Pandemic inspired, a vivid exploration of color, memory, and music

A 2,000 sq. ft. studio, provided by a local brewery, became both a sanctuary and a laboratory for massive, experimental expression. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - A new display, titled All the Silver and Gold, is an art exhibition featuring works by Adam O'Day, Pete Cosmos, Merk, and Ivonne Blanco, on view in the Bernier Room at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center.

In the thick of the global pandemic of 2020--a time of collective heartbreak, isolation, and profound uncertainty--a creative spark found its way into an unexpected space. A 2,000 sq. ft. studio, provided by a local brewery, became both a sanctuary and a laboratory for massive, experimental expression. What began as a solitary exploration by Adam O'Day quickly evolved into a collaborative force when friends Pete Cosmos, Merk, and Ivonne Blanco joined in. Together, the four artists created over a dozen large-scale works that served as vessels for processing grief, joy, anxiety, and hope.

Fueled by the rhythmic pulse of Nigerian Funky Disco--particularly the transcendent sounds of William Onyeabor's Good Name, with its telling lyric "silver and gold"--the sessions were part therapy, part celebration. These paintings are layered with the chaos and calm we all felt: fractured figures, vivid collisions of color, random symbolism, and collaged moments that echo the fragmented nature of memory and emotion during a global crisis.