C H A R L ES S C H WA L L Source Confluence
bruno david gallery
CHARLES SCHWALL Source Confluence
October 21 - November 26, 2011 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Charles Schwall: Source Confluence. Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Yoko Kiyoi Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Charles Schwall Cover image: Saint Louis studio, October 2011
Copyright Š 2011 Bruno David Gallery, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery, Inc.
CONTENTS
ESSAY by Andrea Ferber AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY
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Charles Schwall: Source Confluence by Andrea Ferber 2
Charles Schwall emphasizes light and color as central to his painting practice, yet any engagement with this work or the artist quickly reveals a plethora of trajectories, contexts, and potentialities at play on the canvas. Source Confluence highlights nine out of twelve paintings created during the past two years, though the roots of this series are readily seen in Schwall’s previous series Eat Me, Drink Me (completed in 2007). Whereas seriality was an important concept in those paintings, the Source Confluence works explore sequencing within individual works; they reflect an ongoing investigation of growth, morphology and progression of forms. Each work brings a different voice to the exhibit; arguably the most commanding is the largest, Falling into the Beginning, which consists of nine panels in ascending (or descending) order. An irregular shape appears in a repeating pattern, though it turns in different directions and is never depicted in the same color combinations. This amorphous form may be associated with any number of familiar objects, from a palette with a splotch of paint on it to an amoeba, a kidney, or even a kind of aestheticized brain scan with a questionable growth inside. The repetition in this piece draws parallels to magnified images under a microscope as well as cinematic film (especially clips that have dizzying effects with distorted perception, such as a zoomed-in shot taken from a distance transitioning to a close-up with a wide aperture). The artist did not apply naturally-occurring mathematical ratios such as The Golden Section or Fibonacci sequences to this highly structured piece, instead trusting instinct for the most visually pleasing progression. The result is true equilibrium, a feat given that the thickness of the canvases (emphasized by strong shadows underneath) pushes the paintings toward the sculptural. Another work in the show plays with sequencing or progression: a triptych titled Our Waking Tide. Perhaps more so than its neighbors, this work reflects Schwall’s preoccupation with growth processes, which continuously expand and contract. The elongation of the amoeba-like shape suggests an embryo, an association that Schwall marks up to the striking similarities of all life origins. Science and art are typically (but incorrectly) thought of as strange bedfellows or completely opposing ways of understanding the world. This artificial divide is obliterated when one considers the drawings of da Vinci as he attempted to understand the Coriolis effect, among other natural phenomena. The intersection of art and science avalanched in the nineteenth century as individuals strove to analyze and manipulate their environments and the human body. Paintings by Charles Willson Peale and Thomas Eakins, photographs by Louis Agassiz and Timothy O’Sullivan, and the more recent work of Mel Chin and Newton & Helen Mayer Harrison
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are just a few of the fascinating manifestations which illustrate how categorization is always problematic. Schwall’s practice is emphatically ingrained in a meditation on biology––specifically, molecular aquatic life. The artist reads scientific journals and derives his shapes from microscopic life forms. A preoccupation with growth patterns also drives the artist’s interest in shells, which he collects, studies, and draws as part of his studio practice. Pelagic Mirror refers to the uppermost layer of water furthest from the ocean floor which has the most sunlight and largest diversity of life. Plankton, mostly imperceptible to the naked human eye, drift within this layer and provide Schwall with inspiration for his work. Doubling in the Pelagic Mirror series insinuates reflections on the sub-oceanic surface of water wherein perception is distorted and, in this case, color is transformed. The two forms gaze unwaveringly at one another, transfixed like Narcissus yet removed from mythological and psychological interpretations in their obdurate abstractness. The works reveal a dimension one could only experience by awareness of peripheral vision looking up from underwater. The refraction of light varies as water and light are in constant flux, and perception is affected because light travels differently through water than through air. At certain angles one sees a mirror effect (called Snell’s law in physics). Thus Pelagic Mirror is an analogy to this phenomenon. While no artist can be fully understood through a simplistic awareness of historical precedents, careful consideration of related work allows both meaningful access and fresh interpretations. Jean/Hans Arp and Piet Mondrian are the two artists who came readily to this writer’s mind upon seeing Schwall’s paintings. Many viewers describe Schwall’s approach as “minimalist,” which is an apt descriptor for the narrow tonal ranges and flat, restrained shapes. With a host of external references, his practice is worlds apart from the Minimalists working in the 1960s, but the simplified anatomy of biomorphic abstraction and the presence of facture as seen in Mondrian’s geometric abstraction have been great sources of inspiration for Schwall. Like Arp’s sensual paintings and sculptures which are resolutely figurative yet seemingly “non-objective,” Schwall’s approach straddles traditional definitions of the two primary branches of painting (representational and abstract). As any Mondrian enthusiast will testify, the issue of surface texture and certain evidence of the artist’s hand cannot translate in reproduction. Ultra-fine parallel lines especially along the contours of Schwall’s shapes are the unquestionable footprint of a steady, sweeping brush. The artist poetically described his profound admiration for Georgia O’Keeffe by referencing “the speed of her edges.” This reference immediately gels with his keen awareness of color subtleties and choice of palette.
