Sheila Schwid presents a continuation of the series Reflections On 14th Street, with oil paintings based upon observation, reaction, and interpretation of street scenes through the lens of reflection. These works bridge the divide between realism and abstraction. Her approach gives the viewer enough visual cues to decipher the scene while using the reflections to disjoint the image, creating a wonderful tension that is at once familiar and foreign. “There I was on the bus on 14th Street, looking out the window.

The people were in a hurry, the signs on the buildings were everywhere, the window displays were bright and the people, both old and young, were walking ... When I got home and looked at the pictures and reflections of light, I realized this craziness could be a metaphor for the consciousness of the people.”

Sheila Schwid, born in 1932 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began studying art at the age of thirteen. She received her BA in English Literature at the University of Omaha. She also studied with esteemed artists, including Milton Wolsky, learning the basics of life drawing, landscape and still life. In 1956, she attended the Art Center College in Los Angeles. She returned to Omaha, and later moved to New York City, Puerto Rico and Ohio, before settling in the artists’ community, Westbeth in 1965. Sheila Schwid has exhibited in both group and solo shows, including the New York City 10th Street Galleries in 1959-60. In 1973 she was in the "Women Choose Women" show at the New York Cultural Center where she was reviewed by Roslyn Drexler in the Sunday New York Times. In addition to having curated several shows, her work is held in many private collections.