At ART PALM BEACH (www.ifae.com) January 19 – 23 MICHAEL JAMES FINE ART (www.michaeljamesfineart.com) will present a new collection of paintings by the acclaimed abstract expressionist artist SUSAN SWARTZ, whose works were featured this past summer at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC in a show that drew thousands of new admirers.
Passionate about the environment, and eager to use her art and resources to sound an alarm about the fragility of the planet we inhabit, Susan Swartz (www.susanswartz.com) is known for the emotional and lyrical beauty of the landscapes she paints using bold strokes of color that inspire a visceral response in viewers. Her remarkably potent abstract paintings have captured the attention of both museums and collectors, and prompted all to take environmental toxins more seriously. Susan Swartz says there’s an underlying narrative to her work now: “An urgent plea to notice, respect and preserve our natural environment.”
A classically trained painter from a family of artists and musicians, Susan Swartz has been working as a professional artist for most of her adult life from homes in Park City, Utah and Martha’s Vineyard.
“My paintings changed when I became ill, first with mercury poisoning and then with Lyme disease. I was forced out of my comfort zone as an artist, forced to become bolder and riskier in my work. The art I am now creating is more impassioned, more profound, and more achingly full of desire than anything I have created in the past.”
Gallery director Michael James (www.michaeljamesfineart.com) says, “I’ve known Susan Swartz for a decade and seen her work evolve and gain a truly dynamic energy and tension that underlies her more complex relationship with the natural environment.”
“Susan is one of those people who acts on her passions and finds it impossible to sit back and let mistakes happen. Her paintings express a tremendously affirmative testimony to nature’s beauty. They invite the viewer to share Susan’s contemplation and study of nature’s enduring qualities. They succeed in capturing a fluid, dreamy, Monet-like beauty that is irresistible.”
Susan Swartz paintings are in private and corporate collections in the US, the UK and Japan. She was featured as the 2002 Winter Olympic’s Environmental Artist and her works are in museum collections at the Springville Museum of Art in Utah; the George Eccels 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum; U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame & Museum; and the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Together with Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, H.L.A. Culmer and Maynard Dixon, Susan Swartz is included in the book “Painters of the Wasatch Mountains.” Her published book “Natural Revelations: The Art of Susan Swartz” was awarded a bronze medal at the 12th Annual Independent Book Publisher Awards.
John E. Buchanan, Jr., Director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco says, “The paintings of Susan Swartz are about beauty, balance and harmony. As with many successful authors, Susan succeeds at painting what she knows best, and in a manner similar to that by which she conducts her life. It would be difficult to separate the painting from the painter in her particular case. It would also be deceptive to label Susan strictly as a landscape artist. Yes, her work may well be seen as the contemporary continuum of that tradition that emerged in many countries, cultures and from early times forward. Yet, Susan’s paintings may be more aptly likened to “landscapes of the mind,” influenced as much by the imagination as by an actual site. Like the work of Odilon Redon, Susan’s landscape compositions are so intensely and personally rendered that they convey a distinct sense of place, if not of this earth, then of the terrain of the artist’s mind. She thusly conveys a soul to images that might often appear vacuous to us as viewers. Susan’s technique is virtuosic on the laying in of color and glazes as she builds up her canvases. Although richly painted, less is often more in her most successful compositions. Their unique voice speaks through her ability to imbue them with her personal experiences and beliefs regarding faith, health and environment.”
Susan Swartz says, “I am committed to celebrating the natural world on my canvases, but I feel it’s not enough. That’s why I’ve become so involved with environmentalists like Dr. Jane Goodall and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. They are both innovative and effective activists and I’m honored to be able to help their causes.”
Dr. Jane Goodall wrote the conclusion for Susan’s book, “Natural Revelations: The Art of Susan Swartz” and among her comments she said, “Susan Swartz shares my concern for the future of life on this planet. Each of her paintings richly illustrates the beauty of our world – from snow-covered slopes to rustic vineyards and country gardens. This exquisite art will appeal to everyone who loves nature and will bring the beauty into the homes of those who live in the city.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the President of Waterkeeper Alliance and an Environmental Attorney, recently commissioned three of Susan’s paintings. He says, “As I look at these paintings I know we must save not only what God has given us, we must also save ourselves from the environmental health problems we have created for our children. As I reflect on the policies and politics of “the commons” – I am humbled and proud to call Susan an artist, activist and friend. In her work I find refuge and inspiration.”
January 20 – 23 Preview January 19
MICHAEL JAMES FINE ART (www.michaeljamesfineart.com)
PALM BEACH COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER (www.ifae.com)
650 Okeechobee Boulevard
West Palm Beach FL 33401
