Sheila Elias
Artist Spotlight
Name: Sheila Elias
City: Miami, Florida
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Artistic Medium: Mixed Media
How did you get started?
My mother took me to the Art Institute of Chicago at eight years old. I saw a Matisse and my heart stopped. It was then that I decided to become an artist.
Who or what are your influences?
As a child, Matisse and Picasso filled my head. As an adult, Ansem Kiefer.
What inspires your work?
American sensibilities have influenced my work, along with international travel. I like to bring an awareness of new directions and individual inventiveness.
How does Miami/South Florida influence your work?
The demolition of the old architecture has definitely defined an entire series of work. Miami, where multi-cultural history and the future clash on a daily basis, is a luminous kaleidoscope of raw, sincere emotions and harsh realities; urban tension mixed with profound beauty, compassion and optimism.
How would you describe your work?
A combination of both optimism and destruction. I like to portray a perception of urban tension, raw emotions and harsh realities tempered with gentle optimism and beauty, countering an American dream that has gone a bit astray.
What has been the most unusual reaction to your work from the public?
When I exhibited the 911 series, some people thought the figures resembled ballet dancers, when they were actually people falling from windows.
What would you like to achieve as an artist?
I'd like to influence young artists. One of my goals has always been to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.
Upcoming shows:
Solo Exhibition
November 30th, 2010 thru January 11, 2011
Nova Southeastern University Alvin Sherman Library
3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale
800.541.6682
THE WALL Exhibition-Pre-Basel Studio Show
Currently up for view by appointment
Sheila Elias Studio
1510 NE 30th St.
North Miami, FL 33161
305.892.9198
Solo Exhibition
Summer 2010
Ludlow Bailey
London, England
Where is your work available?
Sheila Elias Studio
1510 NE 30th St.
North Miami, Florida
305.892.9198 or www.sheilaelias.com
Silvana Facchini
silvana@facchinigallery.com
www.facchinigallery.com
Michelle Rosenfeld
rose076@aol.com
Evelyn Aimis