Opening Reception: Murdza/Moore

Gilded Pear Gallery is excited to present two spring solo exhibitions : "level influx” by Thérèse​ Murdza in the main gallery- and- “Mirabilia” by Jillian Moore, on view in the 2nd floor gallery. Receptions are free to attend and are open to the public. Appetizers and drinks are complimentary. Explore two featured exhibitions and salon-style sales galleries during the event. All works are available for purchase online and in-gallery.

"Level Influx" Main Floor Exhibition

Since 2001, painter Thérèse Murdza has used colors and shapes inspired by her synesthetic experience to make paintings to engage and enliven people where we work, rest, and gather. Seeing sound, hearing words, feeling under language for a visual pulse -- her childhood musical training remains an influence, as do her years as a writer and meditator. level influx: Making Steady in Turbulent Times features Murdza’s signature bright, richly textured paintings, exploring interaction both visually and tactilely through paint and pencil markings on unstretched canvas and works on heavy paper. The pieces offer a variety of portals for ‘finding steady’ by gently guiding the viewer’s focus and perspective. In many of the works, Murdza incorporates a horizon line — inviting an element of intimacy with distance — and thoughtfully pairs selections to invite the viewer to encounter ‘places to land’ amidst an influx of juxtapositions, patterns, and colors. The exhibit reflects Murdza’s mission to uphold the province of the artist to make and share art as part of the sustaining weave of collective and deep encouragement amidst turbulent times.

Murdza’s artworks have been featured in publications such as Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine, The Oregonian, Portland Monthly, Oregon ArtsWatch, and as cover artist for Artslandia: Portland’s Performing Arts Annual. Her paintings are held in commercial, residential, and museum collections throughout North America including those in Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD among many others. Thérèse Murdza has been a grant recipient, artist-in-residence, and has initiated independent study opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. She has participated in arts-related educational activities throughout her career and offers 1:1 mentoring sessions for emerging and established artists

https://www.gildedpeargallery.com/level-influx

"Mirabilia": 2nd Floor Gallery

Jillian Moore is an artist and writer based in rural Cedar County, Iowa. Moore’s work, rooted in metalsmithing and expanded through experimental resins and plastics, explores the intersection of biological forms and the fantastical. In Mirabilia, Moore presents objects that are exuberantly uncanny—juicy candy colors and vibrant patterns collide across shapes reminiscent of fruiting bodies, organs, mineral specimens, and cell diagrams. Crafted from repurposed styrofoam and encased in layers of paint, resin, and glitter, the work defies expectations with forms that feel both botanical and mineralogical, but with intentionally disorienting shifts in scale and structure. Each piece invites the viewer to confront the unknown with curiosity, humor, and a sense of wonder. These works are not just artistic explorations but an invitation to embrace discomfort and to find beauty in the unfamiliar. “For the viewer who looks at the world through the same lens that I do, one where we should approach the unknown with enthusiastic curiosity, I hope I have given them comfort that they are not alone.”

Moore's work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, with recent exhibitions in Munich Jewellery Week, a "new artist feature" at Galerie Prunkwerk in Hamburg, and a group exhibition with the Haarlems Sieraad Collectief in the Oude Lutherse Kerk in Amsterdam. Moore's work can be found in the collections of the Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, and the Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC.

https://www.gildedpeargallery.com/mirabilia