Depression and Psychedelics Art Exhibit - Dr. Fernando Espi Forcen talk https://youtu.be/zAwZyeEwgZ0
EXHIBITING ARTIST BIOS:
Haley Abram
Haley Abram is a freelance photographer and creative who specializes in documentary style images. Born in Orlando, FL, she relocated to Boston for her education where she studied Photojournalism and Dance at Boston University. After some time working for news and magazines, Haley shifted her focus back to creative endeavors. Her work focuses on approaching every day moments from an alternative perspective to create unique images for her clients. Haley is also an avid supporter of the film revival and often incorporates 35mm film photographs into her projects alongside digital work. Haley currently works out of her studio in the historic Fort Point neighborhood of Boston, but is often traveling for various work engagements.
Omar Arencibia Gutierrez
Omar is an artist born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba in 1986. He immigrated four months ago to Boston, Massachusetts to live with his wife and to pursue his career as a professional artist. In Cuba, he attended the University of Pinar del Rio, where he studied Social Communication and Art Education. Given Cuban’s economic and political situation, it was extreme difficulty to grow as a professional artist. Therefore, he worked as an art instructor in a local school, later on dedicating his time as a craftman, where he made wooden animals such as elephants, dolphins, hummingbird , etc.
His passion and talent for the fine arts, specially painting, stood out in since he was a child, where he participated in local contests and has been known as a gifted artist in his local community in Cuba. In the United States, he is interested in pursuing his passion as a professional artist, he defines himself as a realistic artist using different techniques including watercolor, oil, and acrylic. His main themes are landscapes, the human figure, and still live. His goals are to continue to expand his experience and pursue a professional career in the fine arts.
Miriam Bucheli, PhD (Exhibit Organizer)
Miriam Bucheli is a scientist, illustrator, and 3D scientific animator. Currently, she is pursuing a Natural Science Illustration Certificate at the Rhode Island School of Design. Before then she studied 3D Digital Production at Gnomon, CA, the Vancouver Film School, BC, and Northeastern U., MA. She holds a PhD Molecular Genetics & Microbiology from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ.
As a scientist for 16+ years, I had experience conducting experiments and establishing challenging research projects. I was also a visual artist in my spare time, illustrating several coloring books, and working to engage the public in community art-related events. A biovisualization conference in 2018 changed my career path. I imagined how I could integrate longstanding passions for art and science. I became obsessed with 3D animation, enrolling ultimately at Gnomon where I learned CG/VFX/Games in the latest technology from the best digital artists in the industry. Scientific related video production calls to all my passions; it incorporates creativity, art-making, analytical thinking, and research. I am able to translate complex scientific concepts into digestible powerful digital productions, and I love that my art can make science accessible to the public. It matters because most people have a limited understanding of what and how science contributes to make their lives better, and public participation is key to enabling that contribution to occur.
Tina Chakarian
Tina Chakarian is a visual artist and designer based in Boston, MA. She received a BFA in visual arts and design from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Post Baccalaureate from Tufts University/School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.
Her installations have been exhibited in Los Angeles, Boston, Lebanon, and Armenia. Luminous and highly durable, acrylic is one of Chakarian’s favorite materials. Inspired by artists like Dan Flavin and James Turell, her practice stems from the California Light and Space artist movement of the 1960s that made minimalist sculptural work from neon and cast acrylic. Chakarian’s love of light comes from its power to elate and bring hope to our everyday environment. On the cosmic scale, light is not only a visual phenomenon but also a measure of time and distance. The title of this kinetic work is "Elate II"
Nikolay Chernyayev
Phenomena of reality are getting accessible for us if we can give them a name. To give a name to impart from to a primary unformed matter is our natural way of communicating with the world, with one another, and possibility of being understood by the other. It is an ending process. And I try to realize this connection using color, line, shape, etc.
Nikolay Cherny is working in the fields of figures composition, land- and cityscape, and still life. Participates regularly in international, domestic, and local art shows, has won various awards and prizes. His artworks can be found in Osten Collection of Drawing, Skopje, Macedonia; in collections of Brandeis University, Massachusetts; Hillel Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; private, communal, and corporate collections in the USA, Germany, Russia, Estonia, and Macedonia. He received his formal education in art (his BA and MA degrees) at Saint-Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, Russia.
n.chernystudio@gmail.com http://gala-studio.com/nikolay_cherny/
Dawna Davis
Dawna Davis is a wire artist living and working in the historic district of Fort
Point in Boston, Massachusetts. She creates sculpture, wire attire and accessories and wall art that reflect her emotion, dedication to social justice and climate change. A longtime educator and trainer, she teaches both private and group wire classes in her studio.
