Exhibition Duration: August 26, 2025 – October 18, 2025
In-Person Opening Reception: Friday, September 5, 2025, at 6:30 — 9:30 pm
Virtual Opening Reception: Friday, September 12, 2025, at 6:30 pm
New Brunswick, NJ — Alfa Art Gallery proudly presents the Summer 2025 NBAS Oil, Sculpture, and Mixed Media Exhibition, The Mundane in Motion. The event is free and open from August 26, 2025, until October 18, 2025.
The Mundane in Motion exhibition brings together an eclectic mix of artists whose works explore the interplay of vibrant color and rich texture, inviting viewers on a journey through diverse artistic landscapes. This exhibition features emotionally charged paintings and sculptures that delve into the complexities of human emotion through spontaneous mark-making and layered textures.
About the New Brunswick Art Salon Initiative:
Alfa Art Gallery utilizes the New Brunswick Art Salons to unify the local art community and beyond. Since starting the program in 2010, Alfa has made a point to include a salon dedicated to showcasing pieces in watercolor, oil, photography, and various mixed media. Over the years, the series has only exhibited works from both established and emerging artists, but has made fruitful connections locally and internationally through its successful programs. As a non-profit, Alfa Art Gallery maintains its mission to uplift artists by providing an open and innovative environment that is dedicated to fostering va ibrant and diverse cultural community
About Alfa Art Gallery:
Founders and husband-wife team Vesselin and Galina Kourteva established Alfa Art Gallery with the vision of creating a cultural hub that fosters diversity, allowing individuals from all backgrounds to connect and gain mutual understanding through art. New Brunswick is an ideal setting for this vision, thanks to its vibrant ethnic heritage and diverse community, enabling Alfa to engage artists and visitors from near and far. Since its inception in 2007, the dedicated team at Alfa Art Gallery has consistently pursued this mission, striving to provide enriching and meaningful experiences for everyone involved.
2025 NBAS Featured Oil, Sculpture, and Mixed Media Artists:
Shara E Bailey is a painter whose work reveals the quiet beauty of forgotten structures and overlooked spaces. Originally from suburban Philadelphia, Bailey draws inspiration from a variety of subjects, ranging from natural landscapes to the built environments of the American Northeast. After earning a Ph.D. in anthropology and becoming a professor at New York University, she turned to painting as a way to reconcile her longing for clear skies and open terrain with her life in the urban Northeast. Returning to a long-standing interest in the visual arts, Bailey studied at the New Jersey Visual Arts Center and received early training in commercial art at North Montco Technical Career Center. Working in oil on canvas and birch panel, Bailey captures everything from nostalgic Western views to Brooklyn streets. Her work explores the emotional resonance of place, and the quiet intimacy found in abandoned or neglected spaces, often ones that exist only in memory. Through her paintings, Bailey revitalizes and reveals the hidden beauty within the mundane.
Abbey Rosko is an oil painter whose work combines realistic and dreamlike elements to create open-ended, emotionally charged scenes. Inspired by snapshots of her friends, family, and film stills, her paintings feel familiar yet mysterious. Rosko studied studio art at Moravian College and has shared her love of art by teaching at institutions such as The Baum Art School in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, as well as working with students in local schools. Since 2021, she has showcased her work in over thirty exhibitions around Pennsylvania. She has received support from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and was named a finalist for The Bennett Prize in 2025. Rosko is also an active member of the Lehigh Art Alliance and the Arts Community at Easton. The artist now resides in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.
Chanelle René is a self-taught contemporary painter and muralist based in Southern New Jersey whose vibrant, mixed-media work blends abstract realism with cultural storytelling. She began painting in 2020 after a career in PR and marketing, using her art to explore identity, self-essence, and the reclamation of space. Her process starts with expressive abstract underpaintings and evolves into layered figurative compositions, incorporating materials like acrylic, oil, spray paint, and metal leaf. René’s work has been exhibited widely, including at the Noyes Museum, Cape May MAC, and the African American Heritage Museum, and her murals appear throughout Atlantic City and beyond. A frequent collaborator with community organizations and museums, she is also a grant recipient, workshop leader, and recent artist-in-residence in Brazil. Through her art and public engagement, René encourages others to “Shine Your Vibe” and embrace creative expression at any stage of life.
