became. There is much to discover in mystery, and in looking at these faces you can’t help but be really, really curious about them.
This also allows for the viewer to develop their own conclusions and questions into the images, and an on-going dialogue can occur. Often times the story that emerges from the viewers mind far exceeds my own, or perhaps even that of the actual person. It’s good to pretend sometimes.
Art is very much the best place for me to work out and explore my often time weird and quirky observations of this world.
I am definitely more interested in setting up a space, and environment, than say individual pieces spaced out proportionally on a wall. I feel the surrounding pieces feed off one another, enriching the over-all feel of the installation. Not intent on selling everything, but more intent on collecting and hauling in randomness to compliment the space.
I am always looking for future opportunities in the art making process. Anything from installations, to mural pieces, or small art works they are all a step to advance the journey. I would love the opportunity to set up something in your place of business, gallery, home, restaurant, bar, tree fort; wherever. I also partake in some computer based design work, from clothing design, board sport graphics, film and video work, and whatever else the day brings.

Danielle Spurge
“I’m 22 years old, living and crafting in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve recently graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in 3D Fine Arts with a Fibers concentration. My favorite crafting materials include hoops, threads, and vintage fabrics.”

King Farish
King spent his first 16 years in Alabama and is a self-taught artist.  He started with street photography in Chicago in 2000.  Over the next couple years he shot in cities such as Baltimore, Detroit, London and New York.  In 2003 he moved towards painting.  King is based in Brooklyn and has a studio in Bushwick.

Keith Scharwath
Keith Scharwath is a graphic designer, illustrator and art director living in Los Angeles. Notable projects include poster, title and promotional design for the 2008 film Beautiful Losers; exhibition design for Re-Run, a traveling art show curated by Aaron Rose; and most recently guest art directing the spring 2010 issue of GOOD magazine.
Originally from New Jersey, Keith has a degree in graphic design from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Scot Lefavor
Scot Lefavor hails from the Southern shores of Boston, Massachusetts.  Lefavor studied graphic design and printmaking at the Hartford Art School under influential design professor Mark Snyder and Nancy Wynn and printmaking professors Fred Wessel and John Willis.  He moved to Colorado in 2001 to pursue his artistic endeavors (well, not really, he just wanted to snowboard a lot).  Scot quickly became a part of the emerging Boulder art scene and soon co-owned and operated the late Gallery Sovereign from 2002 to 2004.
Scot began his career in the arts as a freelance graphic and web designer.  Upon the close of Gallery Sovereign, Scot began to aggressively tackle his current and ever-morphing style of painting and printmaking.  Lefavor’s works are multimedia in nature utilizing acrylic paint, spray paint, screen printing, gel transferring, and enamel.
Lefavor’s style is strongly rooted in traditional sign painting and typography.  He is heavily influenced by contemporary street art and the pop art movement of the 60s.  Scot work tends to be highly narrative and emotionally charged.  He draws directly from his personal experiences and current socioeconomic trends and events to create his narratives.
Scot plays a significant role in both the Denver and Boulder art communities, two separate entities slowly morphing into one.  As an artist and active member of the art community, Scot goes to great lengths to promote and help develop both the contemporary art scene as a hole and his artisan peers who actively influence it.
Scot is currently a freelance graphic designer and full time artist in Denver.  Scot also serves as the curator of JoyEngine and is one of their contributing bloggers.

Baron Von Fancy
Baron Von Fancy is an artist and designer born, raised, and living in New York City.  Questioning conventions and pushing boundaries, his work can be found on gallery walls, street corners, and retail counters.

Dahlia Elsayed
Dahlia Elsayed’s paintings combine text and imagery to create illustrated documents about her environment, resulting in journalistic paintings as records of internal and external geographies. Handwritten text on the painted paper plays an important role in creating narratives between the panels. The work draws on her surroundings, informed by autobiography and landscape to create contemporary cartographies of memory and emotional locations.
Her paintings, prints and artist books have been shown at galleries and art institutions throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions at Clementine Gallery and the Jersey City Museum. Her work is in the public collections of the US Department of State, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, The Jersey City Museum, Zimmerli Art Museum, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Noyes Museum of Art, Montclair Art Museum, Newark Public Library, New Jersey State Museum, and Morris Museum. A large number of her works were commissioned for the permanent collection of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York. Dahlia has received awards from the Edward Albee Foundation, Visual Studies Workshop, The Newark Museum, ArtsLink, The Dodge Foundation, Women’s Studio Workshop, Headlands Center for the Arts and most recently a fellowship from The NJ State Council on the Arts.
She received her MFA from Columbia University, and lives and works in New Jersey.