REWRITE REALITY exhibition artist | Zahava Sherez
Since March 2020 I have been in various stages of lock-down, much like everybody else.
As an artist my daily life wasn’t changed much as I usually spend my days working by myself in the studio.
What is striking now is that humanity is experiencing an event as one organism, for the first time ever.
That understanding pushed me within, going deeper than ever before, finding new layers of my inner being and an all-encompassing connection with everybody and all.
That prompted me to reflect, yet again, on the idea behind “InBodied Light”, the project I have been working on since 2017.
I already had some understanding of that oneness due to my background and the lessons I learned throughout this life journey: I was born to a historically persecuted people. I have experienced immigrations, wars, oppression, and lived in four countries. The cultures I have been exposed to taught me the magnificent differences between them but mostly I learned how profoundly alike we are.
For most of my career I have created sculptures to give voice to ‘the other’, the immigrant and the refugee. With this new work I am targeting equity and equality from a place of inter-connectedness and all-inclusiveness to all beings.
The figures in this project are devoid of any identifying human features to eliminate the labels that separate us into sub-groups perpetuating oppression, violence, and disrespect.
These beings are made out of resin, bronze, mixed media, and light. Light is a crucial element here as its interaction with resin is central to the message behind this work. Resin allows light to flow through and bounce off the textured surfaces, strengthening the belief that we are light, engulfed in an ocean of energy that connects us to everything.
This my Rewritten Reality.
Whether using shape, line or color, Zahava Sherez’s art is about the essence of humanity and ‘the other’ as experienced by the individual and the collective. Having lived on four continents, and a direct descendent of generations of immigrants and refugees, Zahava embraces all cultures, traditions and the highest level of spirituality. Her experiences have taught her that humanity is all one. Her influences are many but include Brancusi, Isamu Noguchi, Eva Hesse, Rumi and The Guides.
Zahava’s work appears in private and corporate collections in the U.S, Israel, The Netherlands, Australia, Corsica, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. She is the recipient of numerous awards and has shown her work from California to New York in such venues as: The Discovery Museum, CT; Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, NY; The American Artists Professional League, Salmagundi Club, NY; SculptureSite Gallery, CA; St. Mary’s College Museum of Art, CA, and many more. Internationally, she has exhibited in Paris and Corsica.
Born in Argentina, Zahava grew up in Israel, lived on both coasts of the US. She now has studios in Oakland, CA and Chapala, MX.
