Art Testimonials
Art Testimonials
Salma Arastu Julie Cohn Sara Frucht Usha Shukla
What Customers and Art Historians Say:
"Paramount in Salma Arastu's life and her art is her faith in the unity of an all-embracing divinity and universal human values. Working with many layers of thin paint, her brush produces fluid shapes of joyful dancers set against abstract patterns." - Peter Selz Art Historian and former curator of Museum of Modern Art and founder of Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley.
"In her paintings Salma Arastu brings Arabic Calligraphy into dialogue with Western Modern art movements like Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting. Her use of thin washes of acrylic, geometric patterns and other elements result in a sense of deep mystery and profound color." -Terrence Dempsey Founding Director, Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, Saint Louis University.
"Arastu’s flowing lines stem from the influence of Persian culture on Islamic script while her concentric compositions reflect rotating Indian mandalas as symbols of the universe." - Dr. Cathleen Fleck Associate Professor of Art History at Saint Louis University.
" Salma Arastu is blessed with a fluent and lyrical visual language."
Professor Ricardo Viera Director / Curator, Lehigh University Art Galleries / Bethlehem, PA.
" If Salma Arastu's paintings attain their liveliness through a rubbing together of opposites at a conceptual level, a potent dynamism also operates within each composition in her painterly style. It is the mark of Arastu’s personal absorption of the stories she recasts. - William ZimmerArt Critic, New York Times New York City
" Julie reached out to help me with color balance and arrangement of furnishings and paintings for my apartment. She sensed my predilection for warm, bright color, mixed with subdued calm. Creatively, she began to arrange color combinations, with real life objects, in sets that provided a variety of exciting and elegant choices that I could make for my environment. And I’ve been happy ever since! " - Jonathan T. Berkeley, CA
" Julie is a gem! Her eye for color, texture, and patterns helped me to design my home in a beautiful neutral palette that made the artwork really stand out. Her enthusiasm is contagious! She listens well and helped me to design the space and art that is right for me. " -Roz M., Orange County, CA"
" Julie Cohn's watercolor creations have a dynamic and calming quality to them. She has a knack for creating just the right mood in a room to illuminate artwork as well as draw you into an inviting space. I so appreciate how she has enhanced our home with her beautiful art." - Debbie D. Shingletown, CA
"Julie Cohn’s work brings me peace. When my gaze rests on the images gracing my view, my heart calms, worlds open, I am at peace." -Wendy D. El Sobrante, CA
" I have known Sara for many years. Her recent Generative Art seems to me to incorporate all of her talents as an artist and programmer. This new iteration of her artistic expression is absolutely beautiful. Through these works, she presents us with a mesmerizing, ever changing dance of natural and geometric forms...while giving us a glimpse of the delight she takes in their mathematical origins. These images morph seamlessly using movement and luminous color to keep us engaged and spellbound. The effect is meditative and transforming." -Janice Rosenberg
" Sara Frucht welcomes you to experience her electronic creation ‘reVerb’, during which you’re offered the chance to interact with…Yourself! Once you present yourself in front of the screen, you slowly enter a multi-sensorial dialogue composed of (your own) interior mood shifts, feeling associations & the Rare Chance to Think Big Thoughts - that arise and dissolve in alignment with the continuously evolving multicolored, multi-toned complex shapes. Your marvelous sensory capacities self-generate a contemplative entertainment through the magic of Sara’s uniquely coded algorithm expressed through the power of pixels!" - Sande Green
