ATELIER JOLIE GALLERY
ARTISTS
Discover our expanding lineup of extraordinary artists!
Artists
Lee B Riley
"Imagine sitting in front of a young mother, looking her in the eye, and saying 'you have cancer.' My art is about what happens next," says Lee Riley.
Lee Riley is a cancer researcher and surgeon. Medical school prepared him well for complex cancer surgery but less so for confronting the emotional aspects of dealing with patients who are usually facing imminent death.
"I have spent the majority of my life learning and practicing my trade as a scientist and cancer surgeon," says Riley. "However, my training left me unprepared for the emotional weight associated with healing cancer patients. To become the physician I wanted to be, I needed to come to work every day fully recharged.
"My work starts as a mental fusion of nature’s vast minerals and all varieties and phases of glass. Conceptually these materials are worked to reflect hope, healing. and the underpinning thought that life is a gift."
With no formal training in glass or art, Riley sought classes and workshops, starting at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem PA. It was his cold glass workshop with Martin Rosol at Corning Museum where he envisioned combining his interest in minerals with his glasswork. There were no instructors for this, but with his background as a chemistry major, perseverance, and luck, Riley was able to succeed.
In addition to “healing thyself,” Riley began incorporating art into his medical practice. Initially, he donated his art to support numerous cancer fundraising events. He made 700 glass “pink ribbon” pendants for a local breast cancer race, and now he works with a resident artist at his medical office to help patients create glass pendants during their treatments.
His first gallery show was a successful solo event with regional artists, physicians, and patients attending. The majority of his work was sold. With growing confidence in his skillset and creativity, he began expanding his work to include other media, but almost always with glass!
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Lee B Riley
"Imagine sitting in front of a young mother, looking her in the eye, and saying 'you have cancer.' My art is about what happens next," says Lee Riley.
Lee Riley is a cancer researcher and surgeon. Medical school prepared him well for complex cancer surgery but less so for confronting the emotional aspects of dealing with patients who are usually facing imminent death.
"I have spent the majority of my life learning and practicing my trade as a scientist and cancer surgeon," says Riley. "However, my training left me unprepared for the emotional weight associated with healing cancer patients. To become the physician I wanted to be, I needed to come to work every day fully recharged.
"My work starts as a mental fusion of nature’s vast minerals and all varieties and phases of glass. Conceptually these materials are worked to reflect hope, healing. and the underpinning thought that life is a gift."
With no formal training in glass or art, Riley sought classes and workshops, starting at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem PA. It was his cold glass workshop with Martin Rosol at Corning Museum where he envisioned combining his interest in minerals with his glasswork. There were no instructors for this, but with his background as a chemistry major, perseverance, and luck, Riley was able to succeed.
In addition to “healing thyself,” Riley began incorporating art into his medical practice. Initially, he donated his art to support numerous cancer fundraising events. He made 700 glass “pink ribbon” pendants for a local breast cancer race, and now he works with a resident artist at his medical office to help patients create glass pendants during their treatments.
His first gallery show was a successful solo event with regional artists, physicians, and patients attending. The majority of his work was sold. With growing confidence in his skillset and creativity, he began expanding his work to include other media, but almost always with glass!
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Emily Strong
Emily Strong is a figurative oil painter based in Eastern Pennsylvania. Strong was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1992 and received her undergraduate degrees in Studio Art and Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Moravian University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2015. Her study of psychology and sociology has dramatically influenced her work's conceptual and formal aspects. Strong works primarily in oil on canvas, creating realistic, intimate depictions of figures and spaces that explore the many complexities of relationships with self, others, and environment, as well as existence, isolation, and identity.
Emily Strong
Emily Strong is a figurative oil painter based in Eastern Pennsylvania. Strong was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1992 and received her undergraduate degrees in Studio Art and Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Moravian University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2015. Her study of psychology and sociology has dramatically influenced her work's conceptual and formal aspects. Strong works primarily in oil on canvas, creating realistic, intimate depictions of figures and spaces that explore the many complexities of relationships with self, others, and environment, as well as existence, isolation, and identity.
