14 | Artist profile: Tim Schwartz
The Studio | Philadelphia, PA
Unarose 2023 15.25 x 20.25 inches oil on linen Photo: Tim Schwartz
What part of the country did you grow up? (urban/rural) and how does that reverberate in the work?
I grew up in a suburb just outside of Philadelphia (Erdenheim) PA. I would say if anything the grey light and the sort of smaller underdog grit of the city. I grew up going to see art, jazz, and punk rock shows .
Do you remember the first artwork/music/book/film that impacted your imagination? When did you decide to pursue art?
A good handful of paintings that still reside in the Philadelphia Museum of Art really hit me early on (and continue to). As far as music, I learned really young that I can like Metallica, and Edie Brickell just the same, so I absorbed a lot there too. Particularly a lot of punk, indie, hardcore bands. Alice in Wonderland was the first book that really spiked my curiosity. I knew art was a part of my life really early on. Before high school even. I think I knew in high school it had to be part of my life, like it was my way of discovering myself..
At our studio visit you talked about qualities of light in different geographies (primarily in Philadelphia and San Francisco), can you share that with our readers?
Well yes, the light in Philadelphia is very grey compared to California. I lived in Seattle a while before San Francisco. I drove the entire country (East to West) watching the light change. People always talked about the light in Richard Diebenkorn’s paintings being very particular to the bay area, and I finally understood that when I was there. Someone asked why all my colors seemed a little grey while I was in California and I could only explain that it was more the light I
German earth 2023 14 x 18 inches oil on linen Photo: Tim Schwartz
What is a dream destination for you?
Honestly, the southwest was a complete inspiration when I went through there - the vastness was inspiring, part of why I was so excited for the opportunity to show in this space. I sensed the vastness from Agnes Martin works that inspired me early on in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In fact, one of the paintings in this group was intended as an ode to Agnes Martin’s “The Rose” from the PMA. Titled “Rose (here to there)” because I felt a sense of returning the inspiration back, with perhaps a little grey… But maybe Japan also.
Your work has so much depth and evidence of the hand, how did you find your voice in painting? Can you talk about the tactile record of a painting?
Well thanks! I really appreciate how a painting is/was made, or at least not trying to hide it. My paintings really build from the support structure on. Often many layers (not always), but I want the evidence of that process apparent. It’s a bit like the journey I (or the painting) have been on. Much like leaving a relic of its own life.
What historic artist or movement are you inspired by?
Weirdly Dada. I do feel like a fairly conceptual painter. They were just clever and really thought about art conceptually/philosophically (in the grander scheme of things). George Brecht broke my brain with such simplicity. I think I am inspired by any art that is simple, yet endlessly complex. I guess that’s what I’m into - any art I can live with and endlessly think about. Chinese and Japanese brush painting, pop art, even photorealism. There’s so much to consider in all of it. Postmodernism was heavy in my art education, and honestly I’m not sure how to come back from that. The world is just really fucking complex, and I appreciate and try to accept that.
What contemporary artist(s) or are you inspired by?
Oh boy. Many local artists around me (some have moved), endlessly my dear friend Ian Williams. Aj Rombach, Tess Wei, Quentin Morris, Steve Riedell. I could go on with artists I’ve known here.. It would be a conversation in and of itself to get into what it is about any of these artists that inspire me…. Mary Heilman, Hank Willis Thomas, Raoul De Keyser (passed away in 2012), John Zurier, Johnathan Lasker, Juergen Teller, Christopher Wool, Vija Celmins, Katherina Gosse. I could keep going but I’m afraid I’d go down a rabbit hole then worry about who I’m forgetting so I’ll just stop there.
Detail of Graphite painting 2023 14 x 18 inches hide glue emulsion on linen on panel Photo: Tim Schwartz
When is your favorite part of the day?
Probably cooking dinner.
When you are getting ready to start a new piece or series, how do you begin? With materials? Color? A title?
It usually starts (almost out of boredom, like, what’s next? I guess I’ll prepare a new linen or a stretcher/strainer) so I guess the materials. Sometimes a simple pigment, material or paint. But often the work becomes clearer to me as it is being made. A few times I’ve had a plan and the result stuck to the plan.
Jasper Johns said, “Sometimes I see it and then paint it. Other times I paint it then see it. Both are impure situations, and I prefer neither.” That speaks to my process…
Do you listen to music in the studio? What have you been listening to recently, or what do you return to again and again?
Very much so. I have (as I duck my head a little) a studio playlist I put on repeat over and over mostly. It’s a slowly evolving playlist of mostly really sad reflective music. Cat Power, Nick Cave, Jeremy Enigk, Lungfish, Portishead, Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, PJ Harvey. I do branch out and go all over the place but if I’m really “in it” it’s usually the playlist.
Do you surround yourself with reference materials or colors? What does your studio look like?
My studio I would say is pretty utilitarian. Not too much of a mess but not too neat either. Completely functional. I feel like I’m adept at taking a space and making it work as best it can for my needs. I have a garage space I converted right outside of the house. It’s funny because currently I have a few artist’s books in the studio, but that’s usually rare. I still feel like I can be easily influenced or even misled from where my work is leading me, so I tend to keep artist’s books out of the studio and in the house.
At the end of a studio day, how do you extract yourself? Any closing rituals or routines?
Usually just turning off music and realizing I’ve stayed up too late.
D E T A I L Ground 2023 11.5 x 9 inches lead ground on graph paper Photo: Tim Schwartz
The title of the exhibition is taken from an Italo Calvino book. It is perfect for this body of work. I’m curious about how you came to it?
My friend (artist/writer/thinker) Ian Williams, has fed me some of Calvino’s work in how he felt it related to his and my art”. I randomly ordered a few more of his books - “The Distance of the Moon” - literally because of the title. I’ve made a lot of paintings relating to the moon. I started the paintings for this exhibition just as I started reading it. The work evolved from a simple grey painting, then into white/black/grey.. .I finished the book after I had finished this group of paintings. It’s very short but in my opinion very dense with emotion and concepts to contemplate, simple yet I found it very complex. I was shocked to discover how in the end of the book grey, black, and white became a main theme in this story standing in for reflections of life and our human experience. It was so strange that all of it was in my head throughout the paintings so I found it so fitting.
What is a book or album that you have recommended to a friend?
The Creatures “Boomerang”, or maybe Lungfish “Rainbows from Atoms”
Do you keep a journal or a sketchbook? Do you have a favorite brand of book, pens or paint? Is the typewriter your way to journal?
I’m obsessed with lead holders (particularly Staedtler Mars Technico lead holder - one of the greatest designs with a built in sharpener) and traditional fountain pens, but mostly I write on the typewriter. It’s more like cryptic poetry or thoughts, I stow it in a box and just let it go. I don’t know if that’s a form of journaling or not, just a weird part of my process.
Join us and Tim on Saturday October 7-6-9
