Between art aesthetics and social awareness.
 “The wind is at my back pushing me through the universe” writes Sheila Elias at the beginning of her fascinating book “Somewhere-Anywhere”
… and, when you delve into the life of this extraordinary contemporary artist who has accomplished so much in so short a time,  you can indeed feel the force of that penetrating wind, hear it howling at times.  It literally blows you away. 
Printed in full color, the publication, in conjunction with Nova Southeastern University, traces the evolution of a lifetime of art; works in almost every form of artistic expression from painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, sculptures, pop, performance, installations and the new digital technologies, which she, of course, embraces with that same passion and vigor that she pours onto all her creations.
Sheila Elias uses her fingers and various apps to investigate the potential of the Ipad in her quest to produce new technological visions. The fact that she explores color and manipulates lines and form and, that through the use of the technological resources at hand, she creates a better resolution in the work, do not really change the meaning of what she conveys, for her works have little to do with technology itself. Technology has not changed her art but has enabled her to produce yet another provocative experience.
Throughout her career and her diverse portrayals of the American culture, that “American Dream gone astray”, Elias depicts her perceptions of life’s harsh realities, urban tensions and raw emotions with a poetic sense of imagination that proceeds from a deeper source than intellection but that illustrate the transformative power of the arts in the social context.
Elias currently lives in the city of Miami, a “colorful and turbulent home where multi-cultural history, art history and the future clash on a daily basis”, as she puts it.


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