Jonathan Yubi is a first-generation Ecuadorian American painter based in Bergenfield, New Jersey, whose work explores themes regarding labor, identity, and social unrest through narratives. Focusing on documented and undocumented construction workers, his paintings focus on the lives and labor of construction workers, building them into symbolic and historical scenes that link present-day struggles to broader histories of the Americas. Through these narratives, Yubi reflects on the persistence of labor as a unifying force in Pan-American history. Yubi received his BFA from Lehman College (CUNY), as well as studied at the Memphis College of Art and the University of Central Florida. In addition to his studio work, Yubi is the founder and publisher of ArtBorne Magazine, a Central Florida arts publication dedicated to developing and advancing Orlando, Florida’s art scene. The works displayed showcase the backbreaking work of the construction workers, whose tools are replaced by axes, pikes, and halberds, symbols of modernity. Yubi’s art stands as a platform and encourages viewers to reject modernity and emphasize the importance of inclusion and social justice.
Karen Goldberg is an oil painter and illustrator whose work gives the viewer a sense of peace and tranquility through her attention to detail and light reflection. She is primarily self-taught, but attended classes at the Montclair Art Museum for several years, as well as earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from St. John’s University and a Master of Arts in Arts Education from Montclair State University. Goldberg is inspired by images that impress her because of the light or reflection in the scene. Her work often depicts landscapes, scenes, and objects from everyday life. Her meticulous work highlights every detail of these scenes and leaves the viewer with a warm feeling of nostalgia and sentimentality. Goldberg is also dedicated to serving her community. She currently works as an Art Educator for PreK-Middle School students and is the co-creator of ‘Bumpybooks’, which is a program that helps struggling readers of all ages learn to read. She is also the author of Funny Side Up, which is a book of photos intended to turn any day sunny side up.
Lynda Charles is a Nigerian self-taught visual artist whose work intertwines identity, perception, and human connection(s). She tends to create through a lens of women’s experiences, often using charcoal and acrylic paint to explore emotional and lifelike depth. Although she is a self-taught artist, she did attend Ebonyi State University for a Bachelor of Science degree focusing on Applied Biology. Her artwork has gained international recognition, her artwork has been displayed at the London Art Biennale (2023), the Contemporary Art Show in Paris (2024), as well as received an honorable mention during the 38th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition (2024). Her artwork embraces contrasting colors while holding depth emotionally and figuratively, as the subjects come to life. Charles’ pieces will invite the audience to reflect on their own human relationships, experiences, and emotions.
Joy Kreves is a mixed-media and sculpture artist whose work explores the intersections of language, psychology, and the natural environment. Born in Illinois, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art from Illinois State University. After moving to New York City, Kreves exhibited her work in various underground shows and contributed sculptural stage sets for gallery performances. She later established an art studio and gallery in Frenchtown, New Jersey, where she showcased works by emerging artists. Her art, deeply influenced by eco-philosophers like Thomas Berry and Dr. Glenn Albrecht, often addresses environmental themes to create tactile experiences that challenge viewers’ perceptions. Kreves has exhibited extensively in the tri-state area, including venues like The Hunterdon Museum of Art and The Monmouth Museum. Currently, she continues her practice from her studio in Ewing, New Jersey, remaining an active figure in the regional art community.
Barbara Morcerf plays with the natural light of the colorful landscapes within her oil paintings. Starting her obsession with oils at the age of 12, she began to explore beyond the limits of plein air painting, working in front of her greatest muse, Nature. She lived many years in between Italy and Manhattan, New York, where she found her space of tranquility and peace with still life paintings of natural landscapes, house scenes, and bodies of water. During the winter seasons, she spends time painting still life and figurative paintings. Barbara has been in several art shows, including her solo show at Chant Gallery in Lords Valley, Pennsylvania, and numerous group shows, such as Shadows and Light 2021 with Wayne County Arts Council Gallery. Barbara currently lives in northeastern Pennsylvania and continues to study at the Art Students League of New York, painting with her whole heart and soul for natural beauty.
Angie Redmond is a Chicago-based oil painter and art instructor whose work explores the emotional complexity and beauty of the human experience. Through vibrant, expressive brushwork and portraiture, she captures intimate moments that reflect joy, peace, and connection, often inspired by friends, family, and members of her community. Blending realism with expressionism, her paintings are grounded in the tradition of Black Figuration, while intentionally resisting marginalizing narratives, focusing instead on the personal, emotional presence of her subjects. Redmond holds advanced degrees in painting and digital art and has exhibited nationally in a wide range of museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, including Agora Gallery (New York), ARC Gallery (Chicago), and the Museum of Science and Industry’s Black Creativity exhibition—where she won Best in Show in 2020. In addition to her studio practice, Redmond has been invited to speak and present her work on platforms such as WGHC 98.3 FM, Cantv Talk Show, and at events including the Harlem Fine Arts Show and South Central Community Center. Her work has been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur (“Five to Watch,” 2022), Realism Today, Sistah’s Place Real Talk Magazine, and other national publications. Currently teaching at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, Redmond continues to use oil paint as a transformative medium—one that invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences and the shared emotional threads that connect us all.
