Sheila Elias work is about the layers of life and art history, seeking in it a connection between art aesthetics and social consciousness.  I like to portray a perception of urban tension, raw emotions and harsh realities tempered with gentle optimism and beauty, countering an American dream that has gone a bit astray. American sensibilities have influenced my life, the hues of my country found in the colors of my canvas. I like to bring an awareness of new directions and individual inventiveness.  Through life experience, I incorporate visual, emotional, and psychological impressions and feed them into my paintings.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2008

• Riverside Art Museum, “PAINTING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: THE 1980s Neo-Expressionism” – Riverside, CA
• Chelsea Galleria, “Earth Part II” – Miami, FL
• Laredo Center for The Arts “Retrospective” – Laredo, TX
• The Multicultural Arts Center “Retrospective”– Cambridge, MA
• Armory Art Center, "The Edge!" – West Palm Beach, FL
• International Exhibition “The Art of Digital,” Juror: Neal Benezra, San Diego, CA

2007

• Farmani Gallery, “SOMEWHERE-ANYWHERE,” Los Angeles, CA
• Boca Grande Art Alliance National Exhibition, Juror: Everett Raymond Kinstler, Boca Grande, FL
• Maryland Federation of Art, “Art on Paper,” Juror: Helen C. Fredrick, Annapolis, MD
• Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, “21st International Juried Show,” Juror: Laura Hoptman, Summit, NJ

2006

• Chelsea Galleria, "20/20," Miami, FL
• Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, “Works of Art on Paper,”
• Juror: Carter E. Foster. Loveladies, New Jersey
• Rosenthal Fine Arts, Chicago, Illinois
• Bass Museum, “I Wanna Be Loved by You: Photographs of Marilyn Monroe,” Miami Beach, FL
• Masur Museum of Art, 33rd Annual Juried Competition, Juror: Henry Finkelstein
• Chelsea Galleria, "Elements," Miami (Wynwood), FL

2005