Billy the Artist (BTA) is an internationally renowned artist whose studio is based in the East Village of New York City. His projects and designs have been seen all over the world for such clients and global brands as Swatch, Viacom, Lamborghini, The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Museum, New Balance Shoes, Sony, The Champs Snowboarding Championship in Leysin, Switzerland, Gibson Guitar, Smart Car, Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota, Mountain Dew, MTV, Puma, Microsoft, Chock Full O Nuts, Vans shoes, Cow Parade, race car driver Danica Patrick, Fashion Week Athens and Madrid, Enesco, Goebel and currently the designer of the new Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine world wide. Mural projects include Woodstock 99, Art Basel Miami, Casa Décor Miami, Delaguarda, The Rio Casino Las Vegas, the Broadway, National, and London productions of the musical RENT. His paintings have hung at the prestigious Forbes Gallery as well as other galleries in New York, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, Austin, Cleveland, Mexico City, Hamburg, Paris, Carib Fine Art in Curacao, Foxx Galerie Zurich, Minsheng Art Museum Shanghai, Surge Art Fair Shanghai, and The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Billy has been published in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle, US Weekly, Juxtapoz, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and numerous other magazines and newspapers around the globe. He has appeared on MTV, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, TLC, DISCOVERY, 60 MINUTES and other feature programs all over the world. For the world launch of Billy’s watches for Swatch, he painted a 40x30 foot mural live in front of 30,000 people while 300 foot animated projections of his work adorned the walls of Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy during the Venice Biennale. BTA was also one of the first American artist to be allowed by the Chinese government to paint live on the famous Bund in Shanghai. Philanthropic projects include work with The American Red Cross, Live On NY, The Fresh Air Fund, Covenant House, St. Mary’s Foundation for Children, The JCC of Manhattan, The Breathe Foundation Brazil, and various schools both in the U.S and abroad.

Inspired by nature and his 60 pet birds, Hunt Slonem is renowned for his distinct neo-expressionist style. He is best known for his series of bunnies, butterflies and tropical birds, as well as his large-scale sculptures and restorations of forgotten historic homes. Slonem’s works can be found in the permanent collections of 250 museums around the world, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Whitney, the Miro Foundation and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Since his first solo show at the Fischbach Gallery in 1977, Slonem’s work has been showcased internationally hundreds of times, most recently at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. In 2017 and 2018, he will be featured by the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Gallery in Bulgaria, and in countless galleries across the United States, Germany and Dubai.
His flair and admiration for far-flung destinations has been a staple of his life since childhood. Slonem was born in 1951 in Kittery, Maine, and his father’s position as a Navy officer meant the family moved often during Hunt’s formative years, including extended stays in Hawaii, California and Connecticut. He would continue to seek out travel opportunities throughout his young-adult years, studying abroad in Nicaragua and Mexico; these eye-opening experiences imbued him with an appreciation for tropical landscapes that would influence his unique style.
After graduating with a degree in painting and art history from Tulane University in New Orleans, Slonem spent several years in the early 1970s living in Manhattan. It wasn’t until Janet Fish offered him her studio for the summer of 1975 that Slonem was able to fully immerse himself in his work. His pieces began getting exhibited around New York, propelling his reputation and thrusting him into the city’s explosive contemporary arts scene. He received several prestigious grants, including from Montreal’s Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Cultural Counsel Foundation’s Artist Project, for which he painted an 80-foot mural of the World Trade Center in the late 1970s. He also received an introduction to the Marlborough Gallery, which would represent him for 18 years.

Judy Rifka's career spans over fifty solo shows and countless group exhibitions; her work can be seen in numerous public collections in museums and foundations, throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has been featured in major exhibitions at 1983 Whitney Biennial and the 1975 Whitney Biennial; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Documenta VII, Kassel; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Carnegie Mellon University; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; The Brooklyn Museum; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield; Moderner Kunst, Vienna; Laforet Museum, Tokyo; Kansas City Art Institute; The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers; Kunst Rai, Amsterdam; Mint Museum, Charlotte; Bass Museum of Art, Miami; The Museum of Fine Art, Boston; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Rifka has been widely written about, and featured in, among other places, Art Forum, Art in America, Kunst Forum, Tema Celeste, Flash Art, The New Yorker, Elle and New York Magazine.

