Ben Horak is a human portal. He goes to school and class like every student, gets caught in traffic on the freeway like the rest of us. But even while forced to a standstill on the 57/210 interchange, his wheels are turning.

Horak’s portal is mental and like the glass elevator in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” it goes in every direction. Facing the sky, the portal opens into the realms of God; Horak is always looking for the deeper meaning in life. When it is turned inward, he stares himself bravely in the face. Desire, fear shame: For this visual artist, the unconscious matter most of us shoves down rises to the surface in Technicolor. Horak’s vision tunnels downward, into a rabbit hole of darkness and chaos, then, like Persephone, he rises to the earth for a taste of springtime beauty. All in all, it is a dizzying view but, despite the breakneck shifts from light to shadow, from harmony to chaos—or perhaps because of them—Horak’s work is always otherworldly, and always very fine.

As an adviser to a web magazine, I feel wonderfully privileged to have enjoyed the talents of Ben Horak as Litrus webmaster for a year. We could not have produced the magazine without him. As an art-lover, I feel equally privileged to know someone this powerfully passionate and skilled.

Nudes representing purity and temptation. A koi fish leaping towards the heavens Luminous figures bespeaking tribal mystery and archetypal resonance. And always, a self-portrait of a young man seeking synthesis, relief and release through imagery. This is the world of Ben Horak. Are you ready for the portal?