TASWIRA

TASWIRA Gallery is proud to present Surrendering to Alchemy, a solo exhibition by Ariane Callender, marking TASWIRA’s first exhibition of 2025 and its first-ever solo presentation by an abstract artist. This highly anticipated showcase follows the gallery’s sold-out success with To the Ones Who Remain Unbroken by Cristina Martinez, solidifying TASWIRA’s role as a premier destination for collectors of contemporary art in Seattle.

About the Exhibition

For centuries, artists have sought transformation—not just of materials, but of meaning, perception, and experience. Abstraction, more than any other visual language, allows for this fluidity. It is an act of alchemy, where pigment and form dissolve into something intangible yet deeply felt.

In Surrendering to Alchemy, Ariane Callender explores the unseen forces that shape creation. Her work is a dialogue between control and surrender, intention and accident. Like the alchemists who sought to transmute base elements into gold, Callender experiments with materiality—layering texture, color, and gesture to encode meaning within the surface.

This theme of transformation became deeply personal after the birth of her first child. Motherhood, like alchemy, is an act of creation—one that is both intentional and unpredictable, both physical and intangible. Each painting in this exhibition reflects that journey of transition, renewal, and becoming.

This collection, curated by international art advisor John Wesley & TASWIRA founder Avery Barnes, features several new works by Callender alongside foundational pieces from the last few years, offering insight into her evolving artistic practice. Abstraction is transformative because it resists containment—one work can hold infinite interpretations, shifting in resonance over time. This exhibition embraces that dynamic, allowing the work to act as a vessel for the unexpected.

About the Artist: Ariane Callender

Ariane Callender is a self-taught abstract artist from New Orleans, Louisiana, now based in Seattle, Washington. The vibrancy of her hometown naturally emerges in her work through bold color choices and playful compositions. Inspired by nature, diverse cultures, and eclectic fashion, Callender frequently incorporates palette knives, molding paste, and sandpaper to create a tactile, multi-layered surface. Her paintings are meant to resonate emotionally—speaking to the heart and transforming spaces in profound ways.