An art professionals panel for high school & college students

Six mid- to late-career artists form our panel on December 18th. These Korry Fellows are working at The Norwalk Art Space for the 2021-2022 year as mentors for earlier-career artists as well as high school students in the area:

Joseph Fucigna (www.fucigna.com; @fucigna) Joseph Fucigna is a multimedia artist whose work is rooted in process, play and the innate qualities of the materials used. Through experimentation, play and innovation he creates sculptures that are known for their power to transform materials, inventiveness and odd but suggestive subject matter.

Lizzy Rockwell (www.lizzyrockwell.com; www.thealltogetherquilt.com; @rockwellizzy) Lizzy Rockwell is an author/illustrator, teacher, muralist, and community quilter. She has designed and led communal production of art quilts which hang in public places around Connecticut. Lizzy is the illustrator of numerous games and over 30 children’s books, nine of which she also wrote, including Plants Feed Me, How Do You Feel? and The All-Together Quilt. Lizzy serves as artistic director for Peace by Piece: The Norwalk Community Quilt Project, an intergenerational after-school art program which she began in 2008.

Kelly Rossetti (www.kellyrossetti.com) Kelly Rossetti is a contemporary abstract and figurative painter based out of Westport, CT. While primarily self-taught, she studied classical oil painting at a small Atelier in NYC where she credits getting her foundation and love of the figure. Kelly works in both Acrylic and Oil and often utilizes an array of mixed media to achieve depth, texture and marks.

Jahmane West (www.artofjahmane.com; @artofjahmane) JAHMANE's career as an artist began in the form of "Graffiti" and has evolved into a wide spectrum of mediums including works on canvas, photography, fashion design, screen printing, graphic design, large scale murals and interior design. With years of formal training and living through his art, JAHMANE has developed a unique style that combines social awareness, spirituality, mythology and abstract language in a way that intrigues all who view his work. Motivated by the idea that "Art" is for the viewer's eyes and mind, JAHMANE's work is a constant critique of the world around him fused with thought provoking concepts and imagery, which has been exhibited extensively through galleries, museums, publications and urban environments from which his talents were born.

Tara Blackwell (www.bwellstudios.com; @taramariebwell) Tara Blackwell is a mixed media pop artist working in Connecticut and New York. Raised in a household of artists, Tara was immersed in different artistic styles and modalities from a young age. Experimenting with a variety of mediums and techniques, Tara employs bold colors, layers, and texture, often incorporating nostalgic pop culture to explore contemporary social issues.

Duvian Montoya (Artistic and Educational Director of TNAS; www.duvianmontoya.com; artisticdirector@thenorwalkartspace.com; @duvianmontoya) Duvian Montoya is an Artist, Muralist, Studio Manager, Curator, and Community organizer. His murals and installations can be seen in public spaces in Westport and New Haven, CT., London England and throughout Norwalk, CT. Other works have been collected by Disney, Gulfstream Worldwide, Housatonic Community College, Mattatuck Museum, and SONO Collection. He co-founded 2 Fairfield County Arts organizations, "The Saint Philip Artist Guild" SPAG (Norwalk) in 2009 and "The Artists Collective of Westport" in 2014. Duvian was gallery director of the Peanut Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, assistant curator/installer at General Electric worldwide, in Fairfield, CT., and has curated and juried over 50 exhibitions. Duvian is also Studio Manager of world-renowned realist painter Robert Cottingham. Duvian’s painting philosophy is based on telling the story of our present lives for future generations to build on like our ancestors did in caves 10,000 years ago. He says, "by studying our visual history, we can see our evolution and strive for a better tomorrow through a sophisticated visual language." His recent works speak to the need for human connection in this time of socially distancing and isolation. Other works depict individual meditative moments, Architecture and its function as a cultural reference to its people and place, and other works deal with the need to stand united against injustice toward our black and brown brothers and sisters.