Heist Gallery is proud to present Reflection of Reality, an installation by the renowned artist Shimon Okshteyn. This exhibition precedes Shimon Okshteyn’s more expansive solo exhibition at Stux Gallery. Reflection of Reality is a mixed media composition of graphite on canvas and paint. The artist uses mirrors to incorporate the viewer into the work completely, combining the subject with the object in a composition that mirrors the chaos and uncertainty of contemporary life. The faux funhouse-like cornucopia of elements in the piece coincides with the serene immutability of passing time. The speculations of the viewer are nakedly reflected in the mirror surrounding the still life within it, another triumph of technical skill and deft artistic expression. By incorporating the viewer, the mirror reflects the jarring fragmentation of contemporary life, a life that can be broken into menacing shards just as easily as the fragile mirror.

Originally from the town of Chernovtsy in Ukraine, Shimon Okshteyn currently lives and works in New York. His unique style and deft craftsmanship has awarded him a prominent place in New York’s art world as well as international acclaim. His work spans many genres, focusing ultimately on his astute ability to comment visually on the societal reality found in a consumer culture with its deep-rooted and often sordid obsessions. He has exhibited across the U.S. and Canada, and after 25 years since his departure from his native land, he has had two major retrospective exhibitions in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and the M’ARS Contemporary Art Center in Moscow.