The Frontier Project

The Frontier Project, opening February 24, 2024, will consist of a group of seven (7) artists that WANTS/NEEDS curators have been hand-selecting over the previous year. This group of emerging artists has been chosen because we believe they are positively challenging the contemporary art scene. The artists include: Demi Boelsterli, Sofia Heftersmith, Jake Himovitz, Matt Hunter, Elijah Jimenez, Michael Matheson, and Jason Vivona. 

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Ca., 32-year-old Demi Boelsterli is a self taught artist. She enjoys a vast variety of mediums, including but not limited to painting, videography, poetry, photography, college, digital works, and sculptures. For the last decade Boelsterli has been creating and has no plan of stopping. Boelsterli has shown in dozens of group and solo shows throughout California, as well as having work publicly displayed in Tokyo, Japan.

Elijah Jimenez is a California based artist and musician who works in various media including oil, watercolor, sculpture and collage. In 2020, Jimenez received a BA in Studio Art from California State University of Channel Islands. Jimenez confronts the terror and wonder that occupy his thoughts by creating works that often critique aspects of the self, religion, politics, and society.

Jake Himovitz (b. 1991) is a father, painter, performer, designer, and educator. He holds an MFA from Columbia College of Chicago and a BA from Savannah College of Art and Design. Jake grew up in Santa Barbara, CA. He is a founding company member and designer of Proximity Theatre and has been devising new works of performance since 2008. Jake and his partner Kyra Lehman create theatrical productions, art events, and workshops bringing a rigorous embodied approach to creativity and community. Jake currently works at Santa Barbara High School as the Technical Director and Production Designer of the theater program. Jake’s work emerges from play, curiosity, and a meticulously wild archiving of images and meaning.

Matt Hunter is a multimedia artist living and working out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hunter received formal education from Pratt Institute and Carlow University, and is committed to growth in all areas as a lifelong learner. Matt’s paintings and design work can be seen in public and private collections around the US and he has shown in numerous exhibitions at art spaces including Gallery 4, 3G Gallery, and The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. Hunter derives much of his inspiration from his gathered experiences, interactions, and observations.

Michael Matheson’s work is bold and graphic in approach and focuses on the simplification of shape and form. Equally influenced by outsider art culture, art history, illustration, and design, he explores themes of memory, nostalgia, good vibes, and the human condition. His work incorporates elements of classic design, hand-drawn typography, geometric collage using vintage printed ephemera, and found objects.

Sofia Heftersmith is a self-taught, multi-disciplinary artist born and raised on the beaches of Southern California. Her love of art started with her parents, who both painted and exposed her to other artists and forms of art. Growing up submerged in skate and surf culture, she was influenced by the like-minded artists that made up Beautiful Losers, as well as art history icons Frida Kahlo, Philip Guston, Harry Who, Nancy Spero, Leon Golub, Picabia, Pauline Boty and countless others.

Jason Matthew Henry Vivona, born in Massachusetts, and now resides in Ventura with their lovely wife and two wonderful step kids. Not to mention Waffles and Rorschach, the actual rulers of the kingdom. Captain of his own, very awkward, ship.