Artist-in-Residence
Mary Anna Pomonis
July-August 2025
“I’m looking forward to using the Fire Fly Residency at Blue Roof as a space for focused creative regeneration. After losing my solo exhibition at Alto Beta Gallery to the Eaton fire just days after it opened, this residency offers a powerful opportunity to re-engage with the work and begin again. I’ll be developing a new series of drawings for my upcoming exhibition at Charlie James Gallery in December, as well as continuing work on She Who Made Me, a visual and poetic artist’s book. The book traces a matrilineal lineage of creative and mythological influence—reimagining art history as a sacred, intuitive archive of feminine power. Fire has taken much, but it has also clarified what matters. I’m grateful for the chance to rebuild in a space dedicated to transformation, resilience, and renewal.-Mary Anna Pomonis (portrait photo credit Yubo Dong Studios) (The MOV is of the gallery on fire. I haven't gone to take pictures of the gallery I haven't had the energy to go back to look ).”
-Mary Anna Pomonis, Firefly 2025 AiR
Artist Statement:
My practice explores the intersection of abstraction, sacred geometry, and feminist iconography through shaped paintings that function as both geometric objects and illusionistic spaces. Using commercial airbrush techniques, I create meticulously refined surfaces that challenge the boundary between painting and sculpture. My work draws from architectural ornament, Greek cultural motifs, and historical symbols of feminine power—manifesting in polyhedral structures that reference sacred spaces, celestial mapping, and protective shields.
Following the Eaton fire, where I lost an entire body of work, my practice has transformed into an act of resilience and response. Rather than recreating lost pieces, I am engaging in a dialogue with their absence—making paintings that react to what was lost, acknowledging the past while moving toward something new. These works act as meditative portals, balancing opulence with conceptual rigor, inviting the viewer into a space where energy, memory, and transformation converge in shifting geometries.
