Lori Bookstein Fine Art is pleased to announce two exhibitions by Sharon Horvath. Sharon Horvath: Cosmicomics will be on view in the main gallery and will present recent paintings by the artist. On view in Gallery II, Sharon Horvath: Varanasi Notebookwill present recent drawings. This is the artist's third solo-presentation at the gallery.

Sharon Horvath: Cosmicomics will present a series of new paintings ranging in scale from several inches to several feet. The show’s title is taken from Italo Calvino’s collection of stories by the same name. In his book, Calvino explores scientific conceits and the evolution of the universe by relating them to the ordinary interactions of common humanity. Even Calvino’s characters, which have such impossible -to-pronounce names as Qfwfq and Xlthlx, are abstracted notions of mathematical formulae and cellular structures that have been anthropomorphized into relatable characters that embark on otherwise other-worldly adventures.

Horvath’s recent paintings represent a very similar albeit homegrown and patch-worked mythology. In the work, newspaper photographs have been collaged into the otherwise dim holes of the paintings. They absorb themselves into the painted surfaces of the planetary orbs, almost as if they were firmly footed by gravitational force or cosmic accident. In others, the larger composition seems to be molded around particular, yet ostensibly unrelated life forms. Car armrests look like seal flippers and snakes appear to be filled with stars. Indeed, the artist draws her influence from such disparate sources as Indian Ragamala paintings, the abstract paintings of Swedish artist and mystic Hilma af Klint, Sienese paintings and even the childhood memories of her parents’ collection of weavings, paintings and ceramic figurines.

In Gallery II,Sharon Horvath: Varanasi Notebook will present works on paper executed on the artist’s recent Fulbright-Nehru U.S. Scholar Grant to India (during Horvath’s sabbatical from Purchase College, SUNY 2013-14.) The series are named for the sacred city of Varanasi where most of the drawings were executed during a stay at the Kriti Galleryresidency and for the towns where the Indian ledger paper was purchased. Works on paper on view are selections from the three series: the Varanasi Notebook, Khajuraho Notebook, and Sanganar Notebook.

Sharon Horvath (b. 1958, Cleveland, OH)received her BFA in from Cooper Union, New York and her MFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia. She is an Associate Professor of Art at Purchase College, SUNY. Horvath has been the subject of numerous exhibitions in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and abroad. Her numerous awards and grants include the Fulbright-Nehru U.S. Scholar Grant, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Grant for Painting, the Jacob H. Lazarus-Metropolitan Museum of Art Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, the Anonymous was a Woman Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Award for Painting, the Edwin Palmer Prize in Painting from the National Academy Museum and two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants.The artist lives and works in New York City.

Sharon Horvath: Cosmicomics and Sharon Horvath: Varanasi Notebook will be on view from October 9 – November 8, 2014. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 16th from 6-8 pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 6:00