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Sarah Horwitz
Rimon (Pomegranate)
34” x 24” • oil on wood • 2015
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Contemporary Los Angeles Painter Sarah Horwitz
Featured in
7,567mi, Los Angeles to Jerusalem
Part of the 2nd Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art
At Platt and Borstein Galleries
In Bel Air, CA
Through Sunday, December 20, 2015
Happy Monday, time to get yourself some culture!
Contemporary Los Angeles painter Sarah Horwitz is featured in 7,567mi, Los Angeles to Jerusalem, part of the international 2nd Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art. Horwitz’s work is on display through Sunday, December 20, 2015 at Platt and Borstein Galleriesin Bel Air, CA, one of three venues in LA that make up the 7,567mi exhibit, which is presented by the Jewish Artists Initiative (JAI) of Southern California. As part of Jerusalem Biennale 2015, the 7,567mi exhibition examines the Jewish connection between Los Angeles and Israel from diverse vantage points by posing the question: “What does it mean to be Jewish in Los Angeles in the 21st century?” This year, the international Biennale is hosting exhibitions in Jerusa lem, New York, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Los Angeles. Platt and Borstein Galleries, located at American Jewish University (15600 Mulholland Drive, Bel Air, CA 90077; 310-476-9777 ext. 201), across from the Skirball Cultural Center, is open Sundays though Thursdays from 10:00am to 4:00pm and on Fridays from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Free parking is available. For additional information, please visit the artist's site at http://www.sdhorwitz.com.
Sarah Horwitz’s work explores universal themes of matter and spirit related to compelling social, political, and environmental challenges within the world today. Her lush oil on wood paintings depict earth, air, fire, and water as liminal sites of perception. Abstraction combined with representation creates an impossible place between physical and spiritual planes, navigating between dream and consciousness, physicality, and spirituality.
Horwitz’s paintings present a dichotomy between optimism and danger – within the individual and society as a whole. “Rimon” (Pomegranate) simultaneously portrays violence and unrest while embracing hope, as the seeds of redemption are spread throughout the world. Exploding in mid-air like a grenade against turbulent water and sky is a blood red pomegranate, which can be sweet or sour and is widely cultivated in the Middle East for its nutritional and healing properties. Across many cultures, the pomegranate symbolizes fertility and prosperity. The fruit is also said to have 613 seeds corresponding to the 613 mitzvot (or commandments) of the Torah. These commandments are known in the Jewish faith as the tools for ushering in the era of enduring world peace.
While rooted in Jewish mysticism, Horwitz’s art is open to a multiplicity of meaning, offering viewers the autonomy to explore and interpret the works within their own belief systems and frames of reference.
Her art exists in the margins between binaries – where struggle and peace coexist, where destruction, creation, and transformation are all possible. Ultimately, Horwitz’s work is hopeful, offering up the potential for transcendent moments as an inspiration for embracing the challenges of the human condition.
Sarah Horwitz –
Sarah Horwitz* is a contemporary painter who has exhibited her work locally and nationally. Solo shows include Perimeter Gallery in Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center (sponsored by a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs), and Gramercy Fine Art in New York. Her work has also been repeatedly included in the International Art Expo in Chicago, where she lived before moving to Los Angeles. Horwitz’s works are in the collection of Fidelity Investments in Boston as well as in private collections in the US and Europe. Where Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun Times, and New Art Examiner have written about her work. Horwitz taught as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the BFA program at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago for ten years. She received a BS in film from Boston University and an MFA in painting and drawing from The University of Iowa. She was raised in Northern New Jersey, where she first experienced profound transcendent moments in nature. Horwitz currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