Cindy Shaoul was born in 1987 in New York. She is a visual listed American artist best known for her “Dripping Dots" series. Formally trained, Shaoul also paints impressionistic street scenes and portraits. With a Hungarian-Persian background that comes from a lineage of artists, Shaoul has matured unique expressions with her own voice and story to tell. After completing her professional education at Emerson College in Boston, she later moved to Israel and Hungary to study culture and science while absorbing the energy of these new cities. In Budapest, she attended the Budai Art Institute from 2007-2009, later returning to New York City to continue her artistic education at the Art Students League, where she worked under the tutelage of Joseph Peller, Gregg Kreutz, and Tom Torak.
In 2010 she met renowned street artist LA II (Angel Ortiz) who previously worked with Keith Haring in the late 1980’s. LA II strongly influenced her style with the powerful impact of 1980s hip-hop and graffiti. They began collaborating on a collection of exciting street art which later exhibited in Europe.
Having built a diverse body of work since her early career ranging from portraits to colorful abstract paintings, Cindy is constantly reinventing her style working on a range of collections from Pop Culture to City Street Scenes. She is identified prominently for her colorful "Dripping Dots" series that is focused on a pointillistic style, achieving simplicity of beauty in the moment, creating a translucent but very rich pallet evoking a result which is clean, fresh and modern.
Her academic background first led her to paint realistic portraits and scenes from the street but the pieces that Shaoul is most passionate about are her “Dripping Dots”. This latest series explores an accidental technique which the artist has brought to life. From the left over paint of her pallet, Shaoul would paint circles to clean her brushes on to another canvas, just not to waste paint. These non-geometric shapes soon became part of a motif that was expanding all over the canvas. This eventually evolved into a discovery of an abstract and a very decorative contemporary style, completely new to her, and very much appreciated by her friends and teachers.
The academic skills she honed from school gave her the capacity to perfectly manage the use of light and shadow in these enchanting paintings. Further influenced by the seasons and her trips abroad, the choice of the colors reflect the mood of the artist in a magnificent way. The paintings inspired by the warm seasons are more luminous and full of pop colors that make the canvas flash out of the wall.
The unique brush that Shaoul uses for these works allows her to let the thickness of the paint be free. With layers of bright oils and whisking brush strokes, the paint is able to shine and shimmer in a very unique pattern. In most pieces, she uses oil paint and in others, she adds mixed-media such as gold leaf to symbolizes prosperity, and compassion.
Shaoul is active in New York and abroad, working diligently on expanding her technique and adding new and exciting elements to her work. Still passionate about portraiture and street scenes, she has a hunger for both capturing reality in her own style, and creating colorfully expansive pallets for her “Dripping Dots”.

1966 Born in Seoul. South Korea
Professor, Dept. of Broadcasting & Media Arts Tongmyong university
Education
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts à la Villa Arson, France
Graduated from Dept. of Art & Communication, Valenciennes University, France (M.F.A) Graduated from Dept. of Art & Communication, Valenciennes University, France (B.F.A)

Solo exhibition
ㆍ2015 “The Journey of Readers" P & O Gallery, Busan
ㆍ2013 "Serious Reading-Readers“ Jeon Ju International photo festival
ㆍ2010 "Serious Reading" Kim young Seob photo Gallery, Seoul
ㆍ2007 "Trajet" Kim young Seob photo Gallery, Seoul
ㆍ2004 "Souvenir" Seoul Art Center, Seoul
ㆍ2001 "Le dernier jour de vacances" Ssamzie space Gallery, Seoul
ㆍ2001 "Centripetal-Centrifugal" Ssamzie space Gallery, Seoul
ㆍ1999 "La Fascination de l'impalpable" Le Phenix Scene Nationale de Valenciennes, France
ㆍ1999 "Un Monde de Lumiere" bibliotheque de Valenciennes, France
ㆍ1991 "Mutiplication de Communication" Batang-gol Gallery, Seoul

