HEADSPACE : THE NOTION OF INTERIORITY BY 4 DISPARATE ARTISTS

Joshua Almendinger is currently based in Johnson Valley, California.  He participated in the 2021 art tours and has most recently exhibited at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles. With its roots firmly placed in the land of folk art, "Headspace" features the unbound aesthetic of mixed media artist, Joshua Almendinger. His art consists of a simplistically shaped silhouette, cut from wood, and then painted with tiny narratives; creating a world within each piece. The feeling of being handmade is felt in every piece as the artist utilizes found objects and materials to construct his own canvas. Never tied to a uniform material or medium, Joshua Almendinger’s art successfully juxtaposes the personality of the found object with his own hand and layers it with his own mythology and stories. Joshua's work is deceptively simple at first glance, creating a more inviting and personable environment for the viewer. Upon closer inspection, the viewer will become enraptured by the delicate and expressive brushwork of the painting used to illustrate the tall tales of each “hex”. Similar to the desert in which these pieces are created in, the true nature of these works are rich in an ever-moving subterranean life.

Maryam Ghaffari/MSMIM is a German-Persian-American, self-taught, emerging artist and entrepreneur living in the Pacific Northwest. Maryam is influenced by anything that makes her and others feel unconquerable and happy. Through vivid colors, stripes and dots, she brings her characters, objects and spaces alive — not knowing how her paintings will form but allowing them simply to become. MSMIM’s work reflects her trinomial entity, her passion for diversity and her love of storytelling. Her work is a tribute to the invincible, universal muse — feminine creativity imbued with an attitude and sly fierceness.  
These portraits are inspired by the, now largely taboo, ancient tattoo art of Berber and Bedouin women in the Middle East and North Africa. While many of these tattoos were ornamental and meaningless, others were symbolic of a phase of life, protected against spirits and blocked the evil eye. It was also believed that a combination of lines and dots on the side of the face or above the eyes would heal all pains. 

"I paint what makes me and others feel unconquerable and happy!"

Michelle Voss is an Asian-American artist based in Lausanne, Switzerland. She graduated from the University of Redlands with a study emphasis in  “Medicine, Society, and Art”. Michelle primarily works with oil paints but has recently started using gouache as a primary medium due to constraints on studio space. She explores themes of mental health, vulnerability, dissociation, and identity.
This art was created with the intention of eliciting an emotional connection from her viewers, to encourage the  viewers to contemplate and discuss topics typically avoided by utilizing a distractingly beautiful lens to capture the viewer. The theme may be disturbing yet the execution is aesthetically satisfying. This is how Michelle intends to create a profound connection with art. After a depressive episode that ultimately put her in the hospital, Michelle began an intensive outpatient program, where she focused on healing and trauma recovery. Here, she learned to use  many tools to work through anxiety, depression, and post traumatic growth. She finished this program in December of 2023 and has been continuing to expand this series that you see before you.

JD Rudometkin is a multi-disciplinary artist working in music, film, art and writing. His current concentration is in the production of multi-media exhibitions as writer/director and curator. Solo multi-media theatre pieces include “Ubiquity” and “Honey Venom” which he wrote and co-directed. Rudometkin’s work explores the  ideas of perception and post-existentialist notions of consciousness—or, as French philosopher Paul Ricoeur states, embodying a “post-critical naivete.” His essential influences are the mystic traditions of Sufism, Gnosticism, Cabbala, his own Russian Molokan heritage as well as the imaginative writing of authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Hafiz and Haruki Murakami as well as the oblique humor of Richard Brautigan.

Rudometkin’s short film, “The Field and the Knower,” was featured at the Sacramento French Film Festival and his film “Sweet Pea” was screened in Los Angeles, Sacramento and at the Festivus Film Festival in Denver, Colorado. In addition to writing and producing solo theatre performances and having lead roles in feature films, he has been nominated for a SARTA Award for best supporting actor in a theater production.

The artist’s paintings and sketches have been exhibited in galleries (Los Angeles, Sacramento, Joshua Tree)  

In 2019, Mr. Rudometkin and Alice Batliner curated the multi-media immersive art experience “Duende” in collaboration with local artists in the Joshua Tree area. Rudometkin and Batliner are currently curating exhibitions at Super X Gallery in Pioneertown, CA.