First Friday Receptions with the Artists 6pm - 9pm Artist Talk, Thursday, April 2nd 6pm - 7:30pm Through their different artistic approaches, both Pete Sack & Alia El-Bermani use the portrait to reveal introspective stories about the complexity of what it is to be human, as well as to try to deeply connect with another. Various uses of objects and techniques in the artists’ work partially obscure the figure, creating ambiguity which reflects the universal intangible. Alia El-Bermani received her BFA in 2000 from Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach CA. Her paintings and drawings have been showcased in museums across the world. In 2015 her painting Paper Wishes was acquired by the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM), in Barcelona, Spain for their permanent collection. Pete Sack received his BFA in painting from East Carolina University in 1998. He works as the Artist in Residence at the SAS Institute. Sack’s artwork is in private & corporate collections and has appeared in Sports Illustrated and Walter Magazine.