Stuart Sheldon
Artist: Stuart Sheldon
Title: Quicksilver Gold Days Gone and Coming
Media: Installation and Photograph
Date: 2018
Artist Statement
An old chair called to me. And I sat with her.
She lay silent at the bottom of a warm, dark sea. Clinging to life. Told me she was a queen whose lap had known the shaking of thunderous laughter and the plinking of hot tears. Take your time, she urged, as she offered me a humble place to rest. I shut my eyes, and in golden reverie, lay with her. So touched, I became her sentry. Grasped her wizened legs and held her ever closer, scanning blue green horizons to keep her safe. Far heavier than she appeared, her voice never sung beyond a whisper. In gratitude, she shared that she fancied her final role, the muse of a maker. So moved by this, I swathed her in the luminous color of royalty due her station. Together, we gazed at the future. Or was it the past? Sharing powerful silence and dreaming of second chances.
Artist Bio:
Stuart Sheldon is best known for his meticulous collage paintings and large-scale installations with themes exploring classic literature and social justice. His work has been commissioned and exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad and can be found in collections including the Braman family and Royal Caribbean Cruises. “To him, it’s about urging people ‘at a granular level’ to start over, with less fear and more optimism,” said the Los Angeles Times. Sheldon writes a column covering art, humor and family life for Miami’s Biscayne Times. He is currently collaborating with the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science on a public art project dealing with sea level rise.
Follow him at www.StuartSheldon.com and @stuart_sheldon