Author: Seraphina Calder

Nicola Mastroserio does not chase trends. He does not cater to the art market’s hunger for commodification. Instead, he pursues something deeper—an exploration of reality that resists easy answers. His work is a meditation on existence, a quiet but persistent questioning of the nature of life, intelligence, and the unseen forces that shape our world. Mastroserio’s art is not decorative. It is not designed to flatter the eye or court popularity. Rather, it operates as a signpost pointing toward the inner journey, toward truths that do not bend to fashion. He is less concerned with what pleases and more concerned…

Miguel Barros is an artist whose work challenges us to think deeply about our relationship with the environment. Born in Lisbon in 1962, Barros carries the cultural imprint of three countries—Portugal, Canada, and Angola. This wide lens of experience has shaped his art, giving him a sense of perspective that stretches beyond borders. In 2014, he left Angola for Calgary, Alberta, a move that opened new ground for creative exploration and growth. Trained in Architecture and Design at IADE Lisbon in 1984, Barros brings structure and imagination into balance. His paintings are not bound by rigid frameworks but infused with…

Born in 1971, Iris van Zanten has always pursued what lies beneath the surface of an image. She graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam in 1996 and later completed a Master’s degree in Art History at the Vrije Universiteit. Her education gave her two perspectives: the practical knowledge of making and the critical lens of history. Together they shaped an approach that is both technical and reflective. At the heart of her practice is the search for essence—how to use the fewest gestures or materials to convey a story. She often turns to subjects that have lived…

Lidia Paladino is an Argentine artist whose work spans engraving, drawing, and textile art. She began her journey immersed in textiles, fascinated by the way cloth could hold rhythm, memory, and story. Later, she returned to engraving, revitalizing her methods and weaving together the two practices. That decision opened a steady and rewarding path, one marked by awards such as the First Municipal Prize for Engraving in 2003. Her practice balances two languages of art: the sharp permanence of the engraved mark and the fragile movement of painted silk. This tension gives her work its character. Textiles allowed her to…

L. Scooter Morris, a sensory illusionist, transforms fleeting experiences into works that feel both immediate and enduring. Her paintings are less about replicating what the eye sees and more about what the mind and body register in a single moment. She captures the shimmer between perception and memory, distilling everyday encounters into images that echo something larger than life. Her practice revolves around what she calls “Sculpted Paintings.” These works are layered with texture, shifts of light, and subtle depth that move beyond flat surface. Through acrylics and mixed media, Morris builds paintings that carry a tactile resonance—artworks that ask…

Nancy Staub Laughlin is an American pastel artist and photographer with a distinct way of merging two worlds: the immediacy of photography and the softness of pastel. She earned her BFA from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and has gone on to show her work at galleries and museums along the east coast. Her pieces sit in both private and corporate collections, and she has been profiled in a variety of media outlets. The art critic and historian Sam Hunter once described her work as “refreshingly unique,” and the phrase fits. Laughlin constructs images that feel ethereal yet…

Some artists leave us with pleasing images. Others create encounters that stay with us, shaping thought and memory long after the canvas is out of sight. Kimberly McGuiness is firmly in the second camp. Her work does not merely sit on the wall—it speaks back, offering presence, challenge, and reflection. What she paints are not static visuals but unfolding stories, alive with symbols, archetypes, and voices that stretch beyond the frame. For McGuiness, art is both mirror and messenger. She draws on memory, myth, and the subconscious, weaving them into layered narratives that feel timeless yet deeply personal. Her imagery…

Ruth Poniarski’s journey into art began in the discipline of architecture. After completing her Bachelor of Architecture at Pratt Institute in 1982, she spent ten years working in construction, mastering the logic of design and the rigor of structure. But in 1988, she made a decisive shift. Turning to painting, she traded the measured certainty of blueprints for a world built on imagination, symbolism, and introspection. Her paintings weave together surreal forms with strands of mythology, philosophy, and literature. What emerges are visual spaces where archetypes and dreamscapes intersect. Instead of documenting the visible world, Poniarski uses paint to reveal…

Maria Husarska’s path as an artist began in Krakow, a city steeped in centuries of cultural heritage. She first trained at the High School of Fine Arts, where she earned a diploma in exhibition art. From there, she moved on to the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, studying painting under Professor Adam Brincken. Her early studies gave her a strong foundation in traditional technique, but her interests soon pushed her toward experimentation. In 2006, she completed her degree in the interdisciplinary studio of Professor Zbigniew Bajek with a project titled Horizont inside – outside. Alongside this, she created a photography…

BYDORAPAL is not simply a painter. She is a storyteller who gives form to emotions that often escape language. Her work carries traces of classical fashion and elegance, but what sets her apart is the way she uses paint to reach inward. In her hands, an oil painting is more than color and surface—it is a vessel for memory, balance, and quiet reflection. Every detail, from a soft brushstroke to a bold hue, becomes part of a narrative. Her compositions hold a sense of calm and grace, but they also touch deeper layers of human experience. She paints as if…