FR A N K S C H WA I G E R RECENT WORK
FRANK SCHWAIGER Recent Work
June 15 - October 15, 2016 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63108, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Owner/Director: Bruno L. David
Bruno David Projects 1245 South Vandeventer Avenue Saint Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidprojects.com
This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “Frank Schwaiger: Recent Work” at Bruno David Projects. Editor: Bruno L. David Catalogue Designer: Marisa Drewes Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Frank Schwaiger, Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects Photographs by Bruno David Gallery
Cover image: Installation view of “Recent Work” at Bruno David Projects (detail) First Edition Copyright © 2016 Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects
CONTENTS
Essay BY FRANK SCHWAIGER Afterword BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY
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By Frank Schwaiger
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“Art is about seeing, not talking, so let’s talk about seeing. In our brain, the visual cortex, with its 3-D capacity, utilizes most of our conscious mental function: Light photons energize our eyes to send electric signals to the brain that create images that we accept unthinkingly as real, at the speed of light. We love to see. We love to see ART, perhaps as a way to learn to see in new ways, to learn a new language...and this new language is constructed of rules and systems, but not spoken. It is a visual language, a higher order than hearing (unless you are a dog). As we see, our visual perceptions expand and develop new pattern awarenesses which gives us a deeper and enhanced understanding of our place in our space, the world. This is a good thing, as once the brain recognizes a “style”, it is blinded by familiarity, seeing/learning is arrested. The challenge lies in the new. OK, so far so good. Your duty as a cultivated person is to accept that there are many ways of seeing. For example, take Cubism. We have yet to invent good words to describe this visual language, although we are getting comfortable with the phenomenon, (Degas said, “Don’t laugh, this is as hard as painting”) Cubism is essentially a “western” cultural language (plus the Kuba thrown in). So, open the door of your cognitive orthodox world and go boldly into your secret self and let intuition play and debate the clues of these systems that cannot be expressed by language. Remember, angels do not speak, although they do whisper in your ear. Here, outside our western culture, lies the irrational, the illogical, the uselessly complicated, the curiously disparate, the discontinuous codes, all inured to the artificial perfections of our perceived reality. This is an art that speaks to our heart, not our mind: art that touches you like music, felt as a rhythm of play, like breathing-life’s propulsion. An act of knowledge with knowing, mystic and archaic: the future, remember, comes from the East. It is up to you to discover and see the nature and power of this language. Each work here is a complete new world revealed, a message of love and life. Ok, enough of that. If you are still with me, get a drink and let’s talk about how these acts come to be. At first, there is nothing, emptiness: a blank page, a mute block of stone. Then comes the act that defines us as humans, the making of the mark, by hand. That was the hard part. The easy, fun part is now to play with the mark until it has acquired a will of its own. Then the vicissitudes of fate lead you to that which could not be apprehended, but anxiously awaited, a new thing! You do not choose what to paint- it chooses you as a caprice of intelligence and accident. Art is not a mechanical process made by pushing a button on a machine. Art is an act of your hand and heart. Out of emptiness arises meaning (like meditation). Art should not be an act contaminated by the superficiality of social discourse but a new visual language without words that we can discover and live in. An atlas of a new world made by hand from the heart. Enjoy and thanks for seeing. 3
Afterword BY BRUNO L. DAVID
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I am pleased to present an exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Frank Schwaiger entitled, “Recent Works” at the Bruno David Projects. This show marks Schwaiger’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. Schwaiger’s work has been widely exhibited. He is a graduate of the Washington University in St. Louis, School of Architecture (Now the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts), and received his Master from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where he worked with Buckminster Fuller. He lives and work in St. Louis. Support for the creation of new, significant works of art has been the core mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects since its founding in 2005. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Frank Schwaiger for his thoughtful essay. I am deeply grateful to Marisa Drewes, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Marisa Drewes, Ryan Eckert.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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Key West SEA, 2015 Acrylic on Canvas Board 41-1/4 x 35-1/4 inches 104.78 x 89.54 cm (framed)
