Meet The Artists
As a mixed media artist, CJ explores the boundaries of form, texture, and color through abstract compositions. CJ’s work is a dialogue between spontaneity and intention, where different materials and techniques come together to create layered, dynamic pieces. CJ aims to evoke emotion and provoke thought, encouraging viewers to find their own connections and interpretations within the abstract forms. Through this process, CJ seeks to capture the essence of creativity—unpredictable, complex, and endlessly evolving.
CJ's artistic journey is a testament to the transformative power of creativity in the face of adversity. Born into the whirlwind world of a traveling evangelist, she spent her formative years on the road, bearing witness to the fervor
and devotion of her parents' mission. After her parents passing at age 10 , CJ navigated her new life in foster care with art as it allowed her to express her depth of emotions. Today, CJ stands as a testament to resilience and the enduring human spirit. She has transcended her humble beginnings to become a gallery owner, a curator of dreams, and an artist of international acclaim. CJ's journey from troubling childhood to a globally recognized artist and gallery owner reminds us that even in the darkest of circumstances, creativity has the power to heal and transform lives.
CJ Cowden
Founder, Director, Artist
Abstract Painter
American
As twin artists, their work is a fusion of two distinct perspectives intertwined by a shared history and deep connection. Growing up side by side (and even earning the same B.F.A), they have always been each other’s first collaborators, critics, and supporters. Their bond is both a mirror and a window, reflecting their similarities and revealing our differences, which they explore through their art.
Their creative process is a dynamic dialogue, where ideas are exchanged, challenged, and evolved. While their approaches may differ—Mallory is drawn to the realm of watercolors and traditional printmaking, using a mix of bold colors and intricate brushwork to convey emotions, Macey finds her niche in the realm of sculpture, skillfully crafting intricate and thought-provoking installations that challenge the boundaries of form and space—they find harmony in the tension between these styles. This interplay of contrasts is at the heart of their work, as they balance individual expression with collective creation.
The continued support they have received has been a constant source of inspiration, reminding them to embrace their creative instincts and to trust the process of discovery that comes with each piece of artwork. Each piece that they create is a testament to the idea that behind every artist, there are unseen hands (specifically for us our mom and dad [CJ and Clint]) that guide and support their journey.
Mallory Cowden
Graphic Designer
Multidisciplinary
American
Multidisciplinary
American
Macey Cowden
Graphic Designer
Elizabeth, that’s how she calls herself. A name without a surname, but only representative. The artist believes that we find ourselves in a time where it’s easy to be exposed to have consent or not, causing pure art, strong in its story, to take second place. She therefore hid her identity with strong belief, so that her art can live on being self-sufficient, even in an era where haters and fans are active on all platforms.
Born in Italy, she studied fashion in Milan, where her creativity led her to combine fashion and art, two worlds that synergistically bring hands and mind to create for aesthetic and creative urgency.
Her artistic research has led to a preference for the use of candies: simple commercial sweets of
common use, now becoming precious colored pieces as in a contemporary mosaic in a pop key, where the light slips into the recesses and cracks, accentuating their volume and three-dimensionality. By mixing techniques, materials andgenres she changes their function and exhorts us to see things in a new way. Reflection on the world around her and the importance of creativity are indeed fundamental parts of her life.The themes she prefers to represent are vintage objects, past years icons, comics and topical cartoon scenes, and the use of candy is not a casual element. It is rather a conscious choice that can summarize the childlike part that lies in each of us, but that we often forget, with the intention of bringing back "sweet memories" that each of us jealously preserves.
Elizabeth
Artist
Pop Art
Italian
I’m Alejandro Suarez, I was born in 1980 in Bogotá, Colombia. My greatest qualities are a sense of composition, proportion, movement, and color.
I feel strongly attracted to Cubism because in nature, we rarely find geometric figures. For that reason, we know that it is a human manifestation. In my artwork, I seek to represent both things that we find in nature: mainly animals, plants, and the human figure; as well as abstract figures. I seek to find harmony between shapes and colors, something that does not remind me of anything I have seen before. I am moved by the inherent beauty of stones and also by the use of geometric figures.
I am in love with my artwork; I never get tired of seeing each sculpture, and I think about all the work that goes into them, from the very formation of the stones themselves and everything that has had to happen to them to reach my hands, as well as the feelings that guide me to do something with it. Is everything a coincidence?"
Alejandro Suárez
Artist
Sculpturist
Colombian
As a child I toured all around Argentina with my grandfather and his mobile home. He had left his old job to radically change his life to become a metal craftsman in which he started forging iron and making knives. Through our journey together I learned the trade and met artists from all over the country. Over time, I forgot about it, studied other careers, and moved many times.
However, 6 years ago I felt the call and woke up with the need to create something– I went straight to use my grandfather's old welder. I crafted together car and bike parts, and managed to put together a small 30 cm motorcycle. It was a path with no turning back as being able to build what I dreamed of was incredible.
Sculpture is full of challenges as it is a multidisciplinary art in which you have to be a bit of a designer, a painter, and a photographer. You never stop learning and you constantly evolve. The last few years have seen a lot of development as I am creating more and more complex pieces that generate positive repercussions on others. In each job I put a part of me–it gives me personal satisfaction that is priceless. I know that I cannot save the world, but from my art I can generate the possibility of seeing life from another perspective. Pablo Picasso used to say: “I don't paint what I see, I paint what I feel”, and a little bit of my art is based on shaping each piece of metal as I feel it.
