By Jenn Walker, March 2025 / Official Press Release
In a city that thrives on reinvention, Bushwick Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, Metamorphosis: Transformations in Art, is a timely exploration of change—both personal and collective. Running from March 6 to March 13, this group show, curated by multidisciplinary artist Paridhi Chawla, brings together a diverse selection of artists who challenge the notion of permanence.
From abstract paintings to textile sculptures, photography to conceptual installations, the works on display delve into the fluidity of identity, environment, and memory. Each artist approaches transformation from a unique angle—whether through material evolution, psychological exploration, or the physical act of creation itself.
Art in Motion: How Artists Capture Change
Transformation is not a singular moment but an ongoing process, something seen vividly in Gina Keatley’s Aurora series. Through layered textures and shifting color palettes, Keatley’s six-panel piece Solace Break reflects the movement of light across time, mirroring the way experiences shape and reshape us. “I’m drawn to capturing things as they are becoming, not just as they are,” Keatley explains. “Every moment is a step forward, even if it doesn’t feel that way.”
Amos Jin’s work takes a more surreal approach. Their painting Hypnosis was inspired by a discarded neurology book, reimagining the human mind as an infinite, shifting landscape. The work’s iridescent layers suggest that cognition itself is in constant motion—thoughts forming, dissolving, and reforming in an endless cycle.
French-American painter Laurent Lanneau leans into the tension between chaos and control in his piece Soul Searching, a textural composition of ink and acrylic that feels both spontaneous and intentional. “I think transformation is messy,” says Lanneau. “We like to think it’s linear, but in reality, we go in circles before we move forward.”
For some artists, metamorphosis is a deeply personal narrative. Julia Fennell’s self-portrait Self-Portrait of Salvation in Chicago is a meditation on resilience and rebirth. Through luminous oil glazes, she transforms her own experiences into a visual dialogue on vulnerability and empowerment. “The act of painting itself is part of my transformation,” Fennell says. “Each brushstroke is a conversation with who I was and who I’m becoming.”
The Body as a Site of Change
Tanvi Shaha’s work Blank Canvas ?! takes a conceptual approach to transformation, layering paint and photographic elements to explore how memories are both preserved and erased. “There’s this idea that we can start over with a ‘blank slate,’ but in reality, every experience lingers beneath the surface,” she explains. Her work questions whether true reinvention is ever possible or if transformation is simply an adaptation of what has already existed.
Dirty Archangel uses photography to challenge perceptions of power and vulnerability. His works Caught in the Net and Nowhere to Run explore restraint as both a physical and emotional state, disrupting traditional narratives of masculinity and submission. Through carefully composed lighting and shadows, his images blur the lines between entrapment and liberation.
Yiqi Zhao’s Limited Strength series takes a similar approach but through intricate ballpoint pen drawings. Her piece Escape features strands of hair intertwining through a vortex, acting as both a tether and a tool for liberation. “Hair is something deeply personal and symbolic,” Zhao explains. “It can be a sign of control, beauty, or even rebellion.”
Textile artist Jess Sumpter’s work first contact merges fabric, embroidery, and paint to depict the moment of creation—where thought transforms into form. The stitched threads and woven textures suggest both fragility and resilience, a tactile representation of emergence and evolution.
Cycles of Growth and Repetition
For some, transformation is not about reinvention but about revisiting the past with new understanding. Jonathan Westfield’s silkscreened piece Blue Hour layers abstracted forms to capture the stillness between endings and beginnings. “The patterns in my work are repetitive, but they shift ever so slightly,” he says. “It’s like when we revisit old memories—we see them differently each time.”
Natalja Heybroek pushes the boundaries of artistic materials with her Primaeval Lens series, where bacteria are embedded in resin. Works like Rooted Morality change depending on light and time, illustrating transformation as an organic, ongoing process. “These pieces are alive in a way,” Heybroek notes. “Everything is in constant movement, continually evolving. People, plants and objects, they all go through a process of creation and degradation.”
The Power of Transformation in Art
Curator Paridhi Chawla has carefully assembled a selection of artists who embody the many facets of metamorphosis, whether through physical material, emotional growth, or conceptual evolution. As a South Asian artist with a background in interior architecture, Chawla’s own work often navigates themes of cultural identity and change. “Transformation is at the core of how we interact with the world,” she says. “This exhibition is about acknowledging that nothing remains static—not our environments, not our bodies, not even our thoughts.”
At its heart, Metamorphosis is an invitation to engage with change—not as something to fear, but as something to embrace. Whether through luminous abstractions, surreal landscapes, or deconstructed forms, the artists featured in this exhibition remind us that transformation is the only constant.
Featured Artists – Metamorphosis: Transformations in Art
- Gina Keatley (Abstract Expressionist) – Solace Break captures the fleeting nature of transformation through shifting light and layered textures. Using her signature Rainfall Drip Technique, Keatley’s six-panel composition reflects the tension between stillness and change.
- Amos Jin (Surrealist Multidisciplinary Artist) – Hypnosis reimagines a brain scan with iridescent hues, exploring the ever-shifting nature of thought and perception. Layers of translucent paint mirror the complexity of human cognition—fractured, evolving, and infinite.
- Laurent Lanneau (Abstract Painter) – Soul Searching examines the chaos and control of transformation through bold textures and layered acrylic compositions. His work embraces raw, instinctual energy while maintaining an introspective depth.
- Julia Fennell (Oil Painter & Portrait Artist) – Self-Portrait of Salvation in Chicago is a luminous meditation on rebirth, vulnerability, and self-discovery. Through rich oil glazes and symbolic imagery, Fennell transforms personal reflection into a universal exploration of resilience.
- Tanvi Shaha (Installation and Mixed Media Artist) – Blank Canvas ?! challenges the notion of reinvention by layering paint and photographic elements to reflect how memory, identity, and history are never fully erased, only transformed.
- Dirty Archangel (Photographer & Conceptual Artist) – Caught in the Net and Nowhere to Run use striking compositions to challenge societal narratives of power, vulnerability, and the transformation that occurs when one surrenders to self-exploration.
- Natalja Heybroek (Experimental & Abstract Artist) – Rooted Morality from the Primaeval Lens series incorporates bacteria as a painting medium, illustrating transformation as an organic, ever-evolving process. The iridescent bacterial forms shift with time, mirroring the impermanence of thought and identity.
- Yiqi Zhao (Surrealist Illustrator & Ink Artist) – Escape from the Limited Strength series uses intricate ballpoint pen work to depict strands of hair acting as both a tether and a tool for liberation. Zhao’s work explores the tension between cultural constraints and personal transformation.
- Jess Sumpter (Textile & Fiber Artist) – first contact merges embroidery, wool, and paint to explore the moment of emergence—where raw energy and intention take form. Sumpter’s intricate threadwork symbolizes both fragility and resilience in the act of becoming.
- Jonathan Westfield (Printmaker & Silkscreen Artist) – Blue Hour captures the cyclical nature of transformation through shifting patterns and layered silkscreen prints. Westfield’s work reflects the quiet moments between endings and beginnings, emphasizing that change is rarely linear.
Each of these artists brings a unique perspective to the theme of Metamorphosis, demonstrating that transformation can be personal, environmental, emotional, and conceptual. Through their diverse practices, they reveal that nothing remains fixed—everything is in motion, always becoming something new.