Gillie and Marc have been called “the most successful and prolific creators of public art in New York’s History” by the New York Times. Creating some of the world’s most innovative public sculptures, Gillie and Marc are re-defining what public art should be, spreading messages of love, equality, and conservation around the world. Their highly coveted sculptures and paintings can be seen in art galleries and public sites in over 250 cities. They’re Archibald Prize Finalists and have won the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, together with winning 2 years in a row People’s Choice Award in Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea, among other notable awards and accolades.
Referred to by the media as “the world’s most loving artists”, this artistic duo has worked side by side for 27 years, creating art as one and spreading the love they have for each other with the world. The artists first met on a film shoot in Hong Kong and 7-days later they ran away to Nepal to get married on the foothills of Mount Everest. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
The artists are best known for their beloved characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, who tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together to become best friends and soul mates. As unlikely animal kingdom companions, the Rabbit and the Dog stand for diversity and acceptance through love. Gillie and Marc believe art is a powerful platform for change. Their art is multi-disciplinary, paying homage to the importance of togetherness, as well as the magnificence of the natural world, and the necessity of preserving it – for we are it, and it is us.
Gillie and Marc have a special spiritual connection to the world and its animals and are passionate eco-warriors. Gillie grew up in Zambia and realised her love for art by sketching all the wonderful wildlife that surrounded her, falling in love with the captivating creatures with each drawing she created. Tragically, she saw an elephant brutally shot one day. This had a profound impact on her as a young child and from then on she vowed to dedicate her life and work to protecting Earth’s innocent animals. While in his twenties, Marc fell in love with conservation on a trip to Tanzania to see the work of Jane Goodall with chimpanzees. Learning from this incredible woman and the beautiful chimps, he gained a deep appreciation of all living things in their interconnectivity, and the importance of protecting the delicate balance of nature.
Finding an extra special place within the hearts of the artists are rhinos. This love affair began during a project memorialising a black rhino and her calf who mysteriously died in a Zoo in Dubbo. The artists were heartbroken by this tragedy and wanted to create an artwork that would not only remember the rhinos, but also raise awareness about conservation. This sparked a fire that led to the duo learning all the could about rhinos, trying to find a way to give a voice to the voiceless, and help people to understand the urgency for conservation of these beautiful animals. This led to the couple creating the largest rhino sculpture in the world for the famous ‘Sculpture by the Sea’, winning Australia’s coveted Allen’s People’s Choice and Kid’s Choice awards. A year later they bet their own record with the installation of The Last Three in New York City. At 17-feet tall, it’s now the tallest bronze rhino sculpture on the planet, and features the last three Northern White Rhinos, which have sadly now become two.
The Last Three is not just a powerful memorial and magnificent work of art; it’s also a catalyst for action. It is aligned with multiple initiatives aimed at spreading awareness, fuelling donations, and working with authoritative bodies to effect real change against poaching. Gillie and Marc used the trajectory of their sculpture’s installation to motivate petition signatures, which they used to put pressure on the government of Vietnam to eradicate rhino trafficking in their country. Through their art, Gillie and Marc aim to transform passive audiences into passionate advocates for rhino conservation. Their mission is to use their work as a platform to continue spreading awareness about endangerment, which will ultimately lead to change and save species from extinction.
Their art has raised hundreds of thousands in donations for the many wildlife charities and causes they support. For more information, visit www.gillieandmarc.com or www.lovethelast.com 

Marc Rayner was born in Woolongong, N.S.W, Australia in 1959. Attended primary and secondary schools in Canberra -when the family moved there in 1966.
As a student he has attended several institutions in Australia including the Tasmanian School Of Art and NMIT, Victoria.
In the summer of 2005 Rayner moved to Sweden (in the Stockholm area) and began painting and producing art once again but with a new and invigorated freedom.
As an artist he concernes himself largely with historical events and social issues.

Exhibition in Tromsö, 2017
Silk Road art fair, China 2017
Exhibition in Nepal, 2017
Galleri Jan Wallmark, Stockholm, 2017 (solo show)
Galleri K Västerås (solo show), 2015
Qatar al Asmakh international art symposium, 2015
Stenhuset Surahammar (solo), 2014
Konst på väg 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Gallery M16 Canberra Australia, 2013
Galleri Ekvall + Törnblom (solo show), 2012
Tellusart amalgamation, Delhi and Utrakant provence 2012 artists workshop
Edviks Konsthall,Vårsalongen (group show jury selected) 2011
Kistamässan,konstnärernas Höstsalong,2011
Artemonaco'11, Monaco (jury selection), 2011.
Paris, carousell de louvre,Scandinavian And South American Contemporary Art Fair, 2010.
(Jury selected)
Kistamässan, Konstnärernas höstsalong, 2010.
Galleri Jan Wallmark, Stockholm, (solo exh:)2010.
Aftonbladet (group show,jury selected) 2009
Kistamässan, Konstnärernas höstsalong, 2009.
Galleri Jan Wallmark, Stockholm, 2009. (group show)
Liljevalchs vårsalong, 2009 (Group show jury selected)
Galleri Sander, Norrköping, 2008. (group show)
Galleri Sander, Linköping, 2008. (group show)
Utbildningsradion, Stockholm, 2008. (Solo)
Galleri Bellman, Stockholm, 2007. (Solo)
Edsvik konsthall, Vårsalongen, 2006.(group show,jury selected)