" Reverb is a very compelling application for anyone who is interested in sacred geometry, mandalas and patterns. Sara Frucht is masterful in understanding how to write computer programs that produce art. While watching these geometries unfold consider that there is nothing to start but a blank screen – no seed images. Only an artist programmer like her could understand what makes something look good, what is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and write the code to do it. Artists practice for years mastering the craft of image making – while Sara has mastered the medium of computer code in a manner not unlike the painter. If you have the option to use the interactive version of reverb, contemplate while adjusting all the variables what makes this look so pleasing, what do I like, why do I like some effects and patterns more than others as a way to interrogate your own aesthetic value system. It’s very cool to be an active participant in the creation of art and not restricted to a passive observer in a gallery of static art works." Jim Myrick
" Usha Shukla's Achillea won the Honorable Mention award by juror Jody Mattison. "Thank you Jody for your kind words", - Usha
"I found that this piece had a lot of interesting imagery and color. A lot of evocative movement; areas where my eyes can get rest and areas where my eyes can get more involved. It has wonderful areas of depth, translucence and opacity, sharp and soft edges, with a lot of wonderful and interesting play between them. I am left with an impression of floral or water, things that are moving in front, or back and forth, and being able to see through them to what is hidden and what is shown." - Jody Mattison
"The artworks by Usha Shukla communicate her artistic vision through the use of expressive colors, creative shapes and unique compositions. Viewing the balance of color, shape, and overall form is a welcoming and calming experience." Rachel Osajima, Art Juror about "Take a Breath Series"
"Seeing your painting, Usha, made me think of and look forward to the moment when I am finally okay. When I look at it, I can imagine what it will feel like to be okay and happy again. I would have made it my phone background or hung it at my apartment if I could, as a daily reminder of what life could hopefully be. So thank you for making something so beautiful and reminding me that one day I will be okay. You are very talented." Redditor
"Usha Shukla's soft color and forms reflect the title so beautifully. Utilizing pure abstraction, there is a delicacy and tenderness in the technique and mood. This shows how completely abstract forms can convey ineffable emotion." - Juror and Art advisor Philip M. Bewley about "Morning Light"
"Usha Shukla's painting Achillea 5 is now the focal point of our living room. Each time I view the painting I discover fresh aspects—the splash of rich auburn in one corner balancing the blues and purples in another—or a unique texture in a particular area I hadn’t noticed before. While the predominant theme of flowers is apparent, it also evokes a stormy sky, or an exalted spirit. Usha’s sophisticated sense of composition is evident. And unlike many abstract paintings, her art has a depth to it that draws you in and imparts a sense of drama." - Sharon Mahood, Collector, Fremont, CA
510 672 2858 [email protected]
"Paramount in Salma Arastu's life and her art is her faith in the unity of an all-embracing divinity and universal human values. Working with many layers of thin paint, her brush produces fluid shapes of joyful dancers set against abstract patterns." - Peter Selz Art Historian and former curator of Museum of Modern Art and founder of Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley.
"In her paintings Salma Arastu brings Arabic Calligraphy into dialogue with Western Modern art movements like Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting. Her use of thin washes of acrylic, geometric patterns and other elements result in a sense of deep mystery and profound color." -Terrence Dempsey Founding Director, Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, Saint Louis University.
"Arastu’s flowing lines stem from the influence of Persian culture on Islamic script while her concentric compositions reflect rotating Indian mandalas as symbols of the universe." - Dr. Cathleen Fleck Associate Professor of Art History at Saint Louis University.
" Salma Arastu is blessed with a fluent and lyrical visual language."
Professor Ricardo Viera Director / Curator, Lehigh University Art Galleries / Bethlehem, PA.