Khalil Allaik
All the stories about the universe, the stars, the void, other dimensions, other worlds, black holes, galaxies—the distance of light.
I have searched for some way that I might see it all. How, in this short life, can I travel throughout this huge and limitless universe? I close my eyes, I dive within. I realize that the inner space is deep and infinite. There, inside, I travel. My artwork presents views I have captured in my travels through cities that I have built in the cavities of my mind. For me, the Void is a very flexible creature. It allows us to move through it easily, without resistance. My work is the dialogue between these two limitless universes, one within and one beyond. It is the dialogue between Matter and the Void.
Khalil Allaik
All the stories about the universe, the stars, the void, other dimensions, other worlds, black holes, galaxies—the distance of light.
I have searched for some way that I might see it all. How, in this short life, can I travel throughout this huge and limitless universe? I close my eyes, I dive within. I realize that the inner space is deep and infinite. There, inside, I travel. My artwork presents views I have captured in my travels through cities that I have built in the cavities of my mind. For me, the Void is a very flexible creature. It allows us to move through it easily, without resistance. My work is the dialogue between these two limitless universes, one within and one beyond. It is the dialogue between Matter and the Void.
Arta Brito
Arta Brito is a classically trained oil painter who has studied with various professional artists in New York City. She’s worked for the world-renowned Jeff Koons studios from 2014-2016, has had several group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. and is in the permanent collection of the Hunterdon Art Museum and Lehigh University Art Galleries. Brito’s work explores gender and queer themes inspired by both personal and current events. Her creative process serves as a vehicle for self-exploration and storytelling. Brito’s work often resists sociopolitical structures and illuminates historical events purposefully left out of academia.
Arta Brito
Arta Brito is a classically trained oil painter who has studied with various professional artists in New York City. She’s worked for the world-renowned Jeff Koons studios from 2014-2016, has had several group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. and is in the permanent collection of the Hunterdon Art Museum and Lehigh University Art Galleries. Brito’s work explores gender and queer themes inspired by both personal and current events. Her creative process serves as a vehicle for self-exploration and storytelling. Brito’s work often resists sociopolitical structures and illuminates historical events purposefully left out of academia.
Lucy Gans
Lucy Gans works with sculptural forms, drawing and printmaking to produce works that are image based revolving around issues related to social justice. She incorporates memory,history and biography in intimate ways, creating a space where women’s stories are articulated. She has exhibited widely, primarily in alternative spaces, women’s cooperative galleries, college and university galleries, and small museums; most recently in Philadelphia,Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Richmond. Her last major solo exhibition Reading Between the Lines, was at the Lehigh University Art Galleries in the Fall of 2023. Her work is included in public and private collections in the United States and abroad. She has received numerous grants, fellowships and awards including a National Association of Women Artists’ Medal of Honor. She earned her MFA from Pratt Institute in sculpture with a minor in drawing. She also studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League, and earned her BFA from Lake Erie College. She is a Professor of Art in the Department of Art, Architecture and Design and was the first holder of the Louis & Jane Weinstock ’36 Chair in Art and Architecture at Lehigh University where she teaches both in the art program and in the Women Gender and Sexuality Studies Program.
Lucy Gans
Lucy Gans works with sculptural forms, drawing and printmaking to produce works that are image based revolving around issues related to social justice. She incorporates memory,history and biography in intimate ways, creating a space where women’s stories are articulated. She has exhibited widely, primarily in alternative spaces, women’s cooperative galleries, college and university galleries, and small museums; most recently in Philadelphia,Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Richmond. Her last major solo exhibition Reading Between the Lines, was at the Lehigh University Art Galleries in the Fall of 2023. Her work is included in public and private collections in the United States and abroad. She has received numerous grants, fellowships and awards including a National Association of Women Artists’ Medal of Honor. She earned her MFA from Pratt Institute in sculpture with a minor in drawing. She also studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League, and earned her BFA from Lake Erie College. She is a Professor of Art in the Department of Art, Architecture and Design and was the first holder of the Louis & Jane Weinstock ’36 Chair in Art and Architecture at Lehigh University where she teaches both in the art program and in the Women Gender and Sexuality Studies Program.
