Opening Reception & Fundraising Gala :

Thursday, July 24, 2025

7pm - 10pm

Hosted by Dan McKeown

EVOKE brings together the works of Lesther Gutierrez and Azadeh Mohammadi in a powerful exploration of human emotion, identity, and the silent architectures we build—both within ourselves and around us. Through a shared interest in form, feeling, and the unseen, the exhibition reflects on what it means to evoke: to stir, to summon, and to give shape to the internal.

Both artists approach this inquiry through unique yet complementary lenses. Lesther Gutierrez’s layered compositions—spanning painting, sculpture, and hand-drawn animation—bridge abstraction with anatomy, engineering with emotion. Influenced by his Salvadoran heritage and multidisciplinary background, his work pulses with rhythm and structure, offering a visual language rooted in movement, memory, and cultural reflection.

Azadeh Mohammadi’s mixed media practice turns inward, using stripped-back, monochromatic portraits and figures to convey vulnerability, resilience, and the complexity of the human psyche. Her focus on the female form and subtle expressions creates space for stillness and introspection—inviting viewers to witness what often remains unspoken.

Together, their works form a conversation between the visible and invisible, the mechanical and the emotional, the bold and the quiet. EVOKE invites us to reflect not only on what we see, but on what we feel—and challenges us to consider how deeply those feelings shape the way we move through the world.

FEATURED ARTISTS:

Lesther Gutierrez is a multidisciplinary artist from El Salvador, based in Toronto. His work blends abstraction, anatomy, and geometric design to explore identity, culture, and the human experience. With a background in fine arts, animation, and music, Lesther creates across painting, hand-drawn animation, and sculptural metalwork. His ongoing series, Forma Mechanica, examines the tension between structure and emotion—bridging the mechanical and the organic through rhythm, movement, and form.

Azadeh Mohammadi is a self-taught mixed media artist whose work explores the emotional and psychological layers of the human experience. As a Persian woman and naturally quiet individual, she uses art as a form of voice and healing. Her monochromatic portraits and depictions of the female form reveal themes of vulnerability, inner struggle, and resilience. Through stripped-back, introspective compositions, Azadeh invites viewers to pause, reflect, and connect with the unspoken.