" If Salma Arastu's paintings attain their liveliness through a rubbing together of opposites at a conceptual level, a potent dynamism also operates within each composition in her painterly style. It is the mark of Arastu’s personal absorption of the stories she recasts. - William ZimmerArt Critic, New York Times New York City
" Julie reached out to help me with color balance and arrangement of furnishings and paintings for my apartment. She sensed my predilection for warm, bright color, mixed with subdued calm. Creatively, she began to arrange color combinations, with real life objects, in sets that provided a variety of exciting and elegant choices that I could make for my environment. And I’ve been happy ever since! " - Jonathan T. Berkeley, CA
" Julie is a gem! Her eye for color, texture, and patterns helped me to design my home in a beautiful neutral palette that made the artwork really stand out. Her enthusiasm is contagious! She listens well and helped me to design the space and art that is right for me. " -Roz M., Orange County, CA"
" Julie Cohn's watercolor creations have a dynamic and calming quality to them. She has a knack for creating just the right mood in a room to illuminate artwork as well as draw you into an inviting space. I so appreciate how she has enhanced our home with her beautiful art." - Debbie D. Shingletown, CA
"Julie Cohn’s work brings me peace. When my gaze rests on the images gracing my view, my heart calms, worlds open, I am at peace." -Wendy D. El Sobrante, CA
" I have known Sara for many years. Her recent Generative Art seems to me to incorporate all of her talents as an artist and programmer. This new iteration of her artistic expression is absolutely beautiful. Through these works, she presents us with a mesmerizing, ever changing dance of natural and geometric forms...while giving us a glimpse of the delight she takes in their mathematical origins. These images morph seamlessly using movement and luminous color to keep us engaged and spellbound. The effect is meditative and transforming." -Janice Rosenberg
" Sara Frucht welcomes you to experience her electronic creation ‘reVerb’, during which you’re offered the chance to interact with…Yourself! Once you present yourself in front of the screen, you slowly enter a multi-sensorial dialogue composed of (your own) interior mood shifts, feeling associations & the Rare Chance to Think Big Thoughts - that arise and dissolve in alignment with the continuously evolving multicolored, multi-toned complex shapes. Your marvelous sensory capacities self-generate a contemplative entertainment through the magic of Sara’s uniquely coded algorithm expressed through the power of pixels!" - Sande Green
" Reverb is a very compelling application for anyone who is interested in sacred geometry, mandalas and patterns. Sara Frucht is masterful in understanding how to write computer programs that produce art. While watching these geometries unfold consider that there is nothing to start but a blank screen – no seed images. Only an artist programmer like her could understand what makes something look good, what is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and write the code to do it. Artists practice for years mastering the craft of image making – while Sara has mastered the medium of computer code in a manner not unlike the painter. If you have the option to use the interactive version of reverb, contemplate while adjusting all the variables what makes this look so pleasing, what do I like, why do I like some effects and patterns more than others as a way to interrogate your own aesthetic value system. It’s very cool to be an active participant in the creation of art and not restricted to a passive observer in a gallery of static art works." Jim Myrick
" Usha Shukla's Achillea won the Honorable Mention award by juror Jody Mattison. "Thank you Jody for your kind words", - Usha
"I found that this piece had a lot of interesting imagery and color. A lot of evocative movement; areas where my eyes can get rest and areas where my eyes can get more involved. It has wonderful areas of depth, translucence and opacity, sharp and soft edges, with a lot of wonderful and interesting play between them. I am left with an impression of floral or water, things that are moving in front, or back and forth, and being able to see through them to what is hidden and what is shown." - Jody Mattison
"The artworks by Usha Shukla communicate her artistic vision through the use of expressive colors, creative shapes and unique compositions. Viewing the balance of color, shape, and overall form is a welcoming and calming experience." Rachel Osajima, Art Juror about "Take a Breath Series"
"Seeing your painting, Usha, made me think of and look forward to the moment when I am finally okay. When I look at it, I can imagine what it will feel like to be okay and happy again. I would have made it my phone background or hung it at my apartment if I could, as a daily reminder of what life could hopefully be. So thank you for making something so beautiful and reminding me that one day I will be okay. You are very talented." Redditor
"Usha Shukla's soft color and forms reflect the title so beautifully. Utilizing pure abstraction, there is a delicacy and tenderness in the technique and mood. This shows how completely abstract forms can convey ineffable emotion." - Juror and Art advisor Philip M. Bewley about "Morning Light"
"Usha Shukla's painting Achillea 5 is now the focal point of our living room. Each time I view the painting I discover fresh aspects—the splash of rich auburn in one corner balancing the blues and purples in another—or a unique texture in a particular area I hadn’t noticed before. While the predominant theme of flowers is apparent, it also evokes a stormy sky, or an exalted spirit. Usha’s sophisticated sense of composition is evident. And unlike many abstract paintings, her art has a depth to it that draws you in and imparts a sense of drama." - Sharon Mahood, Collector, Fremont, CA
510 672 2858 [email protected]