Come on In is based on a shared interest in tension between the depiction of domestic spaces and an exploration of paint as a material. These paintings record the gesture of the hand of the artist, as well as the characteristics of oil and water-based paint, while the familiarity of furniture and other household items orients the viewer and enables them to develop their own narrative for what is happening. Whether the imagery is fabricated, or derived from actual locations, these paintings are both specific and universal.
About Ekaterina Popova
Ekaterina Popova’s paintings explore the idea of home as a way in which her separate cultural experiences of living in both the United States and Russia can exist together. Beginning with a collection of elements that include old photographs, images, magazine cutouts, books, and other found imagery and ephemera, Popova fuses them into a cohesive painting that reflects her memories of both places. The founder of Fresh Paint Magazine, Popova has a BFA in painting from Kutztown University. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including galleries in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Flint, Michigan.

About Erika Stearly
Erika Stearly’s paintings depict the clutter of household objects as a way to contemplate multiple approaches to paintings, notably representational image-making with abstractions emphasize materiality. Based on photographs of actual domestic spaces, these paintings depict the eclectic items used to furnish and decorate the apartments of college students. Most recently the Emerging Artist in Residence at Penn State Altoona, Stearly has an MFA in painting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a BFA in painting from Kutztown University. She is the recipient of grant funding from the Black Rock Arts Foundation for her work with Take a Painting, and interactive painting installation that was exhibited at Eckhaus Gallery, in Kutztown, and Studio B, in Boyertown in, 2014.