Satellite Events

Echoes of Change and Origin presents a compelling exploration of humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world. Featuring the works of Deborah Moss Marris and Demetra Tassiou, whose layered approaches uncover profound narratives of transformation, memory, and connection.

Marris delves into the urgent themes of climate change and pollution. Through meticulously layered images of nature and animals, her work juxtaposes the beauty of the natural world with its fragility in the face of atmospheric and environmental degradation. Her pieces evoke a visceral sense of how external landscapes mirror the internal, the shifting climates within us shaped by a planet in flux.

In contrast, Tassiou, an immigrant from Greece, turns inward to reconstruct her ties to her homeland. Her abstracted, memory-driven compositions layer impressions of natural scenes, offering a dreamlike reimagining of a place both lost and retained in her psyche. Her work invites viewers to consider how landscapes are not merely physical spaces but repositories of identity, nostalgia, and cultural heritage.

Together, these artists illustrate the dualities inherent in our interaction with nature: external versus internal, global versus personal, degradation versus preservation. Their shared use of layering serves as both a technique and metaphor, symbolizing the interconnected strata of memory, identity, and environmental impact.

This exhibition not only highlights the unique approaches of these artists but also asks critical questions about our shared future. How do we reconcile the past with the rapidly changing present? What responsibilities do we hold as stewards of the environment? Through their layered visions, the artists prompt us to reflect on the imprints we leave on the earth, and the imprints it leaves on us.

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About Demetra Tassiou

Born and raised in Greece, Demetra received a Bachelor Arts Degree at University of Athens. Additionally, she completed a Masters in printmaking at University of Pennsylvania. During her studies, she accumulated several awards and scholarships from UPENN and Univ. of Athens. Throughout her profession-
al career, she has exhibited at group and solo shows at a variety of locations including academic institutions, private collections, galleries, and museums: UPENN’s Meyerson Hall, Rosemont College, Rowan College, Temple University, “Philagrafika” Selective Group Show, Crane Arts Building, Municipal Art Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece), Consulate General of Cyprus (New York). Addition- ally, she has contributed artwork to charity & fundraising organizations such as the American Heart Association where she designed the program collateral for the Annual Heart Ball. Her work has also been featured in CityPaper of Philadel- phia and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Statement
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My work is a heartfelt reflection of my roots and the land, I sometimes yearn for deeply, the sea and blue sky landscapes that resonate with my soul’s identity and the nature of my faraway homeland. Printmaking collages and acrylics on wood panels or canvases are my chosen mediums, each piece resembling the nature I strive to recreate. Inspired by the majestic deep ocean of our planet, I embark on a personal odyssey of exploration and self-discovery, pushing the boundaries of my creativity to reimagine nature. For me, composing on canvas, paper, or prints is more like writing a storybook filled with shapes, colors, and symbols, a narrative that invites the observer to interpret in their own unique way. I continue to research with my mind and observe with my eyes, charting my own path through a kaleidoscope of new images and hues. At the end, it is my hope that the beauty of this planet is preserved and continues to inspire us in the future.

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Deborah Moss Marris
She/Her/Hers

Artist Bio:
Deborah Moss Marris is an artist, teacher, and designer who lives in New Jersey. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions, and is included in the permanent collections of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Wills Eye Hospital, AECom, Korn Ferry International, Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadel-
phia and Artists Representing Environmental Art in New York. She was rep- resented by Bluestone Fine Art Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the
Hardcastle Galleries in Centreville and Wilmington, Delaware. As a designer, Deborah Moss Marris has created pieces for NFL Films, QVC, NBC Sports, Ercole NY, and was a featured Artist/Designer for ABC Carpet & Home. She is a Professor of Fine Arts at Camden County College, and heads the Visual Art program at Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Deborah Moss Marris received her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design, an MFA from Syracuse University, and is the recipient of three Ford Foundation Grants.

Artist Statement:
My work is generated from layering images. I combine industrial vistas observed through driving, plants grown in my garden, with birds and animals. For example, the Walt Whitman Bridge is combined with an invasive vine, and praying mantis in the painting ‘Put an Edge on It’. Wildfires and pollution create beautiful translucent effects. I am drawn to the visual aspects of these conditions while recognizing the reality of what creates those vistas. I explore how climate change and atmospheric conditions alter the landscape inside and outside of us.

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