As our grand opening date gets closer, our artists are just as excited as the HFA staff for all of this hard work to come to fruition. Over the course of the next two weeks, we’d like to celebrate and introduce you to the artists you’ll see on our gallery walls. Today we’re highlighting the creativity of Paula Wright, Mintze Art and Romeo Zivoin/Cogwurx, as these three artists reside in Hamilton county.
First, meet Paula Wright. She was born in New York City and a child of Argentinean immigrant parents, but her life led her to Italy, where she taught a beginners painting class, and teaching has since become another passion.
In her early works, Tuscan landscapes inspired her, but she has since evolved into more abstract pieces that resonate with nature.
Her Artist statement reads, “… I have been exploring this medium and adding found objects like gravel sand and sea shells to create contemporary landscapes. The resulting flowing forms are recognizable patterns in nature, such as the bark of trees, foaming waves and ocean creatures. I use this fluidity to create organic shapes that represent nature and contrast with this cold high gloss enamel material.”
Judy Mintze, or J. Mintze Art, describes herself as an “abstract painter, in love with color, shape and textures.” Her work celebrates mixed media to create vibrant and compelling pieces, suited for homes and workplaces. Along with the HFA, Mintze Art, works with interior designers and private individuals to place existing and create commissioned artworks. All original hand made signed artwork.
A quote that Mintze holds close is attributed to Michelangelo, “Many Believe – and I believe – that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and put all my hope in him.”
Last, Romeo Zivoin, whose work is collectively known as Cogwurx, emphasizes a, “graphical complex of gears, robots, and code.”
From his mission statement and Biography, we find that, “Art and creative expression have always been an essential part of Rome’s life. His childhood interest in comics and painting led him to study Fine Art in college. Today, Rome incorporates his passion for creation into both his professional career as a web/user interface designer and into his personal traditional oil and acrylic pieces. Rome is an intuitive painter whose abstract compositions explore movement and texture to express emotion, sensations and impressions.”
In his work, “Celestial,” Zivoin shares, “The concept was to play with some different line work and as I was laying the ground-work for that, the painting decided on a different direction. It stayed in sort of a limbo for a bit as I spent some time taking my original concept a few steps further. Eventually, the painting and I came to an understanding to arrive here. Quite happy with this and the use of some new colors.”