Volume Control
August 12 – August 30
Artists:
CJ Cowden – Dafne Berg – Jeremy Gornto – Ralph Pàquin – Sophia Rose – Herman Solberg – Bianca Youngers
Art does not need to be monumental to command a room. Volume Control is an exhibition about presence the way a work can swell with energy, saturate the air around it, or retreat into a charged quietness. Here, scale is not measured in inches or feet but in impact, in how a piece holds you, pulls you closer, or lingers in your mind long after you’ve stepped away.
Each artwork in this exhibition sets its own volume. Some pieces hum with tension, colors vibrating, lines pressing forward, every mark a declaration of intent. Others feel hushed, their power residing in restraint, in the smallest gesture or a barely-there shift of tone. None of the works shout with size, yet each one insists on being noticed, asking you to meet it where it stands.
Volume, in this sense, is not about sound or physical dominance. It is about how art chooses to occupy space, not just the space of the gallery walls but the space inside us as we encounter it. The works here invite you to listen carefully. Some will speak in whispers that gather weight the longer you stay. Others will seem to pulse, filling the air with a force far greater than their scale should allow.
This exhibition asks you to consider what it means for something small to feel vast, for quiet to hold as much power as spectacle, and for presence to be defined not by size, but by intention.
Explore the Collection
CJ Cowden
Dafne Berg
Jeremy Gornto
Ralph Pàquin
Sophia Rose
Herman Solberg
Bianca Youngers
Chip Calvin
More About the Works
Whispers of a Light that Blooms
by CJ Cowden
Petals remembering the fields they once loved.
Veiled Garden I & II
by CJ Cowden
Nature reveals itself through layers of mist, memory, and mystery. These circular forms pulse with organic energy roots, vines, and bloom-like gestures rise and fall through a shroud of color and shadow. The garden is not seen directly, but sensed, as though glimpsed through fog or recalled in a dream.
This diptych invites reflection on how perception is often filtered by mood, by time, by what we hope or fear to find. In this softened vision of the natural world, the familiar becomes strange, and the act of seeing becomes a quiet search.
When Life gives you Lemons
by Dafne Berg
When life gives you Lemons embodies the idea that beauty often emerges from life’s unplanned moments. It is a reminder that what may initially appear as a setback can ultimately lead to something far greater. Painted during my recovery from a serious leg injury, the piece reflects my emotional state at the time. Instead of erasing the impulsive marks I made on the canvas,
I chose to embrace them, allowing them to shape a new story in every flower. Just as in life, chaos and imperfection can give way to something meaningful and beautiful.
Journey
by Dafne Berg
Journey is a mixed media collage that reflects the personal and emotional transformation I experienced following a devastating knee injury—an event that left the future of my mobility uncertain. This piece captures the path
I walked, both physically and emotionally, from fear and grief to resilience and renewed hope.
Disciples of Night
by Jeremy Gornto
Disciples of Night was a piece about a blossoming I would see on my night walks and represents an intimate connection to darkness, mystery, and solitude that extends to light in the morning. This composition is a meditation on the beauty found in stillness, darkness, and the unseen.
When I created this piece as an inspiration from the quiet tree, swirls of green leaves and soft pink petals started. At the top, a single mysterious, expanding cloud hovers in a darkened sky, representing a sense of enigma overseeing the dancing patterns across the canvas.
Observer Above the Discipline Gardens
by Jeremy Gornto
A companion to Disciples of the Night, this work revisits the mysterious elements of night but shifts its focus with a larger sky, increased movement, and a crescent moon fractured into jagged light. The composition began with layered shades of tan leading up to a deep indigo, followed by deeper layers of flowing blossoms between petals, and a darker sky with colorful clouds moving freely across it. The jagged crescent moon was the final addition to the composition and was present in the sky the night it was made. While it became clear it was needed to balance the painting visually and fit perfectly between the clouds, it has long been a reminder of an obstacle. Including it in many of my works has allowed me to reshape it into a source of illumination.
Like its predecessor, the piece explores the space between shadow and light.
