Alicia Flynn Cotter and Denise Banaag: Paper Trails

Alicia Flynn Cotter, Beaches – Kona, 2024, Mixed media collage, 12 x 12 inches

The artwork featured in this exhibition highlights the shared approaches and interests of mixed media artists Alicia Flynn Cotter and Denise Banaag. Both artists create beautiful natural imagery through their experimentation with materials and techniques. Found in both artists’ work in Paper Trails are repurposed materials, including coffee cup holders, book pages, and handmade recycled paper. Unconventional methods, like Cotter’s “collage paintings” and Banaag’s combination of wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques, are also showcased in the work on display.

Based in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, and a graduate of Russell Sage College, Banaag teaches at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, where she is also the kiln technician. Banaag draws inspiration from her childhood and parents, influenced by her father’s book collection and her mother’s passion for birds. Cotter lives in Mountainside, New Jersey, is a graduate of Boston College and Kean University, and works as an instructor at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. Her work incorporates a range of media and tools to create vibrant and textured natural scenes. Her most recent work utilizes cold wax and palette knives.

Denise’s Instagram: @fivebirdsstudio
Alicia’s website: www.brushandquilldesigns.com