Based in Long Island NY, Freda works as an editorial illustrator, visual political activist and as part of the adjunct faculty of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. In addition to many mainstream clients, such as Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, he also contributes to many alternative news websites and publication, such as Code Pink, Activist Post, Washington’s Blog,Global Research, Cindy Sheehan’s The Soapbox and The Trends Journal. In 2006 The Village Voicecommissioned Freda to illustrate a story about people who challenge the official 9/11 narrative, the artwork has since become part of the permanent collection of the US National September 11th Museum in New York.

ㆍFreda’s work has been selected to be included in the following international illustration competitions:
ㆍSociety of Illustrators
ㆍAmerican Illustration
ㆍCommunication Arts
ㆍSociety of Publication Designers
ㆍPrint
ㆍArt Director’s Club

Juliana Lazzaro was born in Columbus in 1973. She received her undergraduate education at Ohio University. Throughout the decade of the 1990’s, she traveled extensively, exhibiting her work in the Carolinas and Colorado.
In 1998, a chance encounter with publisher Hugh McKay led to an introduction to Knox Martin. In 2000, at the invitation of Martin, Lazzaro took up Masters studies at the Art Students League of New York City. As one of the great living painters of the 20th century, Martin is a major influence on her work.
Lazzaro spent the summer of 2004 studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France at the Marchutz School. This experience living near Cezanne’s beloved Mount Saint Victoire expanded her range of media and subjects. She produced a series of landscapes, while deepening her emphasis on portrait painting.
Since moving to New York, Lazzaro has exhibited her work at the National Academy Museum and the Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center. 2008 saw her Los Angeles debut at the Modernism Today installation at LAX. In 2011, Lazzaro’s set design was featured in the Medicine Show Theatre’s presentation of Living with History: Camus, Sartre and De Beauvoir. In 2012, Lazzaro’s work was shown at the Arlington Museum’s group exhibition: Mosaic.
Lazzaro has expanded her work from the plane of the canvas to hand painted original works on select garments. This work made its debut at the Tesla Motors showroom in Chelsea in the spring of 2013.
Lazzaro next collaborated with Schott NYC on a custom painted Perfecto jacket for their centennial retrospective at Openhouse Gallery in October 2013. As one of only five artists selected for this honor, Lazzaro’s jacket is now part of Schott’s permanent collection.
Lazzaro’s custom-painted 2014 Ducati Monster was shown at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Javits Center in late 2013.
In March 2015 Lazzaro was selected as a featured artist for the global campaign, Converse: Made by You. Her gold, hand-painted AllStars were featured in billboards and other large-scale, environmental installations beginning in New York and traveling internationally to cities including London, Paris, and Beijing.
In September of 2015, Lazzaro was selected by the Lower East Side Partnership as a featured artist for the 100 Gates Project. Her 8 x 14′ mural is on view at 77 Allen Street in the Lower East Side, Manhattan.
Juliana Lazzaro lives and paints in New York City.

I can't say when the exact moment was when started making things. All I
know is I can't remember a time when I was not making something. My dad had a small workbench in the basement with a lot of old bolts, rusted screws, nails, washers of all kinds-even some old machine parts of who knows what-and tools of all varieties, none of them in great condition. We were from the 'other side of the tracks' so to speak, and new tools were hard to come by. All I know is that I found that tiny work area to be a magical place, a place where time had no context and I could explore putting things together. After hours of working, I would bring my creation up from the basement and show my parents. Oh how they praised my newest thing! We were poor, but encouragement and praise were never in short supply. As time went along you would think that I would have moved on from this interest of making things. I never did. Even today when I am in my studio working, the desire and passion to create is still the same as it was in that small basement workshop.
There are many days I awake, grab a coffee and walk to my studio and just spend time looking at the many works of art I have created. Some hanging, others on shelves, some finished and others in various stages of completion. Then 'it happens'. I look at the works and a vision of the continuation of a direction comes to me. The excitement of exploring the multitude of possibilities is euphoric, intoxicating and even more powerful than it was in back then, which is what continues to inspire me everyday. It has been said that creativity is ... "Looking at one thing and seeing another". For me this comes from a place deep within, a place where creative thought is a primal instinct and I serve as the medium for its creative flow. My adventure, paintings or sculpture.
Each passion offers an opportunity for manifesting my intuitive visions, a road without end and a unbounded journey.

