washingtonart.com/Sheila Rotner

Soul Cage I
screen woven into wire mesh with sand and mylar, 12x17x5 inches, (2003)

Sheila Rotner started her career as an architect, working in her profession until 1983, when she decided to devote most of her time to painting and sculpture. She was born in Pakistan; raised in Argentina; and educated in the United Kingdom. She received a B.A from Kings College, Durham University, Newcastle, and a Diploma in Architecture from Hammersmith College of Art and Building, London. After living and teaching in Turkey and Pakistan, she moved to Washington D.C in 1972, and became a U.S. citizen in 1984. In 1983 her paintings were included in an area wide curated show, "Options '83", at the Washington Project for the Arts. The following year she became a member of Touchstone Gallery, where she has shown regularly until January, 1999, including four solo exhibitions. In 1989 she became co-founder and co-editor of EyeWash, a newspaper for visual artists living in the Washington metro area. Her work has been included in group shows in Washington DC, New York, Calcutta and Winchester, U.K. She is currently affiliated with Marsha Mateyka Gallery in Washington DC.

In this series of more sculptural works I continue to work directly with geometry. All these works are cut and folded out of Root Rectangles, cutting along angles of 30, 45, and 60 degrees. These proportions are used regularly in Architecture, to provide well proportioned rectangles. The rectangles are painted on both sides. As they unfold along these lines the rectangle disappears. I started working on them fully in 2014 and will continue to work with them off and on. I began to sketch them before moving in 2007. I have one in the works but I work very slowly and intermittently because my balance is off! But I need to for my health!.

Sheila Rotner

Visual Artist

A selection of Sheila Rotner's works