STEVEN BARIS | BRANDON J. DONAHUE-SHIPP | KEVIN FINKLEA | RAYMOND SAÁ | ERIK SPEHN | DERRICK VELASQUEZ

MAY 23 - JULY 19, 2025

OPENING RECEPTION & DIALOGUE: Friday May 23 | 6 - 8 PM. Dialogue with the artists 6 - 6:30 PM

Pentimenti is pleased to present Invisible Strings, a group exhibition featuring six gallery-represented artists. Inspired by the concept of the "invisible string theory," which suggests that all humans are connected by unseen bonds, this exhibition explores how these intangible ties manifest through art.

STEVEN BARIS | The Stations of Attention series explores cognition and consciousness, using the map as a graphic representation of invisible temporal processes and the dynamic relationship between space and time.

BRANDON J. DONAHUE-SHIPP | Brandon’s new work, Football Bloom, searched for and found footballs and shoelaces are recontextualized into intricate, mandala-like compositions. Arranged in symmetrical formations, the work evoke a sense of resilience and collective memory. The footballs bear marks of use, linking past histories, specific places, and the presence of human touch.

KEVIN FINKLEA | Spring serves as the ultimate muse in this new work, blending vibrant colors and fresh aromas to define the season. Finklea captures an invisible yet profound connection between the fleeting nature of spring and the bond between a man and his best friend, a relationship marked by strength, yet not everlasting.

RAYMOND SAÁ | Saá’s works on paper are gouache collages assembled by sewing together individual pieces. Drawing inspiration from Cuban jazz and theater, his work celebrates culture, persona, and his Cuban heritage.

ERIK SPEHN | Among the essential formal elements in Spehn’s paintings, the drawn line emerges as the most compelling and defining force for the artist.

DERRICK VELASQUEZ | Untitled is a series shaped by personal experiences that have deeply impacted the artist. Each layer of marine vinyl, meticulously placed one atop another, represents a memory or connection, fusing into a cohesive, tactile narrative.

For inquiries, please contact mail@pentimenti.com or +1 215 625 9990. The gallery is free and open to the public.

ADDITIONAL EVENT | OLD CITY GALLERY WALK: Friday, June 6 | 5 - 8 PM

STEVEN BARIS received his MFA from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. He studied at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, and Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. Baris has exhibited widely in the US and internationally, in such museums and institutions as: National Museum, Lublin, Poland; Wilhelm Morgner Museum, Soest, Germany; Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA; Institute of Visual Arts in Kielce, Poland; Museum St. Wendel, Germany; Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Penzance, UK; The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA; Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT; Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE; Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ; Atelierhof Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany; INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL OF NON-OBJECTIVE ART, Pont de Claix, France; Kunstlerhaus Dosenfabrik, Hamburg, Germany; Carnegie Mellon University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA; University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX; The Drawing Center, New York, NY, and more. Baris is a multi year recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. His work is included in numerous corporate and private collections across North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as the museum collections of National Museum, Lublin, Poland, and Copelouzos Museum, Athens, Greece.

BRANDON J. DONAHUE-SHIPP received his BFA from Tennessee State University and his MFA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He has exhibited nationally and internationally at McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD; Frist Museum, Nashville, TN; 13th Havana Biennial, Matanzas, Cuba; South Kentucky Performing Arts Center, Bowling Green, KY; Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, GA; McKenna Museum, New Orleans, LA; Athica Institute for Contemporary Art, Athens, GA; and many others. He is the recipient of the MSAC Public Art Across Maryland Planning Grant; Tanne Foundation Award, alongside numerous other awards and grants. His work resides in numerous permanent collections including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; The Cordish Art Collection, Hanover, MD; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Metro Arts Nashville, Nashville, TN; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN; Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD; Arrowmont School of Craft, Gatlinburg, TN; Cordish Collection, Hanover, MD; and more. 

KEVIN FINKLEA received his BA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at such museums and institutions as: Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art, Ukrainian House, Kiev, Ukraine; Museum St. Wendel, Germany; Shirley Fiterman Art Center, New York, NY; Boecker Contemporary, Heidelberg, Germany; Saarländishes Künstlerhaus, Saarbrücken, Germany; KNO Lab. Space, Kyiv, Ukraine; Ely House of Contemporary Art, North Haven, CT; Faux Mouvement Center d'Art Contemporain, Metz, France; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Kunstraum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; Neue Kunstmuseum Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg, Germany; Kunstmuseum Ahlen, Ahlen, Germany; Visual Arts Center of NJ, Summit, NJ; Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA; 37PK Platform for the Arts, Haarlem, Holland; 2nd Biennial of Non-Objective Art, Pont de Claix, France; Paris Concret, Paris, France; Künstlerhaus Dosenfabrik, Hamburg, Germany; among others. His works are found in private and in selected public collections: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Bridgepoint Capital Limited, London, England; Wilmington Trust Fund, New York.

RAYMOND SAÁ received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his MFA from the Parsons School of Design. He exhibited at Untitled Art Miami Beach; White Columns, New York, NY; Queens Museum, Bulova Center, Queens, NY; Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ; Chautauqua Visual Arts Gallery, Chautauqua, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, CA; Islip Museum, Islip, NY; Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ; and more. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL; New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; Queens Museum of Art, NY; NYC Public Art for Public Schools, NY; among others. In 2023, the Philadelphia Museum of Art commissioned Saá, along with four other artists, to create artwork inspired by the exhibition “Matisse in the 1930s” taking place at the museum. Saá’s awards and residencies include the Joan Mitchell Center Artist-in-Residence Program, New Orleans, LA; the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY; the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, New York, NY; and the Public Art for Public Schools commission for PS 357X, New York, NY.

ERIK SPEHN received his BFA from the University of Michigan School of Art, Ann Arbor, MI. He has exhibited at museums and institutions including The Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Saarländisches Künstlerhaus, Saarbrücken, Germany; Centre d'art Contemporain, Metz, France; and more. His work is in numerous public and private collections including Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo, NY; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; Microsoft, Arlington, VA; among others.

DERRICK VELASQUEZ received his BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his MFA from Ohio State University. Velasquez has exhibited his works at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO; the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO; Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum, Denver, CO; Herron School of Art and Design, Indianapolis, IN; Drexel University, Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Center for Visual Art, Denver, CO; VAC University of Colorado, Boulder, CO; RedLine Contemporary Art Center, Denver, CO; FOCA Biennial, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO; Untitled Art ‘24, Miami, FL; and more. He has been awarded by MacDowell Colony Fellow 2019; MassMoCA Assets for Artist Residency 2018 - 2019; Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant 2017; Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum Artist Fellow 2015; Colorado Creative Industries Career Advancement Award 2015; and more. Derrick Velasquez is in the public collections of Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; Metropolitan State University of Denver; Miami University, Oxford, OH; Colorado Convention Center; etc. and in numerous private collections.