MEET THE ARTISTS
"SAFE SPACE"
Industry Preview
Jan 8th 2025, 11am - 1pm
Opening Reception
Jan 10th 2025, 6pm - 8pm
J. Balser Inc. uses the simplicity and elegance of the line to evoke the human experience. The artistic exploration of the line can be traced back to advertising. As an advertising art director, Jennifer drew thousands of print and television concept boards. To minimize effort, Jennifer developed an unapologetic, visual shorthand with sharpie pen and pad. When presenting these ideas, not only did the lack of detail not confuse her audience, but the no-nonsense visual editing heightened appeal. The idea that less information increased relatability fascinated Jennifer. As an artist, Jennifer continues to use the graphic line to explore, document, and observe as the satirical institution, J. Balser Inc.
Brittany Coburn is a New Jersey-based multi-disciplinary sculptor and conceptual artist. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2017 and went on to attain her Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2022. She has a background in custom design and fabrication, teaching, curation, marketing and creative direction. Aside from being a working artist, she currently works as a gallery associate at RAM Gallery in Summit, NJ.
Coburn strives to use her art as a catalyst for something much larger than itself. She uses her art to educate people about the mental health crisis plaguing our world and to generate thought and conversation around it. Her goal is to use art to give back to her community and to create a space for others to feel free and comfortable in facing and expressing themselves and their demons. There is a need for a community that offers a safe space for people to feel seen and understood so that we can collectively redefine our outlook on mental health, and she has dedicated her creative practice to addressing this void.
Most recently, she was featured in Vicinity Magazine highlighting her use of her creative practice as a catalyst for conversation surrounding mental health. Her work was featured in a solo exhibition in the Solarium Gallery at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in the fall of 2023, and several of her sculptures have recently been acquired by The Savannah College of Art and Design’s permanent collection for installation on the Atlanta campus.
In addition to working as a fine artist, Coburn periodically works with non-profits, most recently a child advocacy agency, where she teaches art workshops centered around fine art practice and the impact it has on mental health.
Tucker Eason is a proud Colorado son making work in Brooklyn, NY. From his undergraduate studies in Los Angeles at the Art Center College of Design and Occidental College, Tucker moved north to cut his teeth in the Bay Area. After an inaugural group show at the DeYoung Museum, his practice moved to Brooklyn where he continues to speak to class, the beauty of everyday objects, and his blue-collar history. Drawing inspiration from artists the likes of Rauschenberg, Thiebaud, Holzer, Kiefer, and Baldessari, Eason’s work hints at themes of labor, class and exploitation. Through long studio hours, and ruthless dedication, he’s making a name for himself in the competitive art world, and not slowing down anytime soon.
Before retirement, Cheri Erdman worked as a college counselor, educator, psychotherapist, and author. The focus on words — speaking, listening, reading, writing — communicated ideas, feelings and emotions. These are what inform her work as an abstract expressionist painter who does not paint from a visual reference but from her inner world, weaving the unconscious with the conscious.
Her art background includes college courses in art history and drawing, and a variety of art classes since retiring in 2004. She began with representational watercolor, then explored mixed media/collage before moving to non-objective abstract art in 2012.
Her work has been shown in a variety of galleries across Florida. She is an exhibiting gallery artist with The Hub on Canal in New Smyrna Beach and an invited member of Beaux Arts of Central Florida. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work.
She has had two exhibits with a metal sculptor artist that explored the relationship between abstract painting and abstract sculpture: the first in 2020 at the Hub on Canal and the other in 2023 at the News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach, FL.
She was interviewed by the on-line magazine, Voyage, Jacksonville in May 2023. Her paintings have been featured on the covers of the September/October 2015 issues of the Gage Publishing Magazines, New Smyrna, DeLand and Ormond, July/August 2018 edition of Ormond magazine and the November/December 2019 edition of Halifax magazine and to come, the January/February 2021 edition of Ormond Magazine.
Writing artist Will Kaplan combines different mediums, techniques, and text to probe boundaries. This New Jersey native grew up exploring highway hemmed nature preserves; tensions between the organic and the human-made manifest in his work. After graduating Skidmore College in 2017, Kaplan has made a new home in Queens, a rich setting in which to explore these themes. The city also sources all of the found objects and collage material, which he mixes with his own printmaking, watercolors, and drawing. Kaplan enjoys writing about the city’s art scene and the work of his peers. His art has appeared at Spring/Break Art Fair, the New Art Dealers Alliance, and Pete’s Candy Store. Kaplan has staged several solo shows: Play and Pause at Local Project (2021), Remergency at Bob’s Gallery (2023), StoryRots on Governors Island (2023), and Both Sides Now (2024) at Living Skin.
Lisa Matrundola was born the youngest of five children in Montreal, Quebec. Her parents immigrated from Italy and England in the late 1950’s and later moved to Atlanta when she was in middle school.
After earning a BFA from the University of Georgia, Lisa worked in Atlanta as a designer and illustrator. Amid raising two children, she established a custom cake bakery, renovated and managed several rental properties, and taught fitness classes, but something was missing. Lisa entered the 2016 Artfield’s exhibition, where she received one of ten Merit Awards. This recognition ignited a passion to explore themes of female identity through painting and sculpture. In 2021, Lisa completed her MFA in Painting at the Savannah College of Art & Design where she is now part of the Foundational Studies Faculty. Lisa has exhibited her work at The Quinlan Visual Arts Center, ArtFields, The Bo Bartlett Center, MINT and Spruill Center for the Arts.
Sasha Smardak is a Nashville based sculptor whose work transforms fibers into large-scale creations. Known for her intricate designs and innovative use of sustainable, second hand materials, Smardak explores the intersection of tradition and modernity in her art. Her sculptures, often invite the audience to reflect on themes of interconnectedness, resilience, and craft.
Atlanta-based artist Krista Voto works primarily as an installation sculptor. Originally from New Jersey, Krista received both her BA and an Art Education degree from Ramapo College of New Jersey in 2019. She received her MFA in Sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2023.
Most recently, her work has been displayed at Burning Man, Gallery Anderson Smith, Echo Contemporary Gallery and The Distillery of Modern Art. Her works focus on natural forms, societal pressures, the human experience, protection, womanhood, and transformation.
Gabrielle Watkins is a sculptor and painter. For the past 3 years has become a tattoo artist. Her expressive lines translate beautifully in her tattoo designs. As an adolescent her older sister Candrisse, always had some kind of craft to keep Gabrielle busy. Little did she know these crafts were seeds she planted, spread like kudzu and took over her life. Her art is a reflection of her culture and community. Being a daughter to a mechanic allows her to utilize all of his tools. Those tools are used to manipulate wood and metal. As a multimedia artist the possibilities of exploring mediums are endless. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia where she recently graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design’s BFA program.