PORTAL is a monthly public visual art series produced by Maelstrom Collaborative Arts. Taking advantage of the the alcove of an unused doorway in our headquarters in Gordon Square, PORTAL will feature artists through the year and bring free public art to the corner of Detroit Ave. and West 65th.
December 2024 -Iman Jabrah
“As above So below, for thy Children of the Water”
The artist continues to create spiritual water blue paintings for the Portal series, this year the blue background has been tainted with Red.
The two thorn branches stem from the same mother, rooted in the same jar.
The artist uses fabric as a medium to highlight softness, vulnerability and care in composition to the thorn's danger and rigidness.
Iman Jabrah is a Palestinian American multi-disciplinary visual artist currently based in Beijing, China. Iman obtained an IMFA from China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, winning the Lin FengMian Bronze Award at the Zhejiang Exhibition Hall, with an undergraduate degree in New Media Art from Northern Kentucky University School of the Art. Iman Jabrah constantly reforms her works into dichotomies using found materials with imbued personal meaning reflected on her life, her themes are often about women, grief, danger, displacement, care, mysticism and astrology.
Iman Jabrah has participated in art residencies & exhibited internationally. This's Iman's third consecutive year participating in the Portal project with Maelstrom Collaborative Arts. Some of her past experiences are; at 21C Museum and the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati, 934 gallery in Columbus, Ohio, 28 Art Space Gallery in Hangzhou, China.Some of her residencies are; 2024 PAN Shanghai with The Goethe Open Space. 2023, at the Shang Yuan Art Museum in HuangShan and Beijing. 2022, Iman was a researcher-in-residence with Praksis and the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, Norway. In early 2022, Iman received the Artswave Truth and Reconciliation grant curating an exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum with Palestinian women and queer artists, both based in Palestine and the diaspora.
November 2024: Laura Burress
Flying Lessons
“Flying Lessons” is a celebration of the process of living, learning and becoming. It is an anthem to those wrestling with the feeling that they are immature and reckless to still be pursuing a dream, starting over or not settling.
The process of creating this watercolor piece was improvisational and gestural in nature. Each drip and brush stroke of liquid watercolor paint eventually lead me to the finished piece. It’s vibrant colors, radiating lines and repeated shapes that seem to disappear then reemerge in a different area of the painting, add a playful and ambiguous tone to this artwork. Just as I allowed myself to remain open to the motional and visceral process of creating this painting, I’m giving myself permission to remain open to the learning process that comes with dealing with the twists and turns of life.
As you examine this artwork I hope that you will be encouraged in your own process of becoming. I hope that as you leave this encounter you will carry with you the space to pivot, learn, start over, be gentle with yourself and others and dream again, knowing that every mistake, false start and change in direction is a beautiful lesson that will eventually enable you to fly.
All artists are paid for this event. MCA Wellspring helps Maelstrom cover artist stipends and spaces costs. Every contribution helps us continue supporting local arts!
Location
Maelstrom Collaborative Arts
5403 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland OH 44102