Artists feel connection to the work of masters - Bradenton Herald - by Joan Altabe - September 20, 2007
Continuing Education: Greene Contemporary pairs a Ringling alum with a Ringling prof - Creative Loafing - by Megan Voeller - September 6, 2007
Contrast in styles in Greene exhibits - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - by Kevin Costello - September 2, 2007
Jeffrey Schwartz will be showing new work at Greene Contemporary the month of September 2007. An opening on Friday, September 7 from 6 to 9 pm will preview the exhibition "Imperfect Thirst" that will run from Saturday September 8 through Saturday September 29.
Schwartz's new show borrows its title "Imperfect Thirst" from the title of Galway Kinnell's twelfth collection of poetry. Kinnell's poems explore life's mysteries including love, aging, death and family bonds. The interior spaces Schwartz imagines using pen, ink and collage on paper could be the settings for some of Kinnell's poems. Schwartz counts the work of Edward Hopper as influential. Both artists use dramatic light and shadow in their compositions. Hopper's figures appear isolated in his paintings. Sometimes figures inhabit the interiors of Schwartz's drawings but they are not the focus of his attention. These studies are about formal issues of drawing.
There is a spatial conceit in this work that is new in Schwartz's oeuvre. He balances the opaqueness of the bright white paper he collages on to the surface to indicate bright or reflected light with the rich gray and black washes of ink he uses to define walls, floors or furniture. Schwartz's rooms are lived in. Not everything is perfect. There is evidence of someone having left a door or drawer open or a window shade that is not quite even with another. These elements charge Schwartz's large drawings with an immediacy that makes them compelling reflections of contemporary life.
In his last show with Greene Contemporary in September of 2006, Schwartz exhibited a series of paintings that focused on the still life or what he finds in his garden, at the farmer's market or grocery store. These fruits and vegetables were vehicles for his exploration of space, light, color and form.
Schwartz grew up on an island near Seattle, Washington and he never considered that he would be living in Florida. However, he now loves the lush landscape and the light here. Schwartz says he is partially rooted in the tradition of representational painting. He is also open to surprise and chance and uses "observation as a point of departure." His process is to have an idea and then work through it, often, in series. If he sees something in the work it can shift his focus, attention and direction. For Schwartz, the painting is always about the light and "how it creates color and form."
He counts among his influences Jake Berthot, John Walker and Stanley Lewis with
whom he has studied at different times in the past. Schwartz received his BFA from The
School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his MFA in painting and drawing from
American University in Washington, D.C. He has also studied at Chautauqua in New
York, The Vermont Studio and the Lorenzo di Medici School of Fine Arts in Florence,
Italy. He has been the winner of numerous awards and fellowships and has exhibited
nationally. Schwartz has been teaching at the Ringling School of Art & Design since
1998. Before that he taught painting at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He lives in Sarasota with his wife Kate and their children Olivia and Alexander.