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A very close look at Untitled, a seafoam-aqua and sky blue composition, reveals a curvilinear form with multiple protruding appendages underneath the white “center” of the cell. Schwall explains this as an instance where he unapologetically made a bold change during his process, not unlike evidentiary marks in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Venetian paintings such as those by Titian and or Paolo Veronese. The nearly-camoflauged shape evident only by slightly raised edges exists like a memory: persistent but without fine details, and a nuance learned only with direct and close dialogue with its bearer. Given the matte finish and appearance of opacity, many will find it surprising to learn that Schwall’s process involves methodical application of thin layers. It should be noted that the result of this approach in oil paints usually produces a glassy sheen such as in the fastidious paintings of Jan van Eyck. The paintings in Source Confluence, by contrast, glow from within––an outcome achieved only after years of experimenting with various surfaces, grounds, paints, viscosities, mediums, and physical manipulations. With incredible diligence Schwall paints semi-transparent layers of oil onto a canvas sized with rabbit skin glue, slowly modifying tones based on how they interact with light molecules bouncing off its surface. The effect is a soft luminosity that changes dramatically under different viewing conditions, perhaps comparable to a kind of humidity in color. Schwall explains the optical effect of juxtaposing neutral hues: “The retina is always looking for balance; it’s in an active state when light hits it, and a state of repose when less light is present.” In their form and optical effects, the paintings explore expansion and contraction. He has also found success with gouache, a finicky medium characteristically opaque and chalky. Pelagic Mirror I–IV and Our Waking Tide I–III (the latter part of the Source Confluence series but not on view in this show) are all gouache paintings on heavy hot-press watercolor paper. Admittedly, these flat compositions may at first glance strike one as lithographs, but upon close inspection gradations in value signal a surface holding a once-wet medium. Source Confluence operates on many levels; the result of a highly sophisticated and patient approach to artmaking which is sure to yield equally stimulating work in the future grounded in biological phenomena of cloning, mutation, division, and patterns of growth.
Andrea L. Ferber is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her writing has appeared in “Critical Matrix”. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.
