Author: Iris

Kerstin Roolfs doesn’t make art that sits quietly in the background. Her work has weight—both in subject and scale. A German-American painter now based in the Bronx, Roolfs explores themes that many shy away from: physical deformity, mythology, sexuality, politics, and identity. Originally from Germany, she studied fine art in Berlin before moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1994, at a time when that part of New York was raw and humming with creative energy. She’s lived in the Bronx since 2016, and her art has traveled further than she has—shown in solo and group exhibitions across the U.S., Canada, Russia,…

Emma Coyle has spent more than twenty years committed to a very specific conversation—one that starts with American Pop Art but doesn’t stay there. Originally from Ireland and now based in London since 2006, Coyle has built a career by pulling threads from the bold, media-driven images of the 1960s and threading them through her own lens. Her work doesn’t mimic—it responds. In 2022, her solo show The Best Revenge at Helwaser Gallery in New York found wide attention, landing at number 12 on GalleriesNow’s roundup of the “30 most popular exhibitions on now.” She’s represented by that same gallery…

Stormie Steele didn’t train in art schools or follow a prescribed route. She arrived by way of life itself—through a process of learning, healing, and observing. A self-taught artist, author, and healing arts practitioner, Steele’s work flows from the same place as her spiritual journey. Her art doesn’t ask to be understood in a conventional way. Instead, it asks to be felt. Every brushstroke is part of a larger conversation between soul and surface. Imperfection isn’t a flaw here—it’s a doorway. Through abstract expression and personal reflection, Steele explores the beauty of surrender, the mystery of faith, and the growth…

L. Scooter Morris doesn’t just make art you look at—she makes art you feel. A self-described sensory illusionist, Morris builds her work around the tension between what we experience in a moment and what lies beneath that moment. Her “Sculpted Paintings” don’t sit flat on the wall. They breathe. Built from mixed media and layers of texture, they pull light in and throw it back out, giving the viewer not only something to see but something to walk around and absorb. She’s not aiming for decoration. She’s aiming for connection. Morris uses her art to open space—for questions, for conversation,…

Natali Antonovich didn’t arrive at painting through noise or flash. Her work isn’t about spectacle—it’s about clarity. She’s spent years developing a visual language rooted in quiet self-awareness, shaped by a lifelong habit of paying attention. Early on, she noticed the details others missed. That attentiveness stayed with her, turning into a kind of compass as she moved through different creative disciplines—graphics, portraiture, batik, teaching. All of it fed her curiosity. But it was oil painting and watercolor that gave her the space she needed. The texture, the depth, the ability to work slowly and speak softly—these mediums let her…

Katerina Tsitsela’s work doesn’t try to explain the world—it explores how we feel our way through it. Based in Greece, she moves between painting and engraving, focused not on external likenesses, but internal states. “I explore human perception of landscapes,” she says, “as a way to express mental situations.” What emerges are not traditional views of nature or figures, but what she calls “internal landscapes”—emotional topographies where body, color, and memory intertwine. Her work is often read through a psychoanalytic lens, but the experience of it is far more direct: you feel it before you try to make sense of…

Helena Kotnik doesn’t just paint—she dissects, reframes, and rebuilds. With a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Barcelona University and the Akademie der bildende Künste in Vienna, along with a Master’s degree that sharpened her conceptual vision, Kotnik works at the crossroads of emotion, analysis, and visual clarity. Her paintings speak not only of technique but of psychological tension, cultural references, and an urgent curiosity about the world we live in. She uses color like a scalpel, not to embellish but to expose. Her work often draws from familiar imagery—historical paintings, societal norms, personal memories—but never settles into nostalgia. Instead,…

William Schaaf’s art is rooted in something deeper than aesthetics. At 80 years old, he isn’t just reflecting on a long career—he’s still working, still connected to the same energy that first drew him to the equine form over sixty years ago. For Schaaf, horses are more than a subject. They’re vessels for healing, myth, and personal truth. His paintings and sculptures are shaped by a reverence for the natural world and a spiritual link to Indigenous traditions—especially the Zuni and Navajo fetish and doll makers, whose influence has guided much of his work. Schaaf’s life in art has been…

Clint Anthony’s art begins where words leave off. Rooted in emotional honesty, his work uses color and texture as direct conduits to feeling—whether it’s joy, longing, or the deeper contradictions of being alive. Though he now lives in Australia, much of Clint’s creative DNA was formed during his two-decade stay in New York City. From 1996 to 2017, he immersed himself in the city’s vibrant cultural life, studying at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and developing his visual language at The Art Studio NYC. He also played an active role in the art scene, curating shows at The Gershwin Hotel.…

Born in Montreal in 1964, Adamo Macri is a multimedia artist who doesn’t seem to worry about staying in one lane. He studied commercial art, graphic design, photography, art history, and fine arts at Dawson College. That mix of training comes through in his work—he moves between sculpture, photography, drawing, video, and painting without hesitation. Though he’s often described as a sculptor, it’s not the full picture. Macri builds his work around layered references, both historical and streetwise, mythological and modern. His pieces aren’t just visual—they’re linguistic and conceptual. You look at them, but you also have to think through…