THOMIA JONES
ALFREDO ESPARZA
Painter Thomia Jones teaches us that seemingly contradictory descrip-tives, ones promoting bright colors and excite­ment, can also be indicative of peacefulness, bal­ance and reprieve. Jones’ paintings serve as either
Mexican photographer Alfredo Esparza utilizes extremes to communicate honestly with his audience. His black and white pho­tographs are surprisingly forceful in their juxtapo­sitions of light and dark. At times he saturates the photos with a darkness that
a “focal point” or a space of “equal balance” by which those who experience them are taken into another world or place, to tran­scend over seascapes marbled with larger-than-life colors: purple mountain ranges with skies of pink, earthy counterparts in hues of red, oceans teeming with shades of aquamarine. Her images speak to the viewer in a language of color, alive with the beauty of nature and the fervor of life. Jones considers her large-scale paintings to be abstractions of her memories, offering a surrealist panorama dotted with the hallucinatory notions of a dreamscape. Jones operates as a purveyor of line, form, and color, her paint­ings offering the viewer a visual guide.
Website: www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Thomia_Jones.aspx
is inky black, almost total and seemingly depthless. It encroaches upon the subject, impen­etrable and unstoppable. Still other times the viewer is nearly blinded by the light, elongating shadows for an equally intense effect. Of course, Esparza is not only concerned with intensity of light and dark. Some of his work concentrates on a completely different element of his art: An unexpected and dizzying perspec­tive, which is no less intense in its focus. In these the viewer feels the tensions, between nature and urban society, nature and humanity, and a keen loneliness. Esparza grew up in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico and has been exhibiting his work since 2002.
Website: www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Alfredo_Esparza.aspx
JASNICA KLARA MATIC
KERRYN FISK
Jasnica Klara Matić’s paintings function as an offering. Matić believes in the mir­rored duality of the self versus the world, and thus, through ex­plorations in her cre­ativity, she is able to reflexively heal and liberate the
Rendering robust portraits of women, Kerryn Fisk con­veys the emotional side of womanhood. Whether the women are standing beside a man, enjoying a private mo­ment in the bath or emerging before a beautiful landscape of palm trees and mountains, they appear quietly content with themselves, transfixed by inward musings and fanciful daydreams. Dusky hues of blue

outside world in addition to her inner being. Her sub­ject matter and painting style reflect this dichotomy through the soft, simplistic representations of shapes, often found in pairs. Additionally, Matić paints with materials intrins

and amethyst further evoke a sense of tranquility, while metallic glazes illuminate the mystical aspect of the paintings.
Most of the New Zealand painter’s figures embody Pacific characteristics, but some appear more Mediterranean, perhaps because of Fisk’s affinity for the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Regardless of the subject’s background, the women are painted plainly and in the same manner, as if to show the common traits between all women. Fisk’s depictions of the feminine experience explore “realms that all women inhabit at different stages of their lives.”

Website: www.kerrynfisk.com

ically connected to healing, inclusive of spices, incense, wax, salts, and herbs. She attempts to harmonize “body and space” while promoting an “everlasting duality” or interconnectedness. This harmonizing is achieved metaphorically and physically through Matić’s usage of a shallow depth of field and simplistic color scheme. Seemingly understated, her images speak volumes about the human condi­tion and a codependency on a myriad of levels. Matić presents the viewer with a painting, as both a gift and as a reflection into the soul.

Website:www.ArtMine.com/ArtistPage/Jasnica_Klara_Matić.aspx