Alissa Davies and Courtney Cotton, both Denver and Boulder-based abstract artists, will open a new exhibit at the Boulder JCC Messinger Gallery on Thursday, September 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Courtney Cotton and Alissa Davies met while enrolled in a Colorado Business Committee for the Arts business group. They immediately connected over the power of creating art, working with intuition, and using art to process life. Having been approached by Alice Messinger of the Boulder JCC Messinger Gallery, Cotton immediately invited Davies to participate in the exhibit, believing the two would create work that would complement each other. 

The centerpiece of the exhibit is Transition, guided by intention and intuition. Both Davies and Cotton set out to create pieces that were honest about their world's internal happenings and centering the power of intuition and the body to execute these intentions. Deeply influenced by the natural world, the work in Transition also speaks to the healing and resourcing time that nature can provide. The exhibit serves as a vulnerable and vibrant testament to the power of remaining present in what is and using art-making as a vehicle for processing the present. 

“This body of work directly correlates to a recent move from Boulder and grapples with what makes a home. It explores what it means to put down roots and adapt to surroundings and the rawness that immense transition can expose. Nature is my balm through it all, as well as the process of making”, says Davies. “Setting a clear intention before starting each piece helps me create spatial & organic shapes that invite viewers to contemplate and find peace,” comments Cotton on the seven new paintings she made for the exhibition. 

Both Davies and Cotton hope that viewers feel an emotional response to the work that allows them to examine their relationships with their innermost sensations and transitional occurrences. More than ever in our digital age, it is paramount to have in-person experiences with artwork, to stand in front of a piece, and to have an interchange that cannot be replicated through a screen. 

Please visit the Boulder JCC website to register online for the opening of the new Courtney Cotton and Alissa Davies art exhibit.