Love 4 Immigrants Virtual Exhibit

By Wendy Buendia

I think most, if not all, artists understand how daunting the blank page is. Anxious thoughts run in circles around my mind and behind my eyes, leaving me feeling dizzy and lost. How do I best use the space before me? Which way should I flick my pencil, how thick will the pencil mark be? The theme of awakening and transforming has helped me realize the parallels between the manner that each of us uses to confront the blank page and the manner in which we represent ourselves to the world. It is both a conscious and subconscious effort, and art is a powerful and evocative medium that illustrates our awakening and transformation of our unique perspective of the world and ourselves.

For the online Love 4 Immigrants exhibition ‘Awakening: Transforming Experience,’ seven artists will be showcased. Through their work, these artists explored and expanded on the theme of awakening the creative spirit and how these experiences can transform us, their audience. 

Xenia Gray is an artist who explores the presentation of emotions through the human body. She utilizes charcoal, acrylic, and graphite to create contemporary figurative pieces that leave the viewer admiring the intentional but effortlessly natural manner in which the material was swept onto the canvas, resulting in artworks that perfectly encapsulate nostalgic emotions in ways that are not typically depicted but are immediately recognized. 

Yonic (Rahsa Dezmen) is an artist who has traveled all over the world for inspiration to further explore the questions of where we belong, to live or to die, and who we are. Through their specialization in acrylic painting, they blend mythology, philosophy, and reality to uncover hidden corners of human nature. 

Wole Ajabe is an artist who utilizes film to capture eclectic, vibrant photography inspired by his cat and the community of creatives that surround him. A multi-hyphenate, he is a Washington, DC-based photographer, filmmaker, and producer who began his creative endeavors in high school. Through their eyes and lens, their work captures dynamic colors and shapes that delight the viewers. The artwork “Birth of the Sprite” invites the viewer to reflect and make peace with the ongoing transformative cycle of life and death.

Jaswant is a civil engineer who fills their free hours with creative joy and freedom. First introduced to abstract art in May 2022, they got inspired to create their own art. Their use of bold and vibrant colors, natural elements, and funky textures has resulted in captivating works that leave the eyes exploring every inch of the canvas.

Waleska Del Sol is a Venezuelan multi-hyphenate, pursuing her passions as an artistic scholar, educator, and writer. She conceptualizes the topics of displacement, identity formation, and queerness that she experienced through the Venezuelan diaspora, or Venespora as she calls it.  Her works highlight natural, earthy tones that both evoke feelings of warmth and haunting beauty hidden in plain sight. 

Yeliz Gedik is a Turkish mix-media artist based in DC who uses art as a healing tool to process difficult emotions and create inner peace. Each work of art is unique but the series of abstract portraits is held together by a string of varying emotive colors, and the powerful glances of each woman portrayed.

Jessy DeSantis is a Baltimore-based artist with Nicaraguan roots. Through art Jessy develops a deeper understanding and connection to their cultural roots through vibrant paintings of portraits and places. The artwork “Companion Spirits” seamlessly unites the city of Baltimore, Amazon parrots, and Mayan symbols. This work exemplifies how it is possible to integrate multiple identities and create something new and beautiful because of the diversity within.This exhibition highlights the awakening of passion. Each of these artists documented their passions, and their passions embarked them on paths both seldom traveled and familiar. The works of art that came from these transforming experiences can be seen at the Love 4 Immigrants’ online exhibition – check it out today!