Andrés Lemos
Artist
Metal Sculpturist
Argentinan
Guest Artists
Primordium Exhibition
Biography
Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Elizabeth Peña-Alvarez is a sculptor working primarily with clay. She has an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design as well as an MFA in Artisanry from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Her work is exhibited nationally. She has participated in several residencies including the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Penland School for Craft, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and most recently, the Hambidge Center in Georgia. Born of Ecuadorian heritage in Miami, Florida, the city's abundant and varied vegetation has had a lasting impact and continues to drive her studio work.
Statement
I explore Post-Traumatic Growth through the interplay of dichotomous themes such as light and darkness, life and loss, and growth and destruction. Rooted in the theory of positive transformation, Post-Traumatic Growth reframes life’s most profound challenges—like the death of a child or a cancer diagnosis—into opportunities for beauty and light. My visual language draws from the natural world, incorporating elements of human anatomy and vegetation. These influences converge in my biomorphic sculptures, where meticulously detailed hybrid forms of botanical and anatomical elements evoke transformation and transcendent growth.
Elizabeth Pena-Alvarez
Photo by Elizabeth Peña-Alvarez
Photo by Tom O'Malley
Sonya Sklaroff
Biography
Sonya Sklaroff lives and works in New York City. Her paintings have been exhibited worldwide and are part of prestigious public and private collections, including the Phillips Museum of Art, the Consul General of France, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Clarins USA, Fannie Mae, the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of State, and the Cahoon Museum of Art. Sklaroff earned her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Parsons School of Design. She has participated in numerous artist residencies, including the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ragdale Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Santa Fe Art Institute, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s World Views Project, where she had a studio on the 91st floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center.
In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious Anonymous Was a Woman grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her publications include “Sonya Sklaroff” (2014) with an introduction by Harlan Coben, “Pandemic Paintings” (2021) with a preface by Rachael Ray, “A Love Letter to New York City” (2022), and “Escape to the Garden” (2024), featuring over 70 garden and flower paintings completed during her travels. Sklaroff’s significant solo exhibitions include “Secrets of New York” at The Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in 2023, accompanied by a catalog with a foreword by theoretical physicist and best-selling author Lisa Randall, and “NoHo Art Nexus: Outside In” in 2024, which transformed her NoHo neighborhood into a vast personal art gallery with 19 different locations exhibiting her works.
Additionally, Sklaroff was commissioned by The Lambs, America’s oldest professional theatrical club on 5th Avenue, to paint a portrait of the club’s first female member, making her the first female artist to receive such an honor at the club.
Statement
Making art is my purpose. More than just what I do, art is a big part of who I am. Painting is how I express my true self, the authentic me.
Sometimes people ask how I find inspiration. I don’t. Inspiration finds me. I can wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and find that it is inspiration looking back at me, as somehow the face reflected just doesn’t feel familiar and I paint it to capture that unnerving feeling. Months into the pandemic I came across my neighbor who hadn’t shaved since the lockdown began – the portrait begged to be painted. Trapped in my apartment with the city shut down, I daydreamed of going dancing. So ballroom dancing on a twilit rooftop emerged on my canvas.
I often roam the city with my sketchbook and watercolor set, searching for something to catch my eye. Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the "in between" moments—small glimpses of life that happen when you least expect them. It’s like peering through an iron gate into an urban garden and witnessing an intimate conversation, or glancing up at a lit window in the evening to see someone reading by lamplight, and wondering about their life. I often use these sketches and on-site watercolor paintings as inspiration for my larger oil on canvas works in my studio.
How fortunate I am to know, without question, my role in this world. How grateful I am to find so many people who relate to the stories I tell through my work. How lucky I am that my art allows me to draw creativity from the world around us in times both good and bad.
SEA Online Artists
2024 Online Exhibitions
Mind of an Artist
John Affolterr
Richard Allen
Amita Aung-Thwin
Gretchen Beck
Kelley and Gavin Brodin
Thomas Crawford
Julia Flit
Jai Gervin
Dave Hanson
Ronald Katz
Bette Kauffman
Camille Kouyoumdjian
Roe LiBretto
Todd Monjar
Seamus O'Rourke
Brigitte Radecki
Jamie Rix
Petra Schutte
Alena Sokolova
Roseanne Swider
Eish Verma
Yuchen Wang
Memories of my Journeys
John Calabrese
Amimie Dukes
Susanne Grosswiler
Meredith Moles
Jennifer Ogeden
Denise Richards
Robert Riojas III
Jesus Sanchez
Jim Slavik
Merima Smajlovic
Andrea G. Snyder
C.J. Swanson
Margery Thomasmueller
Unearthing
John Calabrese
Erica Frisk
Katherine Filice
Jai Gervin
Rachel Heibel
David Jacobs
Taerim Kim
Hunter Mestman
Meredith Olinger
Elise Racine
John Ralston V
Yelena Safronova
Benjamin Sears
Ira Upin
Jing (Ellen) Xu