Agora Gallery is pleased to announce Prismatic Gateway, an exploration of abstraction through the lens of three contemporary painters, Ellen Globokar, Mark Schiff, and Ai-Wen Wu Kratz. Each artist filters reality through the prism of their perceptions, whether by reinterpreting and deconstructing their natural surroundings or as representations of intellectual or psychological experiences.

Globokar’s contemplative collages of handmade Japanese paper offer glimpses into the natural world. Hand-dyed individually by the artist, they aptly reproduce light plays and color nuances, transporting us to tranquil sea views, quiet autumnal afternoons, riverbanks, or flower fields. A testament to her background as an oil landscape painter, her Kaleidoscope series depicts impressionistic scenes in prevalent tones of lavender, peach, yellow, and rose that burst with luminosity and exude a calming beauty.

Mark Schiff's Lilies feature abstract landscapes inspired by the painter’s world travels. Each piece captures Schiff’s unique emotional impression of a visited city, which he translates into ad-lib patterns and color arrangements. Heavily influenced by his interest in culture, music, and yoga, Schiff’s ability to be guided by intuition opens him to what he refers to as, “the ocean of creativity within.” It is from this place that he paints with bold, deliberate strokes creating eye-catching paintings that sizzle with energy.

Hong Kong native Ai-Wen Wu Kratz presents a series of acrylic paintings rooted in geometric abstraction. Through colorful and intricate arrangements, she builds fluid visual narratives that encompass the full spectrum of artistic expression, ranging from classical music (Spring Canzonetta) to ballet (Dance to the Earth), to nature (To Plant Flowers While Waiting), and the literary arts (In Praise of Children Literature). She exults, "Come to us, the visual artists, dancers, poets, writers, playwrights, musicians, and storytellers. Together, we'll form a shade to shelter you from the heat and weariness of life. Together, in this sanctuary, we shall hear the birds’ happy mating; share the breeze of renewal; and bathe in the warmth of the fragrant earth.”