L to R: Wilson McCray, Marti Koehler, Mariapia Malerba, Shah Hadjebi
ARTIST RECEPTION: Friday, October 24, 2025, 5:00 PM
BIRDS!! No Words.
In this drawing marathon, inspired by Sanibel’s designation as a sanctuary island, Shah Hadjebi, Marti Koehler, MariaPia Malerba, and Wilson McCray collaborate on 6 x 125 feet of paper in the Dunham Family Gallery. With each artist contributing their experience and expertise, the group brings their collective spiritual connection with nature.
BIRDS!! No Words is a celebration and a revelation.
Gallery open to the public; artists working sporadically.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Shah Hadjebi is an award-winning Southwest Florida watercolor artist currently residing in Fort Myers. He received his BA from Syracuse University in the late 1980s and comes from a family of artists: fine artists, architects, interior designers, industrial designers, and more. Although he has been painting for the past 20 years, his first artistic outlet was music, but in time he recognized that painting was his most authentic artistic expression and passion. LEARN MORE
Marti Koehler
I grew up in Naples, Florida in the 70s. As a kid, on afternoons or weekends, I would swim hundreds of laps at the YMCA pool or body surf and search for shells at a local beach. My work as an artist is inspired by those early days when we grew crispy in the sun and smelled of chlorine and salt into the balmy evenings. My art comes from these memories, textures, smells and tastes. LEARN MORE
Mariapia Malerba is an Italian-American artist born in Puglia, a region in southern Italy. She studied art in high school and proceeded to earn her degree at the Accademia di Belle Arti, a fine art institute in Lecce, focusing primarily on scenography, set design, and costume history. After graduation, Mariapia worked as a textile designer in Lake Como, Lombardy, contributing designs for renowned fashion houses such as Dolce Gabbana, Versace, and Cavalli. In 2009, she relocated to Florida, where she continues her artistic practice. LEARN MORE