Blossoms of Elysian
by Jeremy Gornto
Blossoms of Elysian Rising is the luminous counterpart to Disciples of the Night, shifting the scene from shadow into radiance of daylight. I started with a layered background then when creating the flowers for this composition, I began to think of someone passed, the myth of a timeless a place of peace where blooms reach their fullest, leaving us behind with their memory. After an intense feeling of a familiar presence, I explored how light transforms what we remember and how beauty can feel both present and eternal. In this rising light, the blossoms hold both joy and longing, whispering of connections that endure beyond time.
Blossoms by the Beach
by Jeremy Gornto
Inspired by memories from a whirlwind time at Litchfield by the Sea, these cypress trees and blossoms embody a reprieve between familiar tensions of personal strife, reconciliation, and the enduring cost of love for those closest to us. This piece evolved slowly and became more abstract with ethereal forms. Heavy clouds were the last addition, overseeing a restless atmosphere filled with dancing spirits. The flowers were placed standing between the throws of light and dark, restoring the aftermath of the unseen conflict.
Nebulous
by Ralph Pàquin
Nebulous is part of a newer group of sculptures that is part of the “Ethereal Origins” series. It attempts to sculpturally and conceptually connect biomorphic primordial forms to those that are more celestial in nature.
PsychoKnotic
by Ralph Pàquin
PsychoKnotic is part of the sculptural series entitled: Genes and Chromosomes which consist of meticulously fabricated organomorphic forms. They are anecdotal considerations of the human enigma and its physical and spiritual connections to more primordial forms of life. As with many things, there are secondary concepts lie beneath the surface, stemming from a cocktail of diverse interests, including: composed sound, philosophy, faith, cosmology, and biotechnology.
Morpheus
by Ralph Pàquin
Morpheus, who’s Greek name means “god of dreams” is part an ongoing sculptural series entitled: Genes and Chromosomes. This series consists of meticulously fabricated organomorphic forms. They are anecdotal considerations of the human enigma and its physical and spiritual connections to more primordial forms of life. As with many things, there are secondary concepts lie beneath the surface, stemming from a cocktail of diverse interests, including: composed sound- forms, philosophy, faith, cosmology, and biotechnology.
Ultra Gene
by Ralph Pàquin
Ultra Gene is a playfully animated sculpture that is part of an ongoing sculptural series entitled Genes and Chromosomes
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Cityscape I and Cityscape II
by Sophia Rose
Sophia’s cityscape paintings capture the rhythm and energy inspired by her time living in New York City. Using layers of color, texture, and movement, she weaves them together to create a story. She captures the chaos, and quiet moments that define her interpretation of bustling city life. Each brushstroke holds both structure and spontaneity, inviting the viewer to wander through the city landscape as she sees it.
Intertwined
by Sophia Rose
In this piece, swirling layers of acrylic and metallic paint is used to express the endless flow of connection and consciousness that binds us all together. The dynamic curves and interlacing colors evoke movement and unity. Metallic highlights catch the light, adding depth and a sense of life to the piece. This painting inspiring viewers to lose themselves in its rhythmic patterns and contemplate the threads that intertwine our shared human experience.
Colorful Personality
by Herman Solberg
Colorful Personality” celebrates the complexity and vibrancy of the human spirit. Composed of bold, playful strokes and candy-like textures, the figure appears to rest in a dreamlike landscape — at once relaxed and alert. The bright palette mirrors the layers of personality we all carry: joy, chaos, nostalgia, and curiosity. Each shape and color interacts like fragments of a vivid memory, inviting
the viewer to see a piece of themselves in its shifting forms
A Portal Just for a Moment
by Bianca Youngers
Okay… I’ve officially gone full weirdo—and breath work is to blame.
But first, let me tell you how I paint:
I start by mixing color into gesso and laying down a base—something moody, dreamy, emotional. Then I scribble into that wet layer: names of people I love, emotions I’m carrying, fragments of thoughts that won’t let go. These hidden marks live beneath the painting, shaping everything that comes next.
And lately… everything that comes next has gotten a little stranger.
Because I thought breath work would be some gentle inhales, maybe a little mindfulness—and instead it shot me into another dimension. I floated above my body. I saw all of us as one giant, glowing, connected being. I felt ancient and brand new at the same time.
Since then, I’ve been chasing that feeling with every brushstroke.
