The Persistence of Shadows:
The Language of Light
Light and shadow are inseparable companions. One gives form to the other, each insisting on its presence through contrast. Where light emerges, shadow lingers; where darkness falls, light becomes sharper, more profound. This exhibition brings together works that dwell in that interplay not as opposites, but as partners in the shaping of perception.
The persistence of shadows reminds us that absence is never empty, that what is concealed still exerts a force upon what is seen. Shadows carry memory, residue, and weight, following form even as it moves beyond reach. At the same time, light speaks its own language: illumination, revelation, the unveiling of surface and texture. It is light that allows the world to be read, but it is shadow that allows it to be felt.
The works gathered here invite us to consider how form emerges between these poles, how brilliance and obscurity are both necessary to vision. Some pieces shimmer in luminous hues, others retreat into darkness, yet all are held in the tension of visibility and concealment. Together they form a meditation on perception itself on how every gesture, every mark, every surface carries both radiance and its echo.
In this conversation of contrasts, we are reminded that art does not choose between light and shadow. It speaks in both tongues, translating silence into form, memory into presence, and mystery into revelation.
Current exhibition
Artists:
Explore the Exhibition
CJ Cowden
Elena Behrakis
Brittany Emory
Sal Taylor Kydd
Isabelle Levy
Mónica G. Suárez
Explore Our Artists
Elena Behrakis
Artist Statement and Bio
Elena Behrakis (b.1970; United States) is a Greek American visual artist who lives and works in Massachusetts. Working
primarily in oil on canvas and paper, her highly expressive figurative works are characterized by their rich texture, energy, and visible brushstrokes and marks. Her style of painting is intuitive heightening the emotion in her pieces. Behrakis' works are her direct relation to insulation, strength, invisibility, and vulnerability within the female experience.
web: elenabehrakisart.com
insta: @elenabehrakis.art
CJ Cowden
Artist Statement and Bio
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.
insta: @cjcowden_art
Artist Bio
Brittany Emory is a mixed media painter currently living and working in Newton, MA. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Messiah University in 2016 and has since been balancing creating her own work and educating the next generation. Her current style of painting is the result of years of mixed media explorations including acrylic, gouache, pastels, colored pencil and oils. A significant part of Brittany’s practice is working in sketchbooks to expand ideas and perfect technique. Her continual exploration of the landscape through varying levels of abstraction is a recurring theme in her work.
Artist Statement
I make paintings about transcendent moments in the natural world. Inspired by scenes ranging from the vastness of the ocean to fading evening light through tree branches, every moment holds within it an opportunity for beauty. My shadow paintings in oil capture the cast shadows of plants and tree branches, aiming to convey not only color and luminosity, but also memory and the fleeting nature of time. I enjoy painting these abstract forms and allowing the viewer to get lost in the movement and depth of each piece.
Brittany Emory
insta: @brittany_emory
Sal Taylor Kydd
insta: @sal.taylorkydd
Artist Statement
In my work, I combine photography and poetry to create layered narratives that explore themes of memory, personal history, and the interplay between past and present. By blending these two forms of expression, I aim to work within the liminal space between the world we inhabit now and the lasting imprints of the past, allowing both mediums to inform and deepen the stories I tell.
I am particularly drawn to the objects and artifacts we surround ourselves with—items that hold memories and act as emblems of our personal histories, marking the passage of time.
Repurposing these objects, alongside my own photographs and found images, and weaving them together with excerpts of my poetry, allows me to interrogate and reframe the narratives these items carry, crafting new stories from old memories.
Photography, for me, serves as a way to freeze a moment in time, making our fleeting experiences tangible and allowing us to revisit them in our search for understanding.
Creating books and photographic objects gives me a tactile and intimate way to distill my experiences and thoughts, enabling a deeper reflection on my personal history. Writing poetry in tandem with this process creates an added layer of emotional resonance, as both mediums invite a slow, contemplative engagement with the themes of memory, loss, and continuity.
I work in a variety of media, but I am especially drawn to assemblage, mixed media, and alternative photographic processes, where the hand of the artist becomes an integral part of the work. The physical act of making—using my hands to craft and manipulate images, objects, and words—grounds me in the process of understanding, offering a tactile way to navigate my personal and creative journey.
Artist Bio
Sal Taylor Kydd is a Maine-based photographic artist and writer whose work interweaves photography, poetry, and alternative processes to explore themes of memory, belonging, and the passage of time. Her distinctive fusion of visual and literary art draws from personal narratives and a deep connection to place.
Her fine art photographs have been exhibited extensively across the U.S. and internationally, with notable exhibitions in Barcelona, San Miguel de Allende, Portland, Boston, Los Angeles, and most recently in New York and London. Her work has also been featured in publications such as Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Lenscratch, Diffusion Annual, and The Hand Magazine.
Taylor Kydd is the author of several artist books that combine her poetry with her photography, held in prestigious collections including The Getty Museum, Bowdoin College, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Maine Women Writers Collection at the University of New England. Her most recent book, Crossing, explores the remote islands of Penobscot Bay, capturing the sense of isolation and timeless beauty in these unique coastal landscapes. Another recent publication, Yesterday, produced by Datz Press, reflects on themes of loss and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2024, Taylor Kydd was named a finalist in the Critical Mass photography competition, a recognition of her ongoing contributions to contemporary photography. She is also an experienced educator and workshop leader, conducting portfolio reviews and leading workshops with institutions such as Maine Media Workshops + College, Santa Fe Workshops, Palm Beach Photography, and Nord Photography in Norway. Sal also serves on the boards of Maine Media Workshops and College in Rockport, as well as the Stonington Opera House on Deer Isle.
Originally from the UK, she holds a BA in Modern Languages from Manchester University and an MFA in Photography from Maine Media College. She now lives and works in Rockport, Maine.
Taylor Kydd is represented by The Page Gallery in Rockport, Alta Vista Arts and The Photographic Gallery in San Miguel, MX.
Isabelle Levy
insta: @beingwithlight
Artist Statement
Isabelle Jada Levy’s photographic practice is an ever evolving exploration of her own relationship to the passage of time, impermanence, and the constant grappling with uncertainty that traces her day-to-day life. Her abstract and delicate imagery reflects the desire to notice
beauty in the midst of overwhelm, capture what she feels is fleeting, and to make sense of the world around her. Each image is informed by her own connection to spirituality and the practice
of meditation as a source of slowing down and becoming grounded in the immediate present.
This process in itself is meditative, creating without expectation of the photograph’s outcome or
purpose. Levy explores parallels between the act of photographing and the act of existing in the moment before her through the use of unconventional photographic tools and embracing their unpredictability. Her images serve as passageways, portals, and glimpses of what it is like to
become content with the inevitability of the unknown.
Levy is a photographer and artist who grew up in Ithaca, NY and is currently based in Astoria,
Queens. She earned her BFA in photography from SUNY Purchase College and currently works
as Gallery Assistant at Sims Contemporary in Chelsea, NYC.
Mónica G. Suárez
Artist Statement and Bio
Mónica G. Suárez is a Spanish visual artist based in Vancouver.
She began her artistic training at the age of six, focusing on classical painting techniques. In 1997, she was recognized by Artecal as one of the most promising young talents of her generation. Her multidisciplinary work includes painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and mural art, often exploring the human condition and existential themes with refined sensitivity and technical precision.
In parallel, she has worked for over 15 years as a lighting director in animated film. This experience informs her visual language, merging cinematic light and narrative into her art.
Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout Spain, Portugal and Vancouver.
insta: @art_theothersideofme