The exhibition of Susan Swartz arrived to Budapest from the Ludwig Museum of Koblenz, Germany. The pieces on display stimulate the viewer to a state of meditative contemplation by mediating the artist’s own states of mind. The artist’s technique is to “breathe in” nature, and then she recreates it on the canvas. Her richly and ingeniously packed layers display the world of light sparkling mischievously on water’s surface, the grandiosity of seashores, the lush depths of forests, the glow of sunsets and sunrises, and the pastel- and white-colored details of fog, clouds, and rain.
These works, flirting with spirituality, show landscapes as an emotional experience: the monotony of the surrounding environment emerges through them along with the spontaneous and unexpected manifestations of nature. Each picture is built around one color, ranging from subtle white, gray, and pale blue to loud purple, buoyant turquoise, sunny yellow, and blood-red compositions. There aren’t any frames around these paintings that bear a certain inner glow, highlighting the infinity of art and nature.
We see landscapes from a map-like bird’s-eye view, sometimes showing recognizable floral patterns, while at other places it seems like the world is falling apart with a cracked and fragmented surface. The style isn’t the only indicator of the departure from reality, as the artist herself stays close to nature when she works: her winter studio is in a ski resort in Utah, while she resides at the seashore during summer.To look for certain themes in the pictures would be a vain attempt, as the artist strides off the beaten path in this abstract world, demonstrating her most personal impressions – this is why the exhibition is titled “Personal Path”. In one of the rooms, for example, depictions of survival are displayed, showing Susan’s struggle with her health issues and Lyme disease; the tiny, slender lady even cried when she talked about this during the exhibition’s press introduction.
Her commitment to nature not only shows in her art, but also in her civic activities: Susan participates as an activist in environmental campaigns protesting against the pollution of water and air, and she also produces and creates documentaries for the Academy Award-winning film-production company, Impact Partners, which she co-founded.
“Susan Swartz – Personal Path” is on view at the Ludwig Museum through January 29th.
