From the Heart

In one of the most memorable moments in Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, the main character learns an important, if simple, secret: “one sees well only with the heart.”

            Seeing with the heart is what brings forth giving from the heart. Generosity is enabled and enriched by empathy. From the Heart, the latest exhibition at Zorya Fine Art, brings together an international team of artists united and inspired by this underlying principle. Their explorations lead them to engage with imagery and media raging from traditional to boldly experimental.

Speaking from the heart means sharing both laughter and pain; it is an outpouring of love and a determination to persevere in struggles large and small. In the dark short days of winter, it reveals to us new sources of light. Seeing with your heart is about establishing and nurturing community, not by denying or suppressing our identities but by reaching out and discovering new things to embrace.

In their quest to speak from the heart, a Honduran artist can find inspiration in the traditional patterns and symbolism of Ukrainian embroidery, a Ukrainian artist can playfully reference Jasper Johns, an artist working with abstract imagery can find unexpected affinities with the figurative. In the process, traditions are celebrated and subverted; irony discovers a profound spiritual dimension. Such new connections help us rethink who we are and find new ways to understand and celebrate our own unique contributions to this world.

In short, new ways of engaging with art are born that unite seeing with our eyes with seeing with our hearts.

Zorya Fine Art invites you to join us on this journey of exploration and discovery.

Curated by Professor Vitaly Chernetsky, Associate Professor, Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Kansas and President of the Zorya, Inc., Foundation.