Abbey Rosko
Abbey Rosko’s figurative oil paintings of interior scenes and landscapes imbue a photographic yet impressionistic quality. She paints from photographs she takes as well as movie scenes. Rosko’s paintings and imagery do not function to illuminate a specific narrative nor reveal behind-the-scenes details. Her paintings distill the figures and sets into painted dream-like visions that offer a glimpse into narrative – real or imagined. Rosko’s paintings are characterized by evocative renderings that imbue a strong sense of mood and atmosphere.
Abbey Rosko graduated from Moravian College in 2015. She was an active member of the NY Crit Club in Brooklyn, NY from late 2017 to 2018. Rosko currently exhibits regularly throughout the region including in New York City. Her work is on display at major art galleries in Bethlehem and Easton as well as the Allentown Art Museum and International Fusionism Museum. She is often commissioned to make paintings for art collectors in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the United States. Rosko resides in the tri-state and maintains her painting studio in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Abbey Rosko
Abbey Rosko’s figurative oil paintings of interior scenes and landscapes imbue a photographic yet impressionistic quality. She paints from photographs she takes as well as movie scenes. Rosko’s paintings and imagery do not function to illuminate a specific narrative nor reveal behind-the-scenes details. Her paintings distill the figures and sets into painted dream-like visions that offer a glimpse into narrative – real or imagined. Rosko’s paintings are characterized by evocative renderings that imbue a strong sense of mood and atmosphere.
Abbey Rosko graduated from Moravian College in 2015. She was an active member of the NY Crit Club in Brooklyn, NY from late 2017 to 2018. Rosko currently exhibits regularly throughout the region including in New York City. Her work is on display at major art galleries in Bethlehem and Easton as well as the Allentown Art Museum and International Fusionism Museum. She is often commissioned to make paintings for art collectors in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the United States. Rosko resides in the tri-state and maintains her painting studio in Easton, Pennsylvania.
T.R. Boyce, Jr.
T.R. Boyce, Jr. is an accomplished film producer and a versatile multi-media artist, renowned for his award-winning work in the film industry. Over the years, Boyce has collaborated globally with some of the most prominent talents in the industry. His notable associations include working with legends such as Steven Spielberg, Mike Nichols, Barry Jenkins, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, Sam Rockwell, and Al Pacino, among others. His first major feature film, "The Forgotten Kingdom," a captivating foreign language drama set in Southern Africa, garnered significant acclaim, winning three Africa Movie Academy Awards.
T.R. Boyce, Jr.
T.R. Boyce, Jr. is an accomplished film producer and a versatile multi-media artist, renowned for his award-winning work in the film industry. Over the years, Boyce has collaborated globally with some of the most prominent talents in the industry. His notable associations include working with legends such as Steven Spielberg, Mike Nichols, Barry Jenkins, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, Sam Rockwell, and Al Pacino, among others. His first major feature film, "The Forgotten Kingdom," a captivating foreign language drama set in Southern Africa, garnered significant acclaim, winning three Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Nancy Bossert
Classically trained in painting and drawing with a master’s degree received in 1977, and an additional art education degree in 1975. Nancy have taught in higher education and public education for 30 years and continues to instruct privately in small group classes, and provide portfolio preparation instruction.
She's been a practicing multidisciplinary artist for 50 years. With ease and passion, she moves from painting figurative and abstract work to stoneware and fiber arts.
Known for her versatility which comes from knowing her materials and that there are so many opportunities to explore every day. her paintings contain stories, or say a message sometimes overtly and many times what has stimulated a new piece. Iconography plays an additional part to her visual narrative.
ARTISTS STATEMENT
The quote” a jack of all trades is a master of none”, seems to relate to me, BUT understanding the entire quote “jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” completes me.
Having the wonderful opportunity to interact with many private and corporate collectors, is to create a personal dialogue is an unimaginable gift. I have national and international representation.
To give a philosophical reasoning for my work, just won’t happen in a paragraph. But to follow me and view the essential thread that connects all the dots of my life and artistic journey, is to begin to know me.