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Dart, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 41-1/2 x 41-1/2 inches 104.78 x 104.78 cm (framed)
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Lollipop, 2011 Acrylic on fabric on canvas board 32-3/4 x 36-3/4 inches 81.28 x 91.44 cm (framed)
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Contamination, 2014 Acrylic on fabric on board 21 x 21 inches 53.34 x 53.34 cm (framed)
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Play Time (Fun to Paint), 2015 Acrylic on fabric on board 31-1/4 x 25-1/4 inches 78.74 x 63.5 cm (framed)
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Moss, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 25-1/4 x 29-1/4 inches 63.5 x 73.66 cm (framed)
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Halo, 2013 Acrylic on fabric on canvas board 40-3/4 x 29-1/4 in 101.6 x 73.66 cm (framed)
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Stop: Look & Listen, 2011 Acrylic on board (diptych) 22-1/2 x 30-1/2 inches 55.88 x 76.2 cm (framed)
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Still Life with Three Persimons, 2014 Acrylic on fabric and canvas 32 x 68 inches 81.28 x 172.72 cm (framed)
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Ikon, 2015 Acrylic on Canvas Board 35 x 31 inches 88.9 x 78.74 cm (framed)
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Eros, 2015 Acrylic on board 22-1/2 x 22-1/2 inches 55.88 x 55.88 cm (framed)
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90, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board (diptych) 31 x 51 inches 55.88 x 76.2 cm (framed)
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Night Sky K.W., 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 74 x 25-3/4 inches 187.96 x 63.5 cm (framed)
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Cello Suites, 2015 Acrylic on board 23-3/4 x 36-1/4 inches 58.42 x 91.44 cm (framed)
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Tree, 2014 Acrylic on canvas board 19 x 23 inches 48.26 x 58.42 cm (framed)
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Game Over, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 34-1/2 x 31-1/4 inches 86.36 x 78.74 cm (framed)
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Bardo, 2010 Acrylic on fabric on canvas board 38-1/4 x 24-1/4 inches 96.52 x 60.96 cm (framed)
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Captiva, 2014 Acrylic on board 25-1/2 x 81-1/2 inches 63.5 x 205.74 cm (framed)
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Music, 2012 Acrylic on canvas board 24-1/4 x 39-1/4 inches 60.96 x 99.06 cm (framed)
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Sunrise, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 36-1/4 x 42 inches 92.08 x 106.68 cm (framed)
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Tear of God, 2016 Meteorite, Steel, Wood H 20-1/2 x D 8 x W 8 inches H 50.8 x D 20.32 x W 20.32 cm Unique
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Tear of God, 2016 Exhibition view
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Roadrunner, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 27-1/2 x 31-3/4 inches 60.96 x 99.06 cm (framed)
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July 28, 2010, 2010 Acrylic on board 44-1/2 x 30-3/4 inches 111.76 x 76.2 cm (framed)
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Erection, 2016 Marble H 10 x D 9 x W 34 inches H 25.4 x D 22.86 x W 86.36 cm Unique
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Captiva, 2014 & Erection, 2016 Exhibition view (detail)
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July 4, 2015 Acrylic on board 49-1/4 x 29 inches 124.46 x 73.66 cm (framed)
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Song of Winter, 2003 Acrylic on board 25 x 40 inches 63.5 x 101.6 cm (framed)
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The Kiss, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 41-1/4 x 35-1/4 inches 104.14 x 88.9 cm (framed)
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Lips, 2016 Marble H 3 x W 13 x D 5 inches 7.62 x 33.02 x 12.7 cm Unique
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Key West, 2015 Acrylic on board 18-1/4 x 33-1/4 inches 45.72 x 83.82 cm (framed)
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The Kiss, 2015 Acrylic on canvas board 41-1/4 x 35-1/4 inches 104.14 x 88.9 cm (framed)
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Prince of Darkness, 2010 Acrylic on panel 25-1/4 x 21-1/2 inches 63.5 x 53.34 cm (framed)
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ARTISTS Laura Beard Heather Bennett Lisa K. Blatt Michael Byron Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Beverly Fishman Damon Freed Kahlil Irving
Douglass Freed Ellen Jantzen Michael Jantzen Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Patricia Olynyk Yvonne Osei Gary Passanise Judy Pfaff
Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Shane Simmons Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Ken Worley Monika Wulfers
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