Art Exhibitions by Sheryl Gillilan & Roxanne Bartel and Pablo Cruz-Ayala

Sheryl Gillilan & Roxanne Bartel – Juxtaposition

Sheryl Gillilan and Roxanne Bartel’s quilt exhibition celebrates the strength of contrast in all its manifestations. Although neither of the artists have formal degrees in art, they have been friends for 30 years and have honed their skills as quilters through the friendly ricochet of contrasting design concepts and critiques. Roxanne’s straight-line piecing and solid, hand-dyed fabrics are foils to Sheryl’s exacting circles and jubilant stripes and dots.

Sheryl Gillilan is an award-winning quilt artist who sees inspiration for quilt ideas everywhere – tile floors, rugs, graphic and modern art, landscapes, and architecture. Roxanne Bartel has been a quilt artist for over 25 years. She studied painting in college, and while experimenting with painting on fabric, she made the transition to quilting as an art form.

Pablo Cruz-Ayala – Intersections of an Immigrant

Pablo Cruz-Ayala’s exhibition is part of a research thesis aimed to examine the physiological impacts of immigrant storytelling and community health. Their artwork integrates multi-media portraiture framed by naturalistic environments that create a story with the South American themes of magic realism. They hope to add to the discussion of sharing challenges concerning intersectional cultural identities as an immigrant with a yearning for representation, connection, and discussion.

Pablo Cruz-Ayala explores the intersections between their Mexican/American heritage, status as an undocumented immigrant, and relationships in community and land through visual art. Cruz-Ayala is currently pursuing a dual bachelor’s education in Biomedical Engineering and Painting and Drawing at the University of Utah.

The Finch Lane Gallery is a program of the Salt Lake City Arts Council.