AMERISTAR GALLERY emerging ARTIST series

The Ameristar Gallery is home to the Foundry Art Centre's Emerging Artist Series.
Artists fresh on the art scene can display their work to introduce their style to the local art community. 

MAria Mohiuddin

Wax Paintings

June 29 - August 10, 2018

My artwork reflects my life experiences; eastern culture, western living.  I am South Asian created by a diplomat father and member of parliament mother from Bangladesh.  With a ‘tepid’ obsession with fire, circles, and wax, I want to be known through my art.  I care not about the way I look or what most think of me, but l want to be understood.  I want to be seen through my art and connect with others; to illustrate that we all have a common thread that connects our experiences.

My work is predominantly created in wax and oil pastels – materials that compliment my curious obsession with fire. I began this experimentation in wax paintings in 2005.  I began using wax as a predominant tool after destroying a displeasing piece of oil pastel with candle wax.    Once the wax dried and was peeled off, it left a wonderful textured marking on the paper. I began using wax on all my oil pastels, while saving the wax in a jar.  Once the jar was full, I began partially melting the wax drops on glass because there seems to be endless ideas for creating with wax drops. I soon began creating exclusively with wax.  The artwork presented in this exhibition is the latest evolution of my wax paintings.

Upcoming Exhibition

Savannah Schroll Guz

Oracles, Criminals, Mythical Beasts

August 17 - September 28, 2018

 I have been heavily influenced by the richly illustrated books I received as a child from my Mother. These books, including d’Aulaires’ Trolls, the Maud and Miska Petersham-illustrated book Poppy Seed Cakes, Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare, and the Mercer Mayer-illustrated version ofBeauty and the Beast, continue to influence my visual language, particularly my paintings. My works on paper explore individual histories and the ways in which recorded images contribute to collective memory; I’m fascinated by vintage photographs, particularly of women and the ways in which they present themselves or are presented. I collect Victorian cabinet cards and antique mugshots and often use these, along with period advertisements, as a springboard for my own drawings and paintings, which explore the psychological realities I perceive in their expressions and body language. My “Women in Water” ink drawing series and related “Men at Sea” series reflect these ongoing interests. This exhibition—which features both acrylic-on-canvas paintings with handmade, lavishly ornamented frames (some incorporating amethyst, moonstone, or quartz cabochons I have set in hand-stamped copper or brass) and framed ink-on-paper drawings—includes three subject categories: oracles, figures who can tell (or have previously foretold) the future; criminals, or figures of dubious backgrounds; and mythical beasts, creatures who exist largely in myth but, here, have traveled directly from my imagination to canvas or paper.