Ann Marie Auricchio (b. 1972) creates paintings that examine the psychological dimensions of disruption and renewal. Her work uses bold sweeping abstract gestures inspired by geological and atmospheric elements to explore how moments of collapse contain generative potential.

Auricchio holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has been awarded residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been exhibited widely, with recent solo presentations at Ferrara Showman Gallery (New Orleans), SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York), and Michael Warren Contemporary (Denver). An upcoming solo exhibition is scheduled for fall 2025 at the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Alabama. Additional exhibitions include White Columns, The Painting Center, the Alexandria Museum of Art, and the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans.

Before dedicating herself full time to her studio practice, Auricchio spent over 25 years as a scenic artist and designer for film, theater, and television. Her work is held in private and public collections, including McNeese State University, Azamara Cruise Lines, and the Scott Companies. She has been reviewed in The Denver Post and Whitehot Magazine. She currently lives and works in New Orleans, Louisianna.

Michael Coppage (b. 1978) is a conceptual artist using an interdisciplinary, dialectical approach to address social issues surrounding race and language. Originally from Chicago, He has lived and worked in Cincinnati since 2007. Coppage is the a multiple recipient of Artswave’s Truth and Reconciliation grant, Ohio Pretrial Justice grant, and received Awesome Foundation grants in New York and Philadelphia. He is the recipient of the Ohio Arts Councils Individual Artistic Excellence award, Artist Opportunities Grant and The Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation Enlightenment Award.

He completed a TEDx Talk titled “Everybody’s Racist….and it’s O.K” and he gained international attention with his project “BLACK BOX”: a community impact project aimed at demystifying blackness and creating authentic experiences that replaces bias and preconceived notions related to “Black”.  This series has impacted over 2 million people in 43 countries and has been exhibited in Puerto Rico, American University in Paris, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 21c Museum Museum, Medici Museum, Ohio Arts Councils Riffe Gallery and at ArtCrawl Harlem on Governors Island in New York. Coppage has completed several public works in the United States and has works in both public and private collections in the United States and Asia.