Known as much for her environmental activism and philanthropy, the multi-award winning abstract expressionist painter Susan Swartz displays the boldest, riskiest work of her career to sound an alarm about protecting our planet’s scarce natural resources.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC will host a special exhibition of abstract landscape paintings, SUSAN SWARTZ – SEASONS OF THE SOUL from June 17 through October 2.

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 them to take environmental concerns 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.”

Dr. Susan Fisher Sterling, Director, National Museum of Women in the Arts (www.nmwa.org) says, “Pulsating with dazzling color, Susan Swartz’s abstract landscapes simultaneously articulate her awe of the natural world and her rallying cry for its preservation. A staunch environmentalist, philanthropist, and producer of award-winning documentaries, Susan has turned to her art as a source of healing, resilience, and inspiration throughout her battle with environmentally-bred illnesses. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is delighted to showcase her work in a special exhibition this summer.”

Diagnosed first with mercury poisoning and then with Lyme Disease, Susan Swartz struggled with these life-threatening, chronic illnesses in the past decade. She says, “My paintings changed when I became ill. 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. While I have always enjoyed painting the divine beauty of nature, my two illnesses have had a profound effect on me, and my work. During my slow recovery, I gained a deeper reverence for all that God created and felt inspired – charged, really – to do all I could to protect the environment in its most pristine form.”

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.

Susan Swartz says, “I first got to know the National Museum of Women in the Arts shortly after it opened twenty-four years ago. On that first visit, I remember thinking ‘maybe someday my work will be here…’ It’s an incredible privilege now to have my paintings at what is really the first place dedicated to promoting and honoring women artists. Billie Holladay and NMWA were really the pioneers in giving equal footing to women artists. Such profound institutional support allows us to dream and inspires us to persevere.”

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 Salt Lake City Olympic Museum; U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame & Museum; the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Springfield Museum of Art in Utah. 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.” Susan Swartz also published the book “Natural Revelations: The Art of Susan Swartz” which 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.”

Vern Swanson, Ph.D., and Director of the Springville Museum of Art says, “Like the early Utah artists, Susan started as a traditionalist, painting portraits and still life.  Later on Susan painted landscapes from her travels in New England, California, France and Africa.  In present years Susan has concentrated on western landscapes and her style has developed toward the abstract.  What separates talented individuals from each other are their distinctive styles, manifested by their own personal inspiration.  It is fortunate when as artist can connect the beauty that surrounds us with an environmental imperative and a spiritual influence.  Susan Swartz is an artist who can provoke such a passion.”

A. Scott Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zion’s First National Bank says, “I collect the paintings of Susan Swartz because they inspire, nourish, and enlighten me.  I thrill in their beauty.  While they have a calming influence, overcoming the noise of the day; they test the envelope of human creativity, intellect, energy, and promise.  I believe Susan is a wonderfully gifted artist, whose works hold a mirror to nature and then captivate us with color and style.  Susan is a powerful artist because her works move us; in her paintings, we see her soul in her works and her love of the earth. There is not another artist that I would rather collect or whose paintings I would rather have hanging in my home or in my office.”

Charles Newhall, Past Chairman of the Baltimore Museum of Art says, “Whenever I look at one of Susan’s paintings, I see the exuberance of the American landscape, the American dream --- "Light breaks down where no sun shines,” --- or so said Dylan Thomas.  Susan’s paintings are that light.”

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 gotten 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. All these changes have also propelled me to help promote social change through a different medium: independent documentary films. My husband, Jim, and I have helped produce several award-winning documentaries, including Born Into Brothels (2005) and The Cove (2010), both of which won the Academy Award, and a third titled Under Our Skin.  Film and painting are two different mediums to convey the same message and inspire the same outcome.”

Dr. Jane Goodall wrote the conclusion for “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.  Susan encourages us not only to experience and savor these images of nature, but also to do what we can to save nature itself.  How tragic it would be if people living in the future were to look at these paintings and know that the settings that inspired them were no more.  How they might yearn to experience, for themselves, the richness of sound and scent and color.  We, who live today, must not allow such a future to come to pass.  No, we must roll up our sleeves, and each do our part to save the beauty of nature for those who follow.  And we must act now – before it is too late.”

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.” 

Gallery director Michael James (www.michaeljamesfineart.com) who featured Susan’s paintings at three important Florida art fairs this winter, says, “I’ve known Susan Swartz for a decade and seen her work evolve as she was challenged by two very serious illnesses. Today her paintings are gaining new acclaim as they display 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 love for her three children and nine grandchildren propelled her to use all her talents and resources to make environmental threats known to a wider audience – both through her art and her philanthropic activities.”

 He adds, “Susan’s 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.”

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (www.nmwa.org) brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by teaching the public about their accomplishments.  To fulfill its mission, the museum cares for and displays a permanent collection, presents special exhibitions, conducts education programs, maintains a Library and Research Center, publishes a quarterly magazine and books on women artists, and supports a network of state and international committees.  NMWA also serves as a center for the performing and literary arts and other creative disciplines. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 as a private, non-profit museum.  Its inspiration came from the personal collection of Wilhelmina Cole Holladay and Wallace F. Holladay, who began collecting art in the 1960s, just as scholars and art historians were beginning to discuss the under-representation of women and various racial and ethnic groups in museum collections and major art exhibitions.  Mrs. Holladay devoted her energies and resources to creating a museum that would showcase women artists and the Holladay collection became the core of the institution’s permanent collection.

IF YOU GO

SUSAN SWARTZ - SEASONS OF THE SOUL

National Museum of Women in the Arts

June 17 – October 2

1250 New York Avenue N.W.

Washington DC 20005

800 222 7270 or 202 783 5000

Monday – Saturday 10 -5 Sundays Noon-5