Tamar Etingen (Exhibit Organizer)
My works as a painter, printmaker, theatrical set designer and set painter have consistently investigated the use of layering to create and enhance the illusion of space. My sculptures and installations have mapped concepts of the layering of ecosystems and the interface between industrial society and botanical diversity. I have an enduring interest in botany, which stems from my childhood in California and studies in the pursuit of my degree in Landscape Architecture. I have exhibited my work in solo, collaborative and group shows in universities and galleries in Massachusetts, California, New Mexico and Maine. My exhibits include shows at the Fitchburg Biennial 2004 New Talent / New England, University of Southern California School of Architecture (Los Angeles, California), University of Maine ( Orono , Farmington and Portland campuses), Colby College (Waterville, Maine), Wheaton College (Norton, MA), Hampshire College(Amherst, MA). My monoprints and sculptures are included in the collections of both Colby College and the University of Maine Orono. My public art includes “The Aesthetics of Science”, a series of twelve monoprints commissioned by the Microbiology Department, Univerrsity of Maine Orono and architectural metalwork for the Maranacook Middle School, Readfield Maine and The Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville Maine.
Liliana Folta
Interdisciplinary artist - b. in Argentina - 1960 - with Italian/Polish heritage. After leaving her country in times of military repression (1983), she had the great opportunity to get involved in multicultural environments living in different parts of the world: the Caribbean, across the United States and Europe.
Recently, Folta has presented her social and environmental projects in international cultural platforms, such as Humboldt University Berlin for the Berlin Science Week - Contemporary Art Center of the François Schneider Foundation, France - Berlin Art Week - Global 3000 Group, Sustainable Art Gallery - Argentinian Embassy of Berlin. She is a fellow of the New England Foundation for the Arts and Artrepreneur. Guest artist at the Biennial of the Americas, US; Cluj - Napoca International Biennial of Ceramics, Museum of Art Romania - Art District Wedding, Berlin, Germany - Paseo la Princesa Galería Compañia de Turismo, Puerto Rico - Ku Art Center, Beijing, China - Fort Worth Art Center, Texas - Rockefeller Center: The Flag Project; among others.
Android Jones
"Lyons, Colorado born Independent Artist Android Jones began studying art at age 8. He attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota FL, where he trained in traditional academic drawing/painting and animation. Jones interned at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic and later founded Massive Black, an art development company based in LA. Android began his career as an Independent Artist in 2005. He now lives in his home town of Lyons, maintaining a large art studio in a repurposed barn.
Best described as a “digital painter,” Jones has created an immense body of work. He has become well known for his many layered, psychedelic works and live performances using a custom built digital set up. He participated in the Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Tour and his work has been projected on the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building. A long time member of the Burning Man community, Android has traveled the world exhibiting his work and has contributed to events on 6 continents.
At the center of Jones’ work is spirituality and altered states of consciousness. Describing his work as Electro-Mineralism, Jones attributes his ability to create to the wonders of technology, crediting the planet’s resources for advancements in art production. Manipulating light and energy, Android Jones captures complex concepts while utilizing his formal background in the arts. Described as a digital alchemist, he is determined to alter the viewer’s perception, pushing the boundaries of the imagination through the use of innovative media forms."
Matthew Keller
Matthew Keller is an interdisciplinary artist based in Boston. His work examines the ideas of alienation, misunderstanding, inconsistency, confusion, and duplicity—all intertwined with issues of sexuality, guilt, and depravity. He often uses materials that are meant to break down and change over time, mirroring the belief that all ideas and understandings are in transition, much like memory.
Milan Kohout
He is an internationally recognized performance artist, writer, poet, filmmaker. His art philosophy melting art politics and life together was formed in the Czechoslovakia underground art movement “CHARTER 77”. In 1986 he was expelled by the government from Czechoslovakia for his artistic human rights activism. He has participated on numerous Performance Art festivals around the world. He has been teaching classes of Performance Art & Politics at TUFTS University, Massachusetts College of Art, West Bohemian University, The Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, and video classes at The New England Institute of Art. He co-established a new art organization “ArtSpeech” devoted to freedom of artistic speech: https://www.artspeech.org/ His bestseller book Proveď vola světem,volem zůstane“was published in 2011 in Czechia ISBN 978 -80-904455-4-3. His book of poems (in Czech) “Vztek,” was published, ISBN 978-80-905633-5-3. A 350-page English/Czech large-format full-color monograph book which covers nearly 40 years of his artistic output was in 2020 published in Europe. ISBN 978-80-87563-77-9.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Kohout
Paul LeBrun
My artistic career began as a laser and video multimedia artist working in Boston and San Francisco in the 1970s. Working with a small group to create immersive shows that combined video images with scanned lasers mixed in real-time like a visual jazz. In those years I lived a very transitory life riding a “psychedelic wind” to several states including Maui and Mexico. My experiences from mushrooms on Maui to LSD in urban and many natural settings had a lasting impact on my art and life. I have worked extensively in the immersive worlds of Second Life and Opensim. Much of my work is influenced by my years down the rabbit hole of virtual reality. In real life, I split my time between the Yucatan and Central Maine. I take both inspiration and imagery from these two worlds. From digital photographs of my immediate environments, I fragment and use “three- and four-fold symmetry to reorganize reality into abstraction. In the 50 years between being an Interrelated Media student at Mass Art and now I have ridden an exciting electronic wave that has left me on the beach now making Mandalas that seek the center of all things.
