Liz Tran and Elizabeth Gahan team up as Chromatopia to create a psychedelic and immersive installation at Punch. Organic forms with hard edges radiate with vibrant colors, light and energy, inspiring a transformative experience during the Seattle winter doldrums. In Magic Portal Tran and Gahan contribute specific symbols and forms that reflect their personal bodies of work. As their marks are repeatedly layered, they meld together to create something uniquely Chromatopia; an otherworldly installation in part referencing nature, with the remainder referencing pure imagination and color mania.

Magic Portal features an enclosure with a crystalline exterior and a womb-like interior. The faceted exterior references crystal forms found throughout nature, ubiquitous and familiar, yet exuding a magical quality. The interior space softly pulses with colored light, creating a meditative environment that transports viewers from all things dreary and gray to an inspired, creative state of mind. Through the use of vibrant colors and animated lighting, the installation offers an alluring, stimulating, yet soothing escape.

Liz Tran’s artwork is influenced by the connection between the natural world and her internal environment. She expresses this internal world through vibrant color and deeply personal symbolism. Tran is a graduate in Print Art and Painting from Cornish College of the Arts, exhibits both nationally and internationally, has work in numerous public collections and has received multiple awards for her work.

Elizabeth Gahan’s artwork explores the use of color and landscape as it relates to the everyday experience of our natural and built environments. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara and has an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. Gahan has created many public art projects throughout the region receiving the 2014 Americans for the Arts year in review recognition. She also exhibits paintings locally and has received numerous awards for her work.