About the artists
Alice Barreras paints from stories that feel half-remembered: Celtic myths, fairy tales, and folk beliefs that overlap history and fictional storytelling. Her work often features warriors, horses, and birds, holding still in moments of conflict or quiet aftermath. Influenced by folk art and narrative painting, she’s drawn to symbols that recur across time: silver offerings, omens, protective gestures. With a steady, composed hand, she paints what endures—not just violence or beauty, but the strange logic that ties them together. Her images hold a quiet care for how stories are told; and for the people and creatures inside them.
Nico Lown Heitz was born in Marin County, California, in 2003. He currently resides in San Francisco, continuing his work through painting. He has studied art at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Michigan, the University of Barcelona, Spain, and received his BA in Philosophy and Art at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2025. He is a three-time recipient of the Irwin grant for the continuation of artistic projects and a recipient of the John Faulkner Memorial Art Scholarship. Nico has exhibited his work at Munch Cafe and The Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery in Santa Cruz, and at The Faight and The Problem Library in San Francisco. He was also included in the MePaintsMe 2025 Open Call, exhibited on the MePaintsMe website.