BRIAN HALLAS

Brian Hallas is an innovative abstract digital photographer hailing from Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey, whose journey has always been about exploration and transformation. He uses an iPhone as his tool of choice to capture floral compositions and the varied terrain around him. It also allows him to impose non-AI layering and blending techniques to craft surreal landscapes and bouquets resulting in painterly renderings where the familiar becomes extraordinary. Each piece is a rich and revelatory, sometimes hallucinogenic, experience where vibrant colors, dynamic shapes and textures, and pure imagination converge. His daily discipline of shaping and sharing these abstractions reveals not only the recognizable external world, but also the often strange, unseen-but-always-present essence that transforms chaos into beauty.

Brian’s artistic path has been life-long, though anything but linear. Before embracing the world of photography, his was immersed in the theater, working alongside many, including the esteemed Ping Chong, a recipient of the National Medal of the Arts, as a sound designer and performer. Subsequently, during his time as a schoolteacher, he discovered photography as an expressive outlet that aligns with his quest to create unique, personal art. Brian has evolved into an award-winning abstract photographer, showcasing his work in galleries around the globe.

Each new work is rooted in his desire to explore, to push boundaries, to find adventure. He weaves elements of the natural and human worlds, wielding a mastery of the freedom, versatility, and ingenuity of technology. What results is a celebration of the intersection between the eye and the imagination, which is unique to Brian's way of seeing, and which resonates with viewers around the world.

NADIA WAMUNYU

My name is Nadia Wamunyu and I am a contemporary visual artist living in Nairobi, Kenya. As a three-year-old, I lost my hearing after a doctor administered a strong dose of antibiotics. I feel that the universe neglected my hearing but gave me sight and mind to work with, and at the age of eight, I realized that I could record memories, experiences, tastes and feelings through drawing. Having made a name for myself in the Kenyan art scene over the past several years, I am proud to be an unapologetic artist. My art is a relief from the stress of my struggle with vocal communication, and my wild brush is the only tool that submits to the dance and rhythm of my soul with every motion and brush stroke I make.

I explore different mediums and forms of expression through ink, coffee, pastel, charcoal, chlorine, mixed media and photography. My recent figurative ink works on watercolor paper are both self-studies and collaborations with friends. I use my half-Nubian female body as a way to express my emotions, insecurities, and past experiences as a young African woman. From a broader perspective, these works address a serious identity crisis among most young African women who are not confident in their bodies or skin color. I’m also engaged in narratives surrounding women, feminism, gender inequality, sexual harassment, discrimination and mental health. I view my art as a pass to a special and unique dimension of the world and society that only I can access. I then report my findings and reactions to these revelations by replicating them on the canvas.

Artists are the third eye of society. With my art, I pay attention to details that most people ignore or take for granted, and it highlights the structures, struggles and culture of society. I aim to influence people’s views and opinions by making them think and feel differently. My art is an eye opener, and through it I love to see people challenge themselves to be more open-minded. I'd dream of a society where people not only appreciate the uniqueness of art, but that of each and every living thing.