SYLVIA SCHWARTZ

'Textiles are significant to the communication of identity for both the individual and collective. They mark the passage of life cycle and community cycle events, worked into ceremonies involving birth, marriage and death. Nations employ textiles as a representational tool of unity, from uniforms to regional flags. While signaling membership within organizations, textiles permit individuals to distinguish themselves, break boundaries, and experiment with alternate identities. I explore these spectrums in my work, beginning with the “neutral” blank slate that canvas has signified for centuries while adopting layered meanings by remaining un-stretched. The grid of the fold lines continues the formalist grid of abstract expressionism. These works exist as segments that extend beyond their physical boundaries. Their formation shifts between the spontaneous and the calculated. The combination of painting, sewing, and basket weaving are together notable for their temporal contrasts.'

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Sylvia Schwartz was born in Australia but has lived more than half her life in NYC. Her art work explores the relationship between drawing painting and sculpture, or the shifting relationship between the imagined and the real. A recurring theme in her work is the physical and psychological spaces we inhabit. Schwartz’s work has been seen in group exhibitions in Manhattan, New Jersey and Brooklyn, including ODETTA, Lesley Heller gallery, Nurture art, several university galleries, the Attleboro Museum, and the Visual Art Center of New Jersey.