The Shellof Vitus

  Photos by Lawrence McNeal  

  FUTURE HISTORIES The works of Masur Museum resident artist Vitus Shell are a mixed media tour-de-force that bring the viewer face to face with the lives that are and the lives that might have been. article by  Michael DeVault |  photos by  Brad Arender for  BayouLife Magazine When Vitus Shell watches the news or reads a magazine, he’s struck by the complexities that swirl about, lurking just beneath the surface and out of view. Layers of history and corollaries pile one atop the other until, at last, the neatness of story is lost amidst the chaos of realness. By the time Shell puts brush to canvas, the nuances and folds of events have woven throughout him, permeating him until he’s at once equal parts skeptical observer, empathetic spirit, and willing co-conspirator. If there’s a subversive quality to Shell’s works–collages that are decidedly political, challenge the norms, and defy the conventions of contemporary young artists–that quality is underscored by a simple statement that c