Mandy received her degree in Studio Art and Literature from Rice University, where she attended on full scholarship.  In 2001 she was awarded the Zhongua Fellowship, which allowed her to live and study in Guangzhou, China for a year, studying culture, watercolor, and textiles.  Originally from Texas, she has worked in Austin costuming short films, and produced several fashion and art shows throughout New York and Texas.  As a community leader, she serves on the Board of Managers for the International YMCA and the Board of the Friends of Maple Grove nonprofit and the United Nations Association YP Group as the Asian Affairs Director.  She has traveled throughout Asia, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa and speaks Spanish, and limited Mandarin and Polish.

Through her work with Theceeflat Gallery she has been able to support art exhibits and fundraisers for a myriad of global nonprofits and offers community art and design classes to the public on a weekly  basis.  She has worked as an instructor, fashion designer, and costumer for over 15 years and has painted over the last 10 years.  Her work focuses on narrative scenes from around the world (plein aire paintings from her travels) and the power, color, and profundity of the human spirit.  She has donated over a dozen art pieces to various nonprofits in the last two years to raise funds for community-building projects.

Web Contacts:

LinkedIn > Mandy Gor

Twitter >  windowseatjunki

Kevin Corcoran was born on April 6, 1961. His first artistic inspiration he labels as more of a natural reaction to the shy and introverted personality of his youth. Art was his form of speech as he was most certainly never outspoken as a kid in any fashion. In his junior year of high school Kevin was given a book on Michelangelo. Blown away, he knew from that point on what he was meant to do in life, which was to create. Eventually dropping out of high school, which consequently ended up being one of the most important decisions for him regarding his art career, Kevin began working different jobs in order to pay his way, yet what took up his time and thoughts was drawing and sketching.
In the early 80’s on a subway in Manhattan while working for Broadcast Arts, Kevin was seen sketching by the then dean of Parsons University who on the spot offered him a 2 year scholarship to the school to perfect his talents. Kevin accepted his invitation to Parsons, which began a very new and exciting phase in his life. Throughout his early years Kevin explored his artistic ability with/by drawing and sculpture with wax and clay. It wasn’t until the early 90s that he began to take painting more seriously. At Parsons Kevin studied privately under David Passalaqua. In continuing with his exploration of the subtle yet drastically varying subject of the female form, Kevin produced a series of whimsical and enchanting Rubenesque female figures throughout 2005 and early 2006, all figures being based on real women in his life.

Most recently Kevin has entered a stage of pure abstract output. Recalling the linear similarities with those of Wilfredo Lam and expressing pure emotion like screaming at top of one’s lungs, saying whatever is on one’s mind, he calls it “live expression.” The new works are very spontaneous, explosive, driven from life experiences, and the subsequent feelings from these experiences. A long lineage and wide range of inspirations including, of course, Michelangelo, Monet, Kline, his fresco study at the Florence Art Academy under Romero Stefan, etc, are insightfully reconciled to create new relations between gesture and image, and illusion and abstraction in all of Kevin’s works. Kevin has a style which is classic yet at the same moment evokes feeling and mystique.

"Few artists on the New York scene are as dynamic as Peter Bragino. While daring and proactive, his work simultaneously displays classic skill and a keen design sense. He combines painting, drawing and the graphic arts in a swirling maelstrom of detail, design and raw emotion. Whether you are viewing his art on a canvas, paper, or digital media, it's Bragino’s confident line and sweeping sense of motion in any medium that defines him as an artist.

Bragino culls his imagery from both natural and man-made environments. The Goddess, Mother Nature, and eastern and urban art are some of his many influences. Always reading and constantly sketching from life, he turns his careful studies into surrealistic landscapes that invite viewers into his unique mind’s eye. His figurative and composition-based pieces showcase his sophisticated draftsmanship and innovative approach to the page.

Self-taught and highly motivated, Bragino began his art career as an airbrush artist in California after a 5 year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. Bragino was born in Brooklyn, New York and knew from an early age that he would grow up to be an artist. Currently, he is focused on building his art career and business, Bragino Creations in Brooklyn, NY. Highly intuitive and dedicated to fostering artistic dialogue and collaboration, he is an electrifying presence in the art world. With humble sincerity, he invites you into his creative circle to share his vision and inspire your own creative forces."

Written by Caitlin Nitz, Nixe nitz Jewelry

Web Contacts:

Website > www.bragino.com

LinkedIn > Peter Bragino

Twitter >  Bragino