I grew up in a sleepy, midwest town where being outdoors was the way of life for every kid. Entertainment included catching fireflies at dusk, scampering up trees (that granted both views and bloodied knees), and playing outside until the horizon gulped the last morsel of light. As a teen, a particular horse stole my heart and never gave it back. We became one spirit, forging rocky streams, sailing on endless oceans of wildflowers, and sharing the moon together in silence. This early bond with nature continues to be a powerful influence in my work.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My images are visual dream stories, laced with symbols and emotion that take the viewer to distant lands of the imagination. Sometimes described as 'Magical Realism', my paintings first draw the viewer in with realistic detail and dramatic light, then unexpectedly tickles their subconscious with an illusory world of the unexpected.

Growing up in the country subconsciously injected a deep love and curiosity of nature as well my relationship with this amazing planet. Nature and the female figure are central to my work. These powerful characters have unlimited possibilities for symbology, spirituality, strength, and beauty. I think of my paintings as 'songs with no words', a term derived from Native American chanting or telling stories without words. The viewer interprets my paintings based on their own life experiences, which can sometimes evoke tears, laughter, joy, or inner peace. While I do not create art with this intention, making this deep and private connection with the viewer is my greatest reward.

In addition to my works on canvas, I have recently developed a digital series that presents a lighter palette and explores fresh interpretations of nature in relation to the human spirit. These harmonic assemblages also tell stories and include selected elements of my own traditionally painted artwork, in combination with vintage imagery, photos, and custom flat graphics. The female figure, an integral component of all my work, symbolizes the origins of humanity, the deep connection to ourselves, and the eternal connection we have with Mother Earth. 

Juliana Lazzaro was born in Columbus in 1973. She received her undergraduate education at Ohio University. Throughout the decade of the 1990’s, she traveled extensively, exhibiting her work in the Carolinas and Colorado.
In 1998, a chance encounter with publisher Hugh McKay led to an introduction to Knox Martin. In 2000, at the invitation of Martin, Lazzaro took up Masters studies at the Art Students League of New York City. As one of the great living painters of the 20th century, Martin is a major influence on her work.
Lazzaro spent the summer of 2004 studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France at the Marchutz School. This experience living near Cezanne’s beloved Mount Saint Victoire expanded her range of media and subjects. She produced a series of landscapes, while deepening her emphasis on portrait painting.
Since moving to New York, Lazzaro has exhibited her work at the National Academy Museum and the Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center. 2008 saw her Los Angeles debut at the Modernism Today installation at LAX. In 2011, Lazzaro’s set design was featured in the Medicine Show Theatre’s presentation of Living with History: Camus, Sartre and De Beauvoir. In 2012, Lazzaro’s work was shown at the Arlington Museum’s group exhibition: Mosaic.
Lazzaro has expanded her work from the plane of the canvas to hand painted original works on select garments. This work made its debut at the Tesla Motors showroom in Chelsea in the spring of 2013.
Lazzaro next collaborated with Schott NYC on a custom painted Perfecto jacket for their centennial retrospective at Openhouse Gallery in October 2013. As one of only five artists selected for this honor, Lazzaro’s jacket is now part of Schott’s permanent collection.
Lazzaro’s custom-painted 2014 Ducati Monster was shown at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Javits Center in late 2013.
In March 2015 Lazzaro was selected as a featured artist for the global campaign, Converse: Made by You. Her gold, hand-painted AllStars were featured in billboards and other large-scale, environmental installations beginning in New York and traveling internationally to cities including London, Paris, and Beijing.
In September of 2015, Lazzaro was selected by the Lower East Side Partnership as a featured artist for the 100 Gates Project. Her 8 x 14′ mural is on view at 77 Allen Street in the Lower East Side, Manhattan.
Juliana Lazzaro lives and paints in New York City.