Past Exhibitions

Currents is a gallery space dedicated to recognizing the work of emerging and evolving California artists. Featuring a different artist every two months, Currents presents a range of media, styles, and genres. 

Artist Statement

Nest Portraits - Birds build with what they find, artists find with what they build.

After years of collecting and admiring the beauty and craftsmanship of bird's nests, I created a series of Nest Portraits. I call them portraits, because each individual nest conveys a unique sensibility. Urban birds; mourning doves, finches, mocking birds, robins, hummingbirds, wrens and sparrows create in distinct styles, with personal flourishes and diverse choices of raw materials. I find inspiration in the care apparent in each nest and with these paintings, intend to capture the calligraphy of twigs, grass and tiny detritus. My connection to nests is both literal and metaphorical. An empty nester with strong nesting instincts, I infuse the paintings with my story as well. Nest Portraits is a tribute to the remarkability of common bird's nests.

About the Artist

Abira Ali is a Los Angeles based visual artist and arts educator. She spends time painting in her backyard-studio in Highland Park where she lives with her husband Gordon who is an artist as well. Abira paints in series with overlapping themes that converge and inform each other. She is inspired by the interaction of shadow, color, light and emotions.

Image: Abira Ali (b. 1961), Red Ribbon, 2023, gouache and pastel on paper, 15 x 20 in. Courtesy of the artist.