Living Colors
Lee Muslin
She/Her
Bio
Over the last 28 years, Lee Muslin has participated in over 300 exhibitions throughout the United States, as well as several other countries, including 26 solo shows. Seven of her solo exhibitions were in Philadelphia and five were in New York City. Many New York and Philadelphia gallerists and museum curators have selected her art for numerous juried shows. Her work has been published in 34 publications including the cover of three Philadelphia Stories magazines and a book of poems.
Ms. Muslin has been privileged to receive 36 awards including two purchase awards. She attended the University of Delaware as a fine art major and subsequently received a degree from Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Statement
“Guided by intuition, I begin my work without any preconceived ideas about what the finished work is going to look like. I am drawn to the freedom and the challenges inherent in painting that is not based in reality but in the imagination. My process of experimentation and discovery captures the unconscious to bring forth an emotional response. I create a complex surface using many techniques that may include mark marking, scratching, glazing, scumbling, scribbling, blotting, dripping and splattering. I want the painting surface to be full of life, so you can get lost in the depths of the layers and textures. Listening to music while I paint allows me to be in the moment and revel in a sense of play. Much is improvised as the artwork develops with each move informing the next. This practice allows my work to be free from expectations and to push the painting to unexpected, intriguing conclusions.
My imagined abstract landscapes follow the same process and are a response to my experience of nature rather than a re-creation of a specific place. Bold colors and dynamic lines distill the complex spirit of the earth. With this intuitive process, I capture the unconscious to reflect some fragment of nature’s power, the energy and movement as well as the tranquility and harmony.”
Gilvan Nunes
He/Him
Bio
Gilvan Nunes (b. 1966, Minas Gerais, Brazil) is a visual artist working in painting, drawing, ceramics, and porcelain. He studied at the Escola de Artes Visuais (Parque Lage) in Rio de Janeiro from 1986 to 1991. Since the mid-1990s he has mounted more than 20 solo exhibitions across Brazil, Europe, Africa, and the U.S. In recent years his work has also appeared in 50+ group shows and fairs internationally. In 2017 he relocated to Wayne, Pennsylvania, and his surroundings in the U.S. have since shaped a new cycle of oil paintings and ceramics. His pieces are held in institutional collections such as the Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection (MAM, Rio de Janeiro), Itaú Cultural (São Paulo), the Rômulo Maiorana Foundation, the Brazilian Presidential Collection, and foundations in London and Madrid. Nunes’s work unfolds in the space between memory and nature, layering gesture and color to create landscapes of feeling, rather than exact places.
Statement
"When I paint landscapes, I’m not trying to copy a place exactly. What interests me is the feeling of being there—the colors, the air, the rhythm of the trees or the horizon. Oil paint lets me build those feelings in layers, mixing memory with what I see in front of me. These works come from many landscapes I’ve lived with, and the paths between them. I don’t think of them as one geography, but as spaces that overlap in the studio, reshaped by brushstrokes and color. Sometimes the painting is close to reality; other times it drifts into something more dreamlike.
Showing these pieces in Philadelphia makes sense to me. This is a city where nature is always present—gardens, rivers, sudden changes of light through the seasons. I feel that same mix of familiarity and surprise in my work.
My hope is that when people look at these paintings, they don’t just “see a landscape,” but feel something—maybe a quiet, maybe a memory, maybe simply the pleasure of color. For me, that’s what painting is: a way of opening space for both the outside world and our inner one to meet."
Zifeng Zang
She/Her
Bio
Zifeng Zang is an abstract painter living and working in Philadelphia. She earned a dual BFA from Jilin University in China and West Chester University of Pennsylvania. After serving as a senior graphic designer and brand manager at 4A advertising agencies and tech giants in China, she followed her passion towards developing her abstract painting style. She is a member of multiple organizatinos and institutions in Philadelphia, and recently completed a one-year artist residency at the Delaware Contemporary Museum in 2024. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions throughout Pennsylvania, and has been featured in two solo exhibitions at Muse Gallery. She is the recipient of multiple awards and honors from Art Room Online Gallery US.
My creative process centers around the exploration of interactive colors and the embrace of unpredictable outcomes. Inspired by Helen Frankenthaler's soak-stain technique, I use handmade high-fluid acrylics applied directly to raw canvas, encouraging dynamic color interactions and unexpected results. To enrich the tactile nature of my work, I incorporate soft pastels, colored pencils, and charcoal, adding depth and texture.
Statement
Known for creating emotionally resonant artworks, my paintings convey dynamic movement and vibrant colors that radiate energy and vitality. Spontaneous color relationships and fluid pigment interactions characterize each piece, capturing the lively exchange of energy that unfolds in splashes of paint and color interplay.
I strive to craft visual spaces that invite viewers to reflect on spirituality and movement, fostering an evolving connection between the artwork and the observer. This interaction among colors creates a continuous dialogue that immerses viewers in themes of human connection, energy, and space.
In my recent series of gestural floral paintings, my artistic curiosity is driven by the vibrant colors and forms of Henri Matisse, along with a profound love for nature's vitality and blooming flowers. These works seek to embody freedom and innovation, inviting viewers to experience the undeniable dynamic energy of nature in full bloom.
