RICHARD OSZUST
b. 1959 Oszust is an independent graphic designer and photographer living in Manhattan. He studied architecture at Brooklyn Technical High School and graphic design and photography at School of Visual Arts in New York. Richard was part of Manhattan’s burgeoning East Village art scene in the early ‘80s, where he exhibited photos, paintings and illustrations. During the ‘90s and today he works as an art director and corporate graphic designer. Oszust’s photography has been used in fashion and entertainment advertising, and this year he published a book of photographs titled “Reflection.” Photographing New York City has always been a passion and lifelong project.
J O H N PA R A D I S O
b. 1962 Paradiso earned a BFA at the State University of New York (Purchase) and MFA at the State University of New York Buffalo). He is a mixed media artist and describes his work as metaphorical and based upon such issues as identity, sexuality, health, and love. Collections include the Kinsey Institute and the National Picture Collection at the Library of Congress (AIDS portfolio).
E R I C PA R N E S
b.1979 “The increasing effect of commercialism and its global resonance has produced a forced dialogue between the East and the West. This cultural discourse stages a unique relationship between the ancient and the contemporary. Born in the West with immediate family roots in Iran, my vision reflects one’s internal struggle to define identity and can be traced to early childhood experience. As a conceptual artist, the catharsis of creation has compelled me to examine and portray the perceived differences and similarities of the world I was born in as well as the echoes of the eras of my forefathers, allowing me to concentrate on crafting a series of works that revise and explore one’s understanding of ‘The Orient’”.
LEEMOUR PELLI
Leemour Pelli is an artist living and working in New York City. She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts (B.F.A., painting, 1994), Hunter College (Master of Arts degree in ArtHistory, 1989), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (B.A. in English Literature). In 2008, the artist had her first solo exhibition at the Daneyal Mahmood Gallery in New York. Her other recent solo exhibitions include Annina Nosei Gallery in New York, 2004 and 2005. Pelli’s recent exhibitions include the Kinz Tillou and Feigen Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art at Champion, Connecticut, PS1 Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Island City, Spaces Contemporary Art Center in Ohio, and the Artcore Gallery in Toronto. Her work has been reviewed in ArtForum, Art News, The New York Times, New York Arts Magazine, Tema Celeste, and The Globe. g l a a d . o r g 75