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

LOS ANGELES, CA – November 16, 2015 – 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 Galleries in 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 Jerusalem, 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.

*Sarah Horwitz (aka Dana Garner) was given the name Sarah at birth along with the name Dana. Like many post-Holocaust Jews, she decided later in adulthood to use her Hebrew name, Sarah.

2nd Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art –
The 2nd Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art opened a day after Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, running for six weeks until Thursday, November 5, 2015. Extending its reach overseas this year, for the first time, the Biennale is also hosting exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Barcelona. The Jerusalem Biennale is dedicated to exploring the places in which contemporary art and the Jewish world of content meet. It is a stage for professional artists, who create today and refer in their work to Jewish thought, spirit, tradition, or experience. The Biennale also explores the possibility of expanding the concept of Jewish Art, beyond the field of Judaica, to mediums such as photography, video art, installation, and performance.

7,567mi, Los Angeles to Jerusalem –
In conjunction with the Biennale, 7,567mi, Los Angeles to Jerusalem takes a look at the physical, spiritual, and cultural connections between Los Angeles and Jerusalem. Despite the 7,567 miles that separate Los Angeles and Jerusalem, the two cities share a great deal in common. Each is, in its own way, a promised land that beckons people to come with the possibility of dreams realized, prayers answered, and opportunities for new beginnings.

In addition to Sarah Horwitz, the artists featured at Platt and Bornstein Galleries as part of 7,567mi, Los Angeles to Jerusalem are: Pat Berger, Judy Dekel, Carol Es, Karen Frimkess Wolff, Shelley Gazin, Carol Goldmark, Eva Hyam, Karen Koblitz, Soraya Sarah Nazarian, Debra Sokolow, and Harriet Zeitlin. All participating artists are members of the Jewish Artists Initiative of Southern California.

The 7,567mi exhibit also extends into two additional gallery spaces in Los Angeles: Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and University of Southern California Hillel Jewish Center. 7,567mi is co-curated by Georgia Freedman-Harvey, Platt and Borstein Curator at American Jewish University, and Anne Hromadka, Curator at Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles.

Jewish Artists Initiative of Southern California –
Created and run by Ruth Weisberg, the Jewish Artists Initiative (JAI) of Southern California is a membership organization made up of over 85 Jewish artists and curators who are committed to fostering visual art and promoting dialogue about Jewish identity in the arts community. 39 members of the organization were selected to participate in 7,567mi as the LA facet of the Jerusalem Biennale.

Platt and Borstein Galleries –
Platt and Borstein Galleries at American Jewish University present exhibitions and educational programs in the visual arts. Selected Jewish and non-Jewish artists bring insight into current trends as well as historical perspective to community life. The galleries provide a valuable component to the educational goals of American Jewish University.

Links –
• Sarah Horwitz Official Site – http://www.sdhorwitz.com
• 7,567mi Press Release – http://jaisocal.org/sites/default/files/JAI-Jeru2LA-PR-2015.pdf
• Jewish Artists Initiative of Southern California – http://www.jaisocal.org
• Jerusalem Biennale 2015 – http://www.jerusalembiennale.org/2015
• Platt and Borstein Galleries – http://aboutus.aju.edu/?id=7197

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For more information, photos, or to schedule an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201, lynn@greengalactic.com.

Sarah Horwitz
Rimon (Pomegranate)
34” x 24” • oil on wood • 2015