Press release

Meet the International Art Alliance

Palimpsest: An epic art project showing the connectedness of seven international artists and their collaborative pieces

As the pandemic forced the globe’s inhabitants into isolation, seven artists from four different countries joined forces to form an unexpected support network after meeting in an online seminar.

While the level of restrictions took its toll on both their personal and professional lives, their shared experience of navigating an extremely competitive and egocentric art world resulted in a powerful long-distance connection.

Although they come from diverse backgrounds and work with very different techniques and materials, they found inspiration in each other and decided to explore this connection further.

This group is setting out to create a unique project that will cross physical borders and bring to light their collective style. To solidify their commitment, they have named themselves the International Art Alliance.

Each artist will use their unique artistic style and materials of choice to add a layer to another artist’s painting in an effort to build a cohesive and physical representation of the group.

Using old-fashioned snail mail, collectively they will create seven artworks (with each artist contributing a single layer to every painting), resulting in a total of 49 layers divided between seven paintings. Throughout the project each artist will document his or her ideas, adding to the story of each piece.

During this process, the Alliance will be airing regularly scheduled live online events, giving their audience the opportunity to get to know them individually and as an entity, to become familiar with the project, and to not only view the process, but to witness the unveiling of some of the test pieces and of one of the final creations upon its completion.

The project will culminate in a physical exhibition at a Vancouver, BC gallery, where the International Art Alliance members will finally meet each other in person for the first time and discover whether their pieces complement each other to the same extent as their personalities do.

Quotes:

Cheryl Willcox: “The events of the last few years have curtailed our freedom and pulled into question what we take for granted and what is normal. More than ever we need to support and to connect to each other. Our newly formed IAA is doing just that.”

Julie Brayton: “I feel art brings people together on many levels. First, here for the artists but then on a larger scale we bring together a community of connection to others who feel comforted by our work or relate in some other way. In times like ours it is very important.”

Lara Spadetto: “The past two years have been, in a word, transformative.

2020 was like living in a bubble. Everything was suspended, there was no time.

If I try to go back by remembering that period, it is difficult for me to isolate particular moments.

But it was like the calm before the storm.

In 2021 my life took a shake, some parameters I had turned upside down and I found myself facing the unknown.

In this perfect storm I met a group of friends, of great artistic and human value, who helped me to get up, holding my hand, perhaps unconsciously, and accompanied along this journey, distant but always present.

They helped me keep the flame of my art burning, which was flickering in the face of the gusts of uncertainty.”

Rose L. Williams: “The Pandemic began and it felt as if all my creative efforts of the last several years had been wasted. Connecting through our shared personal and artistic challenges in the group has been a source of inspiration and a demonstration of the powerful healing that engaging in creative activity together can generate.”

Ross C Berman: “Isolation has been an enduring quality of the Pandemic. I've been so fortunate to have befriended this international group of compassionate artists whom I would not have otherwise met. Despite our varied backgrounds and the focus of our work, one of the gifts of this time has been seeing how we’re all much more similar than we are different.”

Stephanie McLean: “We were in a six-week online course together. When the course ended, my heart was aching and I thought, ‘I have to keep in touch and work with these amazing people again. We have to do a group show!’ I asked and everyone was in!” :-)

Denise Buisman Pilger: “The pandemic made it impossible to go out and build a new community after my move from Japan to a new town in Canada. I felt extremely isolated and for the first time, had a very difficult time adjusting. Meeting this group and working together with them has brought a sense of community and purpose back into my life and made me feel more like myself again.

https://www.internationalartalliance.org

Artist backgrounds:

Cheryl Willcox - Oil Paintings that Celebrate the beauty of the natural world.

Julie Brayton – “My vision is to interpret nature through my art using color and light so those viewing my work will be uplifted to an awareness that brings comfort and purpose.”

Lara Spadetto – “I deeply feel the desire and the need to transmit harmony and balance with my paintings. Everything lives in perfect equilibrium, nothing makes sense without its opposite.”

Rose L. Williams uses Botanical components from the environment to create art that reflects the fundamental human instinct to connect through Nature's healing energies.

Ross C Berman creates graphic artwork that strives to raise the spirit and connect people with their experience of the Divine.

Stephanie McLean strives to capture the electric energy of performers in her paintings.

Denise Buisman Pilger creates original hand layered mixed media art that evokes memories and inspiration.

Contacts:

AUSTRALIA

Cheryl Willcox (Sydney, Australia)

artist@cherylwillcoxart.com

+61 2 413943255

CANADA

Denise Buisman Pilger (Montreal, Quebec)

denise@denisebuismanpilger.com

+1 (514) 431-4613