Shimon Okshteyn
American, born Ukraine, 1951 - 2020Reflections #6, 2007
Not on view
Graphite and charcoal on canvas, with mixed media on mirror
Dimensions61 × 74 × 9 in. (154.9 × 188 × 22.9 cm)
Gift of Dr. Robert and Deanna Harris Burger, 2015.69
Born in Chernovitz, part of the Ukraine in what was then the U.S.S.R., Shimon Okshteyn started making art early on and was accepted into the Odessa Art Academy at age 19. In the 1970s, he participated in many exhibitions in the Soviet Union, and in 1980 emigrated to the United States. In his new environment, his style was transformed. Captivated by the variety of life offered in an American city, Okshteyn was inspired to create more colorful and provocative forms. In the Reflections series, the artist places a charcoal drawing of a still life, in this work a floral arrangement, on shaped mirror.
A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate subject matter, such as flowers, dead animals, or food. Historically still lifes also contained religious or allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. A vase of flowers, already dying, combined with the mirror that offers self-reflection could suggest the fleeting nature of life and beauty.
