Artist Qais Al-Sindy moved to San Diego from Baghdad. Installations and sculptures in the exhibit present the costly effects of the war in Iraq. Doris Bittar, a Lebanese-American who grew up in New York, looks at historical events and social forces and intertwines them with patterns and structures -- the resulting artwork becomes a kind of cultural DNA.

Doris Bittar teaches Fine Art at Cal State San Marcos. Her work was recently featured at the San Diego Museum of Art, La Jolla Atheneaum, and Oceanside Museum of Art. She has also exhibited her work internationally in Paris, Germany, Italy, and in the Alexandria Biennale in Egypt. She has received grants from the Puffin Foundation and the California Arts Council. Her work is in collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; San Diego Museum of Art; Russell Sage Foundation in NY.

Qais Al-Sindy studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad University. In 2009 he had a solo exhibition at the United Headquarters in NYC titled "Endless Peace." He has exhibited paintings and other works in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Across the world, he has recently had solo exhibitions in Jordan, Kuwait, Dubai, and Switzerland. Through his works he strives to establish a dialogue about peace.

Reception in Art Gallery D101. Artist lecture follows in Room G101.

Exhibit runs Monday, October 13 to Thursday, November 6.