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AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David 6
I am very pleased to present Charles Schwall’s second solo exhibition with the gallery entitled Source Confluence. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding. Charles Schwall’s remarkable and compelling paintings and drawings make him one the most impressive artists of the gallery. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Andrea Ferber for her thoughtful essay. I am deeply grateful to Yoko Kiyoi, who lent much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue and to Kara Gordon and Alana Downie for working on the exhibition. Schwall’s new paintings investigate his longstanding interest in curvilinear and organic formations found in nature that are connected to growth, water imagery, and the life sciences. The exhibition, Source Confluence, explores the origins, metamorphosis, and rhythms of life forces through oil and gouache paintings. The works employ a vocabulary of soft colors distinguished by lightness and subtlety. His abstract imagery combines multiple forms to create forces of expansion and contraction that reveal processes in which organic life appears. Born in Denver, he currently works and lives in St. Louis, and is a teaching artist at The St. Michael School of Clayton. As an educator, Schwall studied the educational system in the municipality of Reggio-Emilia, Italy, and co-edited and co-authored the book, In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia. He holds a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. Schwall’s paintings have shown in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including New York, Kansas City, Chicago, Stockton CA, and Asuncion, Paraguay. Recently his work was included in thematic exhibitions that address color as a language and as an abstraction.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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Pelagic Mirror I, 2010-11 Gouache on paper 20 x 12 inches (diptych)
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Pelagic Mirror II, 2010-11 Gouache on paper 20 x 12 inches (diptych)
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Pelagic Mirror IV, 2010-11 Gouache on paper 20 x 12 inches (diptych)
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Pelagic Mirror III, 2010-11 Gouache on paper 20 x 12 inches (diptych)
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Pelagic Mirror I - IV, 2010-11 (Installation View - Detail) 14
Pelagic Mirror, 2011 oil on canvas 66 x 40 inches (diptych) 15
Untitled, 2011 oil on canvas 40 x 42 inches 16
Untitled, 2011 oil on canvas 40 x 42 inches 17
Falling into the Beginning, 2011 (Installation View - Detail) 18
Falling into the Beginning, 2011 oil on canvas 50 x 210 inches (9 elements) 19
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Falling into the Beginning, 2011 (Detail View) 21
Falling into the Beginning, 2011 (Installation View - Detail) 22
Falling into the Beginning, 2011 (Installation View - Detail) 23
Our Waking Tide, 2011 oil on canvas 40 x 80 inches 24
Our Working Tide II, 2011 Gouache on paper 12 x 24 inches 25
Our Working Tide III, 2011 Gouache on paper 12 x 24 inches 26
Our Working Tide I, 2011 Gouache on paper 12 x 24 inches 27
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 28
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 29
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 30
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 31
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 32
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 33
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 34
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 35
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 36
CHARLES SCHWALL: Source Confluence at Bruno David Gallery, 2011. (Installation View - Detail) 37
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CHARLES SCHWALL Born in Denver, Colorado Lives and works in Saint Louis, Missouri EDUCATION M.F.A. B.F.A.
1991, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 1987, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2011 2006 2000 1994 1991 1988
Bruno David Gallery, Source Confluence, St. Louis, MO Bruno David Gallery, Eat Me, Drink Me, St. Louis, MO World Trade Center RCGA, Charles Schwall, St. Louis, MO Allegro Gallery, Charles Schwall, Kansas City, MO Washington University Gallery of Art, MFA Thesis, St. Louis, MO University of Missouri Conference Center, Charles Schwall, Kansas City, MO
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
Recession Rejuvenations, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO Color & Design, LH Horton Jr. Gallery, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA Biennial Quad-State Exhibition, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL Over_View, group exhibition, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO Synchronous Events: Charles Schwall & Chris Kahler, Rueff Gallery at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Charles Schwall & Jason Urban, Schmidt Arts Center at Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville, IL Nineteen St. Louis Painters, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO
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2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 1994 1992 1991 1990 1987 1986
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Selections from the Contemporary’s Flat Files, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Summer Exhibition, Space B, New York, NY Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibit, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Art, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Philip Slein Gallery, St. Louis, MO Bi-National Art Exhibit, U.S. Embassy, Asuncion, Paraguay Group Exhibit, Ninth Street Gallery, St. Louis, MO 6th Annual Regional Exhibition, St. Charles County Community College, St. Charles, MO Group Exhibit, Bi-State Development Company, St. Louis, MO 5th Annual Regional Exhibit, St. Charles County Community College, St. Charles, MO Sharpening the Edges: 2nd Annual Invitation Exhibit, North Gallery, St. Louis, MO Woman in the Broader Sense, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO Two Person Exhibit, St. Louis Regional Commerce & Growth Association, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Lisa Steinmetz Gallery, St. Louis, MO Honors Exhibition: Selected Artists from Art St. Louis X, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Art St. Louis X, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Art Facult y Exhibit, Forest Park Community College Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO Group Invitational, Culver Gallery, St. Louis, MO Two-person show, Forest Park Community College Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO Brave New Pixels 3: A Computer Generated Art Exhibit, A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL Group Exhibit, Randall Gallery, St. Louis, MO BFA Exhibition, Charlotte Crosby Kemper Gallery, Kansas City, MO The 29th Chautauqua National Exhibition, Chautauqua Art Association Gallery, Chautauqua, NY
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Ferber, Andrea. Cooper, Ivy. Barone, Laura. Beall, Dickson. Beall, Dickson. Herndon, William. Bonetti, David. Cooper, Ivy. Martelli, Rose. Bonetti, David. Cooper, Ivy. Duffy, Robert.
