Art_Market_-_February_2016_

the aridity is a constant reminder of the effort
required to keep drought at bay.

American artist Stuart Shils paints what is perceived
in the blink of an eye and stamped in one’s
memory. Infinite shades of green are reflected
in the water with an almost imperceptible ripple.
The reflection of what may be a tree or a thicket
is not refracted. Shils paints from observation,
but the resulting entity, the object, is not formed
from what Aristotle called “mimesis.” Instead,
Shils makes the elusive permanent, consolidating

the spirit of the place, making it present.

There is no refuge from recent history and current

political and ecological events. Romanticism

would have us believe that when the wounds in

the local landscape heal, they will become layers

of memory in the local spirit of the place.

Translation: J Appleton

Mosh Kashi | Field

Oil on canvas, 50X40 cm