Zach Mellman-Carsey is a visual artist based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who utilizes his jewelry techniques and three-dimensional expertise to create captivating, conceptual sculptures and jewelry. He received his bachelor’s degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio with an emphasis in Three-Dimensional studies in 2015 and consecutively earned his master’s in Jewelry, Sculpture, Computer-Aided Desig,n and Manufacturing in 2018 from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. His work explores the notions of wealth and power in society and blends surreal and conceptual ideas of resilience, grief, and loss. In the form of stones and metal work, Zach recontextualizes the narrative of offering to the dead by creating small pieces of sculptural art that represent not only his identity and the state of mourning but also the relationship between digital fabrication and advancements in art. He has been in several art shows since 2017, including Anamnesis 2025 group exhibition at the Inliquid Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Within an increasingly technologically advancing world, Zach encapsulates his work into a fascinating viewpoint on social classes and technology as an aspect of wealth.
D’nae Harrison is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary artist (and musician) based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2014 from The Pennsylvania State University, Harrison’s work spans visual art, music, and social commentary, often exploring themes of identity, empowerment, and justice. Her work has been recognized in various prestigious platforms, including public commissions, exhibitions in New York, and coverage in major media outlets. For example, in 2020, her painting Shaded Oppression received the MOZAIK Philanthropy Future Art Award and honorarium; as well as, in the same year, her mural Save the Date in Philadelphia’s LOVE Park gained widespread coverage across public media. Harrison’s art is emotionally charged, blending bold colors with geometric patterns, black-and-white contrasts, with the use of human portraiture. Through her vibrant compositions and expressive use of line, she addresses both personal and societal narratives, engaging with topics like self-reflection, inequality, and the complexities of American culture. She aims to inspire those who feel marginalized to embrace self-love, trust their vision, and use their voices to challenge injustice.
Manuel Monge is a realist oil painter who takes the most mundane moments of everyday life and reshapes them with emotional depth. Born in Lima, Peru, his father was an architect, while his mother was a ceramist. Although he came from an artistic background, art was not his first career choice. Instead, he pursued engineering while keeping painting as a mere hobby. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, painting went from a simple hobby to a more serious profession. His paintings are a reflection of his personal journeys around the world, in addition to American suburbia. Rather than creating a mimesis of what is in front of him, he evokes the more pensive moments of life through feelings of nostalgia and connection. This distinct approach acts as a visual documentation of how individualized experiences can affect human perception. Monge seeks to express the beauty that lies within everyday occurrences that can easily be overlooked by viewers. His paintings elicit a welcoming and pleasant tenor without being muddled by a grandiose context to justify why certain subjects are depicted in such a way. Currently, Monge is attending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco pursuing his Master of Fine Arts, while maintaining a full-time career in human resources for a non-profit organization based within the city.
Rena Segal is an oil-based artist recreating the world in her unique visual language. A New Jersey-born native and daughter of the late artist and sculptor George Segal, she takes familiar objects and surroundings and transforms them into their most distinctive colors, textures, and shapes. Segal has been surrounded by art as far back as holding a crayon during childhood. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montclair University, NJ, in 1975, followed by a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University in 1977. Segal has since developed her skills, enriching herself in creating an intimate space between her and her subject matter. The mediums she specializes in are oil painting, pastels, and oil sticks. Concentrating on landscapes and still life artwork, Segal takes the viewer on an introspective journey through her expressive, imaginative compositions based on her perceptions. Working with photos of a lake near her childhood home, Segal’s landscapes are influenced by the flux of time and weather, coupled with her interpretation of the seasonal colors of nature. Meanwhile, her still life pieces are arranged in a way that creates an enigmatic, yet striking appearance where only the colors and shapes remain.
Sarah Yuster is an oil painter and illustrator devoted to unveiling the poetic within the prosaic. Yuster earned her B.F.A graduate from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and began oil painting as a pre-teen, drawn to the medium’s capacity to reinvigorate ideas, narratives, and experiences through the two-dimensional. Yuster works primarily in oil across wood, canvas, board, and medium-density fiberboard, also incorporating charcoal and conté crayon into her portraiture and landscapes. Her subject matter ranges from intimate portraits to liminal urban spaces where stillness and emotional depth take center stage. Yuster’s creative curiosities and expressions are not limited to oil, charcoal, and crayon. Her practice is further developed through her parallel work as a filmmaker exploring environmental stewardship, social bias, and immigration policy. Moreover, studying with the Greek Language Center for five years and the Italian Culture Institute for two years, Yuster is also a lifelong learner with an insatiable curiosity that feeds her interdisciplinary practice. Across all media, Yuster approaches her work as visual reportage – an homage to place, people, and the persistent beauty of the everyday.
