Meet the artists at Villa Purcell
Debra Van Tuinen
Debra Van Tuinen’s work captures the luminous interplay between light, movement, and the natural world. Rooted in abstraction yet deeply connected to landscape, her paintings embody a meditative balance between serenity and intensity. Through layering oil and acrylic on canvas, Van Tuinen creates compositions that evoke both the passage of time and the timeless stillness found in nature.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, the artist draws inspiration from the atmospheric qualities of her surroundings—the shifting light, mist, and reflections of water. Over the course of her career, Van Tuinen has developed a distinct visual language that merges physical texture with emotional resonance, inviting viewers into a space of quiet contemplation. Her work was selected for the 2004 Florence Biennale and has been hung in U.S. embassies abroad. She also received the 2022 Thurston Economic Development Council Economic Courage Award for her commitment to the arts in the Olympia community.
Based in Olympia, WA
Moises Ortiz
Moises Ortiz’s paintings inhabit the space where cubist geometry meets urban dynamism. With deep roots in abstraction, his works navigate a lively terrain of form, colour and texture—invoking both the architectural precision of early modernism and the pulsing energy of street art.
In his compositions, layered acrylics, oils and spray paint converge into vibrant fields of collision and harmony, where each shape becomes a signal, each gesture a rhythm.
Based in Los Angeles and exhibiting worldwide, Ortiz draws inspiration from the city’s light, movement and graphic infrastructures.
Ortiz’s contributions have been recognized across major venues and platforms.
The artist holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the Faculty of Arts and Design (FAD) at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). His paintings are included in private and public collections, and he continues to exhibit both regionally and internationally.
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Jason Trotter
Peter Scherrer’s paintings are vibrant imprints of transition—bold in colour and layered in gesture. A Swiss-born painter now working in Southern California, his canvases capture the energy of place, memory and change.
He begins each piece on a luminous yellow ground, then builds, scrapes back, and re-works the surface through multiple layers, allowing each painting to embody both what is seen and what lies beneath.
After earning a BFA and MFA at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Scherrer evolved out of a graphic-design background into a dedicated painting practice in the early 2000s.
His work has been exhibited across key U.S. art fairs and both national and international exhibitions.
Scherrer uses graphic precision and expressive impulse to merge structure with spontaneity. His roots in Switzerland and his early training in typography and grid systems continue to inform his work, lending clarity to even the most gestural of paintings.
Based in San Pedro, CA
Yu Xiao
Yu Xiao’s artistic practice explores the intersection of painting, identity, and performance, bridging traditional mediums with contemporary concepts.
Born in Hangzhou, China, Xiao studied Fine Arts at Hangzhou Normal University and taught art practice for five years before earning an MA in Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins in London. Currently a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art, her research delves into practice-led methodologies.
Xiao has showcased her layered approach to painting and installations in both solo and group shows internationally as well as through prestigious art fairs.
Her work invites viewers to engage with the complexities of cultural and personal identity through innovative artistic techniques.
Based in Beijing and London