Nancy Bossert
Classically trained in painting and drawing with a master’s degree received in 1977, and an additional art education degree in 1975. Nancy have taught in higher education and public education for 30 years and continues to instruct privately in small group classes, and provide portfolio preparation instruction.
She's been a practicing multidisciplinary artist for 50 years. With ease and passion, she moves from painting figurative and abstract work to stoneware and fiber arts.
Known for her versatility which comes from knowing her materials and that there are so many opportunities to explore every day. her paintings contain stories, or say a message sometimes overtly and many times what has stimulated a new piece. Iconography plays an additional part to her visual narrative.
ARTISTS STATEMENT
The quote” a jack of all trades is a master of none”, seems to relate to me, BUT understanding the entire quote “jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” completes me.
Having the wonderful opportunity to interact with many private and corporate collectors, is to create a personal dialogue is an unimaginable gift. I have national and international representation.
To give a philosophical reasoning for my work, just won’t happen in a paragraph. But to follow me and view the essential thread that connects all the dots of my life and artistic journey, is to begin to know me.
Rigo Peralta
Fine artist with over 20 years of related work experience as an independent artist, skilled in all aspects of artistic creation from design concept, to project completion.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork represents the push and pull between humanity and machinery. I express this complex relationship with textures and brushstrokes within the human anatomy interlocked with mechanisms of cogs and wheels. I blend a rich palette of paints drawn from my ancestral Latino traditions to provide a panorama of compositions where classic meets abstract.
This artistic approach is unpredictable and affords me the opportunity to discover hidden anatomical forms as if a ghost were rising from nothing on the canvas. I then work to combine the mechanical forms as part of an organic transition. This final product I refer to as conditioned surrealism. That is, an awakening of the subconscious as it invites you to explore a series of hidden elements on the canvas that can alter your perception over and over with each viewing. My hope is for the viewer to become a part of the canvas' stories in my creations!
Rigo Peralta
Fine artist with over 20 years of related work experience as an independent artist, skilled in all aspects of artistic creation from design concept, to project completion.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork represents the push and pull between humanity and machinery. I express this complex relationship with textures and brushstrokes within the human anatomy interlocked with mechanisms of cogs and wheels. I blend a rich palette of paints drawn from my ancestral Latino traditions to provide a panorama of compositions where classic meets abstract.
This artistic approach is unpredictable and affords me the opportunity to discover hidden anatomical forms as if a ghost were rising from nothing on the canvas. I then work to combine the mechanical forms as part of an organic transition. This final product I refer to as conditioned surrealism. That is, an awakening of the subconscious as it invites you to explore a series of hidden elements on the canvas that can alter your perception over and over with each viewing. My hope is for the viewer to become a part of the canvas' stories in my creations!
Ana M. Hamilton
Ana was born in Cuba and have had the opportunity to study Fine Arts in various countries, including the USA, Cuba, and Spain. Her artistic journey has been enriched by participating in both group and solo shows across a wide range of locations. These include the Lehigh Valley, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, and back in my homeland, Cuba. Her work, deeply rooted in my Cuban heritage, draws from a rich tapestry of experiences and cultural influences.
Ana M. Hamilton
Ana was born in Cuba and have had the opportunity to study Fine Arts in various countries, including the USA, Cuba, and Spain. Her artistic journey has been enriched by participating in both group and solo shows across a wide range of locations. These include the Lehigh Valley, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, and back in my homeland, Cuba. Her work, deeply rooted in my Cuban heritage, draws from a rich tapestry of experiences and cultural influences.
Femi J. Johnson
Femi J. Johnson, born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania, demonstrated early artistic talent, particularly in graphite and charcoal drawing. This skill set him on a path to a professional career as a Master Draftsman & Designer, where he lent his expertise to notable companies like Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies. Over the years, Johnson created thousands of technical drawings, but eventually, he felt a compelling pull back towards the fine arts.
Femi J. Johnson
Femi J. Johnson, born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania, demonstrated early artistic talent, particularly in graphite and charcoal drawing. This skill set him on a path to a professional career as a Master Draftsman & Designer, where he lent his expertise to notable companies like Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies. Over the years, Johnson created thousands of technical drawings, but eventually, he felt a compelling pull back towards the fine arts.