Julia Livingston
Julia Livingston is a fashion designer from Western Massachusetts. She is best known for her unisex clothing line Clovis, but in her free time she works with mixed media, namely acrylic on canvas. Incorporating her love for fashion design, she often utilizes fabric - like tulle and chiffon - as added texture into her paintings. She is an experienced recipient and believer in psychedelic therapy, and her artistic renderings often reflect the psychological experiences she’s had via psilocybin. Julia currently resides in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston with her dog, Rubiks.
Jim Russell
Jim Russell grew up in a rural Connecticut town where he attended college in the “60’s”. As a painter he is influenced by the painters of that time period; Psychedelic influenced abstract expressionism, Pop and Op art.
The Age of Aquarius
Bryan Stacy
I graduated with a BFA from Guilford Collage in 2009 on a Scholarship from CFNC and I currently work and live in North Carolina where I own a tattoo parlor/artist collective called Anvil & Ink. I work with several other well-known artists in this journey of life and creation. Spinning energy from the cosmos into light and color that we are all able to perceive, and eventually, potentially understand. Taking time to travel up and down the east coast creating murals, vending artwork at festivals, displaying my work in galleries, live-painting, and doing guest spots with my tattooing!
One of my major goals is to get my work out there in the open so people can see it and be transported instantly to the realm of consciousness expansion. Regardless of background, life-experience, familiarity with the subject matter, or personal taste. I believe there is a place we all go when we become immersed in art and I would like to take people there, while also making it accessible to anyone! The ideas are very outer-worldly and often involve the microcosms of life, nature, and also the spirit realm. Ultimately my art is about energy, and affecting positive change while hopefully inspiring others to do the same and create themselves.
Urbano McOndo
Urbano McOndo is an artist who uses different media (drawing, photography, video, computer code) to represent unexpected events, connections, and emotions. Urbano is particularly interested in natural phenomena, with the added understanding that human artifacts and processes are a part of nature. Because of this interest, Urbano's work also touches upon the subject of reconnecting with nature, even if one is in the middle of a decaying urban landscape. Originally from South America, Urbano is currently based in the Boston area.
Nick Peterson-Davis
I was born in 1958 and grew up in Maumee, Ohio. Important memories from my childhood include loving parents and siblings, hard work, and lots of play. I have always loved nature and art and as a child thought one day, I would be a professional artist. For much of my young adult life, I worked in restaurants but ultimately became a registered nurse. In 2018, after 25 years, I retired from nursing to focus on creating art and spending time with my husband Steve, and our kids.
The subjects for my paintings are a culmination of a lifetime of experiences and a love of nature. Applying various oil painting techniques and employing a good deal of imagination, I create dynamic paintings with the sole intention of elevating the moment.
In my 60’s now, I have a stable home, a beautiful art studio, and time dedicated to painting. I am a professional oil artist. A joyous dream come true. I am going to paint until I’m 80. Then I will rest. That is the plan.
Souther
Souther is a transplant from Montana. Boston has allowed Souther the freedom to explore her art.
Julia Zakharyan
Julia is a Ukrainian artist based in Vancouver, Canada. She has obtained 2 bachelor degrees specializing in Fine Arts and Film directing and has an extensive 10 years experience in traditional as well as digital art. She is passionate about the art of drawing and communicating the story. Julia finds inspiration everywhere and translates it into drawings that come to life on the screen.
LECTURER
Fernando Espi Forcen (Exhibit Organizer)
I was born and raised in Spain and graduated from Medical School at the University of Murcia. In the same university I read a PhD on the History of Psychiatry titled “Demons, Fast and Death: Mental Health in the Late Middle Ages,” in which I studied the approach to mental illness in Europe during the 13th and 14th centuries. As a result of the publications from this work, I was awarded best PhD by the health science program for the 2015-16 academic years. I did psychiatry residency at Metrohealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Following that I did a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Chicago and another fellowship in psycho-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. As an attending, I worked at Rush from 2015 to 2020 to as a consult liaison psychiatrist with a particular focus on patients in need of liver and kidney transplants. I worked primarily for the underserved community of West Chicago and that is how I was granted a National Interest Green Card. In the scientific field, my publications have contributed to a variety of aspects in the field of neuropsychiatry. I studied akathisia in children and adolescents and patients with cancer. I did a study in patients with catatonia comparing the phenomenology in patients who had catatonia associated with another mental disorder as compared to those who had catatonic disorder due to a medical condition. In addition to the contributions described above, I have published extensively in the field of history of psychiatry. I studied the state of mental health in the Late Middle Ages. Another area of interest and research has been cultural psychiatry. I studied cultural aspects in International Medical Graduates and historical aspects of Hispanic and Latinx Psychiatry. One of my main interests is the depiction of psychiatry in the media. I have published articles on horror films and TV shows. I have presented this work at most of the major academic meetings, including the APA, WPA, APM, AACAP and AAAP. I am the founding editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychiatry and the author of the book Monsters, Demons and Psychopaths: Psychiatry and Horror Film. In this book he studies society’s perception of mental illness throughout horror film according to its historical context. I also started a psychiatry podcast titled El Ultimo Humanista with more than 13,000 subscribers.