Hera Gallery

#MeettheWomxnProject The Woman Project is a group of RI artists and activists formed in 2016 by members of Hera Gallery and community members to use art as a catalyst for Women's Reproductive Freedom. The Woman Project is exhibiting parts of their Petition Quilt, which was used to help codify abortion rights into RI law in our 5th anniversary exhibition The Fifth Decade. On February 21st as part of the talk for the exhibition, " Hera, Artist Cooperatives and Social Justice",  The  Womxn Project will   present their Quilt to the Pembroke Center Archives at Brown University. Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. The Womxn Project (TWP) is a statewide organization dedicated to building a strong movement that harnesses the power of art, activism, and advocacy. We believe that together we can dismantle systems of oppression and uplift the voices of people in our co...

#MeetHerartistSonjaCzekalski   Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. In my kindergarten “All About Me” book I wrote “When I grow up… I want to be an art teacher.” 20 years later, I am doing just that! I earned my BS in Art Education with a concentration in painting and photography at Rhode Island College. I am now completing my MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at MassArt in Boston. I make art to express my thoughts and ideas, share stories, and to teach… and to make my house prettier.  What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? I create work that reclaims and empowers the bodies, skin, crafts, and stories of women. I aim to provide the viewers with an empathetic glimpse into these lives and stories that are often looked over or looked down upon.  I want my work to confront viewers with their own biases towards these topics and...

#MeettheHeraArtistJasonSmith   Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc.   I was always an artist it was a natural gift that was I was encouraged to pursue from a very young age. I decided to take art seriously after completing CCRI and committing to a Fine Art curriculum at URI. Printmaking, drawing and digital art were my concentrations. I make art because it is fulfilling a destiny and it’s a way to express what I read and the awareness of it in engaging art form.  What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? I want them to have a profound experience absorbing the layers in the work literally and figuratively and to appreciate attention to detail, the mix of planning, research on topics and rare images for influence and spontaneity, the use of color and the mixing of ancient influences and knowledge with contemporary aesthetics. I ...

 #MeetHeraartistKathieFlorsheim Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I am not sure I decided to be an artist. The decision crept up on me when I was an undergrad, taking design, photography and sculpture classes. I thought those classes were gut courses, a respite from all the reading required of a history major. Little did I know…. Soon I was spending all my spare time in the bronze-casting studio on the heels of taking a year of design classes. By the time I graduated, I was hooked and itching to make things- not to delve farther into modern European history.  Nonetheless my undergraduate education taught me how to ask a question, and how to look for the answer. That has been essential in my studio practice. The pleasure of Making is the most exciting thing I can think of doing, in this or any other lifetime. Whenever I daydream about other professions, like ...

#MeetHeraArtistElizabethLind      Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I've always been drawn to the human figure, especially women, and their environments, either real or imagined. I enjoy a sensual surrealism in my work and utilize meaningful objects to create a visual poetry.  What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? Literature on natural phenomenon, as well as the literary works of Goethe and Rilke are always inspiring, intertwining with the symbolism of the sea, branches, the sky, birds, and most especially sirens. What influences your work? Why? My background includes a deep love of the ocean, an education from RISD, the ownership of a bronze foundry, and interacting with many students who will always be in my heart. I'm originally from Seattle but have adopted Rhode Island as my home, having discovered this ...

#Meettheartist Meet Bianca, owner and designer of Clothes Horse Clothing who will be sharing some of her designs at our Fourth Annual Art to Table Benefit on January 24, 2020 at the Narragansett Towers. Tell us a little about you….  I’ve been designing since I was a child. Growing up, my mom provided me with all types of materials to keep me busy. She was an artist, and naturally I gravitated towards imaginative uses of my free time. I started by making myself hair accessories from recyclables and hot glue- things that I had lying around. In college, I began to transform these materials into larger, more sculptural pieces that would eventually be used in runway shows and editorial shoots. Teaching myself how to sew became the next challenge- watching youtube videos and ruining yard after yard of found fabrics. I earned a BFA in ceramics and art education while teaching myself the craft, and later supplemented my self-taught knowledge with the Mas...

#MeettheArtist Meet Rene Reyes, sustainable fashion designer showing their skirt collection paired with their jacket collection at Hera Gallery's fourth annual Art to Table Benefit at the Narraganset Towers on January 24, 2020.   Tell us a little about you….   I grew up spending a lot of my free time hanging out in my mother’s sewing studio. I’m gladly  carrying on my mothers family trade in working with garments. The Arts are my life blood and sustainable fashion is the heart. How/When did you become interested in sustainable fashion?  I became interested in sustainable fashion after high school when I started modifying my jackets using other garments to alter the cut or texture. Using thrifted garments as raw material made sense, I progressively got pulled into the rabbit hole of fashion industry history and the benefits of using discarded fabrics. What was the first sustainable piece of fashion that you made?  My first sustainable fashion ...