“Source Confluence,” Catalogue Essay, Bruno David Gallery Publications, November 2011 “Bruno David Shows Connect Wall,” St. Louis Beacon, November 20, 2011. “Charles Schwall: Source Confluence @ Bruno David, archedartnow.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/charles-schwall-source-confluence-bruno-david-gallery/ Insight from artist Charles Schwall, web video, www.westendword.com/Articles-c-2011-10-21-177463.114137-Insight-From-Artist-Charles-Schwall.html “Charles Schwall at Bruno David,” West End Word, October 21 - November 3, 2011 “Looking with Soft Eyes: The Paintings of Charles Schwall,” Catalogue Essay, Bruno David Gallery Publications, (March 2007) “Artist Celebrate Elliot Smith With Works Incorporating 20,” St. Louis Post -Dispatch, October 3, 2004. p. F6. St. Louis, MO “1984-2004 Twentieth Anniversary Celebration At Elliot Smith”, Riverfront Times, September 29 -October 5, 2004, p. 178. St. Louis, MO. “Smith Elliot: The Gallery Looks In The Mirror For Its 20th.”, Riverfront Times , September 15-21, 2004, p. 32. St. Louis, MO “Everything Show”, St. Louis Post- Dispatch, July 18, 2004, p. F8. St. Louis, MO “ Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Art...”, Riverfront Times, July 28- August 3, 2004, p. 42. St. Louis, MO. “Art St. Louis X, Exhibition Review,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 13, 1994
AWARDS & HONORS 2010 2009
Vermont Studio Center, artist residency, Johnson, VT Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Art Educator Institute residency, Snowmass, CO. (National Endowment for the Arts grant)
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SELECTED LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS 2011 2008
Lecture on Creative Practice, College of Visual Arts & Design, University of North Texas, Denton, TX An Artist’s Favorites, gallery talk, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO Lecture on Creative Practice, Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual & Performing Arts, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Lecture on Creative Practice, Schmidt Arts Center at Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville, Il
WRITING BY THE ARTIST Schwall, Charles, Grounding, Flow, Release: The Paintings of Laura Beard, essay published by the Bruno David Gallery, 2008. Schwall, Charles, Tenuous Occupancy: The Sculpture of Lindsey Stoufer, essay published by the Bruno David Gallery, 2007. New, Rebecca & Cochran, Moncrieff, Early Childhood Education: An International Encyclopedia (four volumes), “Atelier” entry by C. Schwall, (Greenwood), 2007. Mendez, Guy, Art to Heart, DVD television program & supporting materials produced by Kentucky Educational (PBS) Television, 2006. Gandini, Hill, Cadwell, Schwall, In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia, (Teachers College Press), 2005 Schwall, Charles, “Creative Computer Play,” Parent & Child Magazine, Scholastic,vol. 13, no.1, September, 2005. Wein, Carol Anne, “Book Review,” Innovations in Early Education, vol. 10, no. 3, Spring, 2003 Schwall, Charles, “The Atelier Environment: Recognizing the Power of Materials as Languages,” in Next Steps Towards Teaching the Reggio Way, second edition, edited by Joanne Hendricks, (Merril Prentice Hall), 2003.
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ARTISTS Margaret Adams Dickson Beall Laura Beard Elaine Blatt Martin Brief Lisa K. Blatt Shawn Burkard Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg
Damon Freed William Griffin Joan Hall Takashi Horisaki Kim Humphries Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey
Patricia Olynyk Robert Pettus Gary Passanise Daniel Raedeke Chris Rubin de la Borbolla Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector
Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Corey Escoto Beverly Fishman
Sandra Marchewa Peter Marcus Genell Miller
Lindsey Stouffer Cindy Tower Mario Trejo Ken Worley
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