Fine Art Magazine Blog: Leila Heller, shows Nan Swid: "Paint - Wax - Pencil

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Leila Heller, shows Nan Swid: "Paint - Wax - Pencil - Ink" May 3rd to June 4th

May 3rd to June 4th

Nan Swid’s recent work shines a light on the commonplace elements of everyday life. The subjects of her still life drawings, paintings and wall sculptures are drawn from the domestic environment, as Swid says, from “what I see in front of me”. They are snapshots of a moment, an object, a place, a feeling, a memory. Subjects are explored in multiple iterations and techniques. Fruit is rendered with pencil on paper and as paper cut out collages. Potted plants are sketched in monochrome ink on paper and as multi-colored cubist-like collages.

The artwork reflects deep curiosity. It is restless. Brush gestures are quick and urgent, constructions are messy, edges are uneven. A drawing extends to the paper's edge, almost bursting from its field. A sense of probing resides in the marks on paper. Defunct books are enveloped in encaustic paint, spliced and amassed to produce three-dimensional wall hybrids of painting and sculpture. While personal in scale, larger groupings of mixed media are assembled to create emotive wall compositions.

Swid invites us to see the familiar objects of daily life in new ways and in new contexts, the domestic landscape being a creative canvas and armature for her visual exploration in all its “messy vitality”. The assortment of works asserts Swid’s visual acuity and delight in the everyday.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nan Swid lives and works in New York City. Her work has been shown nationally in galleries including Margaret Thatcher Gallery (New York, NY), Pavel Zoubok Gallery (New York, NY), Adam Baumgold Gallery (New York, NY), and Arevelo Gallery (Miami, FL). Swid's work has been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Dossier Journal.

Nan Swid was a principal founder of Swid Powell, the iconic design firm that collaborated with noted architects such as Richard Meier, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, and Robert A. M. Stern to produce decorative objects of the highest order. Archives from this endeavor are currently housed with The Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.

For more information or inquiries, please click here or email ella@leilaheller.com