Mychaelyn Michalec’s paintings draw predominantly from observations of domestic life from a feminist perspective. As of 2022, Michalec’s rug paintings have evolved into works that are exemplified by forays into abstraction, figuration and unflinching self-portraiture. They also use allegorical, collaged compositions as a means to articulate and examine fallacies in our collective understanding of womanhood, domestic life and freedom. Women have been compared to birds as delicate, beautiful and fragile creatures. But “birdwomen” are also described as monsters - the siren, the harpy and the sphinx. Birds can be symbols of being wild and free but also as caged and domesticated. These self portraits combine and morph art historical references such as Leda and the Swan to create a new narrative about individual and social perceptions and expectations of women. Birds are not solely symbols or fellow creatures, they also become a physical part of the body exploring how mythologies portray the fusion of women and birds as both beautiful and monsters.
In Daniel Rona's latest body of work, he uses a character in a red and white striped shirt as the vehicle for his ideas, navigating an adventure that unfolds on a subconscious level within the vast, open world of his imagination. Daniel sees creativity as an endless landscape - free, unpredictable, and filled with possibilities - where ideas emerge unexpectedly and take shape through exploration.These paintings visualize Daniel's artistic process, capturing the push and pull of creativity, the tension between structure and impulse, calm and chaos. The character of the artist moves through this “realm,” encountering the good, bad and bizarre ideas that form in the depths of Daniel's mind. Through these works, he explores what it feels like to create - and invites viewers into an ever-shifting world of imagination.