I believe in reincarnation. I believe energy never dies. I believe there are entire dimensions layered right next to this one, pulsing and waiting for us to notice. So I paint what I feel.
I paint what I can’t explain. I paint the strange, swirling beauty of being alive and connected and totally cosmic.
And now… I’m bringing all that weirdness across the country—to New York. Me! In New York! My work is headed there, and I get to follow it.
If you’re curious, come see what I’ve made.
Or just come vibe. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure—you don’t have to feel anything. But if you do? That’s magic. Let’s go.
Matcha Latte
by Bianca Youngers
This painting started, like many of mine do, with a small ritual. For me, it was a matcha latte—something I make almost every morning. But it’s more than a drink. It’s a quiet moment to myself. A meditation. The way the green swirls into the milk, the way it settles into mossy layers, the way the color holds memory and mood… it’s all part of it.
When I walk that warm cup down to the studio, I’m not just waking up—I’m tuning in. To my body, to my thoughts, to the world outside that feels so sharp and loud sometimes. I begin mixing greens—velvety greens, piney greens, deep water greens—and I start layering them, softening them, turning them into something gentler, something kinder. A place I’d rather be. This painting—Matcha Latte—became a landscape of that longing. A portal into a dreamier, softer dimension. One where bugs glow gently instead of bite, where ferns part to let you in, where you can lie in the moss and breathe without carrying so much.
It’s a painting about trust, really. About letting go of the hard grip we have on things—and trusting that the beauty of this world, or maybe another one entirely, will catch you. Will hold you. That the softness isn’t weakness—it’s where we find our strength again.
So as I varnish this piece and seal it in, I’m not just protecting it—I’m honoring that process. That little matcha ritual. That swirl of green that turned into a doorway. And I’m inviting you in. Come on. The magic is already here. We’re just learning to lean into it.
More About Our Artists
CJ Cowden
Artist Statment 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.
Dafne Berg
Artist Statement and Bio
Although I’ve explored painting over the past seven years—initially inspired by my artist husband—it wasn’t until a serious leg injury in October that art became central to my life. During recovery, I turned to painting and collage as a way to process pain, stillness, and emotional uncertainty. What began as a means of coping quickly evolved into a vital tool for healing and self-expression.
My abstract, expressive work explores resilience, presence, and the quiet beauty that can emerge in difficult moments. Each piece becomes a personal dialogue—a space to reflect, be honest, and keep moving forward. I hope my work resonates with others navigating vulnerability and seeking strength in unexpected places.
I work primarily with acrylics and India ink, often incorporating mixed media and collage on paper and canvas to create layered, emotionally textured compositions.
Jeremy Gornto
Artist Bio
Artist Statement
Jeremy Gornto is a contemporary painter whose work explores the boundary between emotion and abstraction. Introduced to art at a young age by his father, an artist and physicist, Jeremy cultivated his craft throughout school and college, where he minored in studio art. After years of occasional practice, he returned to painting with renewed intensity in 2020, producing hundreds of works inspired by nature, memory, emotion, and the unseen. Working primarily in acrylics, Jeremy creates abstract compositions that evoke dreamscapes, inner landscapes, and the delicate tension between order and chaos. His work has been exhibited in New York and Florida, including Artexpo New York, AGI Fine Art Gallery, and Art Center Sarasota. His paintings are also held in private collections across the U.S., including Longboat Key, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Ellicott City, MD.
Jeremy was born to an artist-physicist who encouraged him to begin painting as soon as he could hold a brush. He studied art throughout school and college, where he developed his personal style and, with the guidance of a faculty mentor, deepened his understanding of color theory and the interplay of light and dark. This mentorship also encouraged him to connect artistic practice with spiritual exploration. In 2013, he collaborated with this men-tor for his first show, creating floral abstract works in watercolor. For years after college, he returned to daily life and painted only occasionally. While working remotely in 2020 he reconnected with the unseen world of his youth and suddenly began creating volumes of works. Soon, his apartment reflected his childhood home, with art displayed on every wall and encouraging boundless imagination.
Working primarily in acrylics, Jeremy’s paintings capture fleet-ing emotions and abstract thoughts. This latest body of abstract gardens reflects his continued devotion to expressions of nature through color. It marks a return to his earliest artistic themes and his exploration of art’s spiritual enduring power to transform the unseen into reflections of beauty from the natural world.
