One of Steven Shalowitz’s favorite Chinese expressions is: Shi Shi Qiu Shi, meaning “Seeking Truth from Facts.”

It’s a philosophy that has led Steven to travel to far-flung and often hotspot destinations to understand a country behind its headlines and to form his own opinions based on those experiences.

“One thing I’ve learned during my journeys is that no matter where I venture, and no matter the politics of a place, people get on with their daily lives. A man in Colonel Gaddafi’s Libya sits at a café watching the world go by. In Esfahan, Iran, girls enjoy gossiping over junk food. In Mali, women shop at the market while a roaming barber, totes his hand painted sign advertising his trade. And then there’s the Rwandan sun – shining up above, creating fanciful shadows on earth below.”

After all, life goes on.

This exhibition explores people and the images they see in: Libya, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Mali.

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About Steven Shalowitz

Born and raised in Chicago, Steven Shalowitz received his AB in Chinese Language & Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MA in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. He was also educated in London, Nanjing and Singapore.

Steven has worked for a major international advertising agency in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, and back in Singapore where he also produced and hosted a radio show and wrote for one of the country’s newspapers.

Now living in New York City and working on Madison Avenue, Steven’s mind often travels to faraway places.

Most of the time his body and camera catch up.

Contact: steven@stevenshalowitz.com

About Robert Bery

Robert Bery was born in 1953 in Budapest, Hungary and moved with his family to Israel at age six. In his youth he served in the military as an electric technician working on aviation communication systems. It was during his work on archaeological excavations in Israel that Bery discovered his passion for art. After the Yom Kippur War, Bery devoted himself fully to his artistic and creative pursuits, studying at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Paris and at the studios of Henry Moore and Jacques Lipshitz in Italy.

Bery’s early works featured paintings in oil and silver emulsion on wood, a technique that integrated the natural texture and grain of the surface base with the image. These stunning pieces, inspired by nature and Bery’s evolving spirituality, were quickly acquired by many important collectors. Now, with his signature Duraclear prints, Bery creates a clarity and boldness that contrasts the dark mysteriousness of his earlier work.

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Though Bery’s classical training comes through in the exquisitely beautiful and balanced forms he creates, he is also continuously on the cutting edge of contemporary art and technology. Bery employs the latest technologies in photography, video and computer graphics to create artwork of uplifting beauty and to provoke an awareness of and response to many of today’s most pertinent social and psychological issues. The intention of the artist is to reflect, challenge, and inspire his viewers through color and image.

Not only has Robert Bery made his distinguishable mark in the art community but also in the chaotic intelligence of noble politics. In 1993 Bery led a legal crusade that mounted a successful challenge to a NYC statute that prohibited the communication of artists in the public forum. Robert Bery refused to relinquish his rights to express himself and committed himself to the pursuit of artistic freedom. Bery’s persistence resulted in a landmark legal decision that gives artists protection under the First Amendment. Bery ‘s vigilant activism enticed the press and has been documented by Fox 5 News, Channel 9 News, The New York Times, The Village Voice, NY Newsday, Art in America, The New York Law Journal, and various other publications. This exposure not only helped establish Robert Bery as an important artist but also as a activist for free expression.