Shelah Horvitz
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In a time of ubiquitous corporate propaganda, forty years into the backlash against the 1960’s Revolution, when American government policy follows the dictates of lobbyist payoffs and ignores the mandates of voters, Shelah Horvitz makes paintings that seek to empower people to find their best selves, follow their destinies, and make the world a better place. Her work is a wake-up call about the propaganda and a rallying cry to get past despair.
While her early work was straight-out counter-propaganda (Thoughtcrime series), her mature work strives to raise questions rather than provide simplistic answers. The new work is ambiguous and pregnant. You may not agree with her, but she will make you think.
Although her style is painterly and classically-trained, at heart, her paintings are conceptual. Without their philosophical premises, there would be no reason to paint them. Borrowing techniques from artists throughout art history wherever relevant, Shelah often uses lettering and devices from commercial art or films or websites, such as frames and juxtaposition of unrelated images – whatever techniques serve to get across the concept.
The paintings are a spiritual exploration and distillations of a philosophy she paints as she learns. In painting, she is looking for enlightenment, and she beckons for you to either come with her or find your own quest.