Ralph Pàquin
Artist Statment and Bio
From an early age, I was captivated by the intricacies of human biology and genetics—an initial curiosity that evolved into a broader investigation of human origin and consciousness. This exploration has expanded to include cosmology, archeology, mysticism, and belief systems. These fields, combined with lived experience, form a kind of visual encyclopedia that fuels my creative output.
My work draws from observation, imagination, and experimentation. Mysticism and natural phenomena influence my abstracted forms, while humor often shapes layered metaphors. Whether rooted in complex concepts or intuitive impulses, my approach is intentional, dimensional, and rigorously crafted.
I work with a wide range of materials and techniques, from spontaneous “free form” sculpting to intricate, multi-step cold casting. Each sculpture is fabricated using traditional and contemporary methods, with materials selected for their durability, flexibility, and expressive potential.
My artworks serve as philosophical vessels—bridging the tangible and the cosmic, the seen and the unseen. They invite viewers to reflect on the mysteries of existence, the intersections of art and science, and the invisible structures that shape our reality.
Sophia Rose
Artist Statement and Bio
Sophia is a painter, designer, photographer, and dancer whose creative practice blends movement and visual art. Her background in dance informs her paintings, infusing them with energy, rhythm, and balance. Through vibrant colors, gestural strokes, and expressive shapes, she uses visual storytelling to evoke emotion and invite open interpretation. Her work is intended to feel boundless, challenging perception and ideas beyond the canvas.
Originally from Montclair, NJ, Sophia moved to New Orleans during the pandemic after several years in New York City, finding endless inspiration in the city’s community, colors, music, and culture. She regularly participates in local art markets and festivals, sharing her work alongside fellow creatives in the community.
Sophia holds a BFA in Communication Design from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited at the Depot Gallery in Richmond, VA; in Easton, MD; at Van Der Plas Gallery in New York City; and most recently, at Sims Contemporary Gallery.
Herman Solberg
Artist Statement and Bio
Herman Solberg is a contemporary Norwegian artist known for his unique blend of bold abstraction and playful figuration. His work features vibrant, sculptural brushstrokes and fearless use of color, exploring human emotion and identity.
Splitting his time between Norway and the United States, Solberg draws inspiration from his personal experiences and the cultural contrasts he encounters. Painting is more than just a profession for him; it’s what keeps him grounded, connected and alive.
Solberg’s curiosity about people and their inner worlds drives his art.
His paintings transform feelings into dreamlike landscapes where joy and vulnerability coexist. Through his work, Solberg invites others to recognize pieces of themselves in his coloful universe.
Bianca Youngers
Artist Statement and Bio
My work begins in emotion—an anchoring to this earth and an attempt to loosen the grip of chronic pain in my body. Painting is how I survive. It’s how I stay soft in a hard world. I’m a self-taught acrylic painter from Portland, OR- Graduating from Theatre at Oregon State University where I learned to harness my emotional side for painting. Each piece begins with a tinted layer of gesso to set the mood. Into that base, I make marks—scribbling names of people I love, fragments of thoughts, and whatever emotion is taking up space in my body that day. These invisible underlayers shape the soul of the painting. Once I’ve laid that foundation, I choose my palette and begin mixing vibrant, layered colors until the canvas hums with energy. I turn on music that moves me—something I can tap into—and then let my imagination run wild.
I create swirling undersea gardens, ethereal blooms, and lush, fern-covered dreamscapes—each one a doorway to another dimension. You only need to part the leaves and step inside. There, color pulses with mystery. Fragrance floats through the air like memory. Bugs might
chirp lullabies. Music bends differently. And nothing hurts.
These worlds remind me how small we are in the vastness of all that could exist beyond what we know. My paintings are meditations on that unknown—on beauty that might be blooming just out of reach.
I find joy in color, in play, in the wild freedom of the brush. There are no rules here. How do I know a painting is finished? When my body lights up. When I want to flap my hands and thump my feet like my daughter used to do, pretending to live in her doll’s sticker book. Maybe that’s what painting with acrylic is for me—a way to live inside the magic, just for a moment. A portal. A place where wonder still rules.