Judith Schwarz

Judith Schwarz
Born1944 (age 80–81)
Vancouver, British Columbia
EducationBA (UBC), MFA (York)

Judith Schwarz (born 1944) is a Canadian visual artist.[1] Her work has been featured in exhibitions since 1979.[2]

Early life and education

Judith Schwarz was born 1944 in Vancouver, British Columbia and is based in Toronto, Ontario.[1] She earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia (1966), attended the Vancouver School of Art (1973–1976), and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from York University (1978).[2][3]

Career

Schwarz is an Associate Professor at York University in Toronto, where she teaches sculpture and drawing at both graduate and undergraduate levels.[3] In 1978 she began her career at York University and in 1995 she received a full-time appointment to the Faculty of Fine Arts.[4] Schwarz is known for her outdoor abstract sculptures,[2] integrating art with the environment.[3]

Schwarz's earliest sculptural exhibit, entitled Parallel Language (1987), was a three-part work juxtaposing a circular die-cut steel sheet wall mounted, angling out from it onto the floor—a steel beam, and a leaf shaped steel stencil next to a beautiful slab of oak.[5] In a review written by Linda Genereux in Artforum, Genereux states "The strength of Judith Schwarz's work depends upon her dexterous handling of material and a growing vocabulary of forms..."[5]

Her work can be found in many public collections across Canada and in the US, including the Canada Council Art Bank, the National Gallery of Canada,[6] the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, the University of Oregon and the York University.[3][7] The National Gallery purchased two of her drawings in 1983: Low Light Drawing, Series A, #10 (1981) and Head Stand (1982); and then in 1987 purchased a set of four videotapes: I am an artist, My name is…, a collaboration between Schwarz and Elizabeth MacKenzie.[6][7]

Schwarz has created public commissions in both Vancouver and Toronto, Canada.[3] Among her commissions in Toronto are the Nautilus Gateway (1992), a stainless steel and bronze sculpture in Waterpark Place, Bay Street and Queen's Quay and Spiral Fountain (1990), a bronze fountain for the Hotel Deck at Skydome. Schwarz's sculpture Pacific Spiral (2003) was among 350 outdoor artworks celebrated in Vancouver during the 2014 Culture Days Celebration, as part of a national Culture Days campaign designed to promote artistic activities across Canada.[8] In Francois-Marc Gagnon's description of Schwarz's sculptures in The Canadian Encyclopedia, Gagnon states

"..."the elegant, flame-cut steel cosmological configurations of Judith Schwarz invent rather than transform cultural signs and devices whose mysteries are embedded as much in the juxtaposition of the materials, glass, steel, and wood as in their form".[9]

In 1990 at the 75th Anniversary of the Emily Awards, Schwarz was presented with an Emily Award. She was among the 75 distinguished alumni of Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design that were recognized for their outstanding career achievements.[10]

The University of Waterloo Art Gallery circulated a 10-year retrospective of Schwarz's work, titled Dissembling Structures, curated by James D. Campbell. This exhibition was presented at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo (1998), the Concordia University's Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Toronto (1998),[11] and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design's Charles S. Scott Art Gallery, Vancouver (1999).[12]

Schwarz was awarded the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in Visual Arts by the Canada Council in 1998[4]

Selected exhibitions

  • Recent Sculpture, Forest City Gallery, London, Ontario (1985)[13]
  • Shadow of the Palace, S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (1986)[14]
  • Reciprocation, The Gallery/Stratford, Stratford, Ontario(1989)[15]
  • Judith Schwarz, Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor Ontario (1989);[16][17] Art Gallery of York University; Toronto, Ontario (1990); Centennial Gallery, Oakville, Ontario (1991)[18]
  • Old Man River Exhibition, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta (1991)[19]
  • Fictive Space Collaborative Exhibition with Arlene Stamp, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, Alberta (1994)[20]
  • SCULPTURE/sculpture, S.L. Simpson Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (1996)[21]
  • Dissembling Structures/Structures dissimulees – a survey of Judith Schwarz sculpture 1989–1998, University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario (1998); Helen & Bina Ellen Art Gallery - Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec (1998); and the Charles S. Scott Art Gallery - Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver, British Columbia (1999)[12]
  • Portal, two person exhibition with Schwarz and Carmelo Arnoldin, Koeffler Gallery, Toronto, Canada (2000)[22]
  • Judith Schwarz, Sable Castelli Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (2002)[23]

Selected bibliography

  • Judith Schwarz: Heterodoxy, a club for unorthodox women. The radical feminists of Heterodoxy: Greenwich Village, 1912-1940. Thesis (M.A.), San Jose State University 1977
  • Dewdney, Christopher; Stebbins, Joan (1986) Judith Schwarz (catalogue) Lethbridge, Canada: Southern Alberta Art Gallery
  • Gallery/Stratford (1989) Reciprocation: Judith Schwarz (catalogue) Stratford, Canada: Gallery Stratford[15]
  • Arnold, Grant (1989) Judith Schwarz (catalogue) Windsor, Canada: Art Gallery of Windsor ISBN 0919837271
  • Grenville, Bruce; Dewdney, Christopher (1990) S.L. Simpson Gallery, 1980-1990 (catalogue) Toronto, Canada: S.L. Simpson Gallery ISBN 189518200X
  • McEvilley, Thomas (1995) Fictive Space Judith Schwarz and Arlene Stamp,(catalogue) Calgary, Canada: Illingworth Kerr Gallery of the Alberta College of Art and Design ISBN 189508640X[24]
  • Campbell, James D.; Wyatt, Joseph (1998) Dissembling Structures: a survey of Judith Schwarz sculpture, 1989-1998 (catalogue) Waterloo, Canada: University of Waterloo Art Gallery ISBN 0969382316[12]
  • Youngs, Christopher; Judith Schwarz: transcriptions - a travelogue (catalogue) Reading, USA: Freeman Gallery[25]

References

  1. ^ a b "Artist/Maker name "Schwarz, Judith"". www.app.pch.gc.ca. Ottawa, Canada: Government of Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G. (2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. New York, USA: Routledge. p. 498. ISBN 978-0-8240-6049-7. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Judith Schwarz". www.ampd.yorku.ca. Toronto, Canada: York University. 29 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b Else, Beverley (24 February 1999). "Schwarz wins Lynch-Staunton Award". York University Gazette Online. Vol. 29, no. 21. Toronto, Canada: York University. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b Genereux, Linda (1990). "Toronto: Judith Schwarz, York University". Artforum (September). New York, USA: Artforum International: 167. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b "60s Ruins in Process - Vancouver Art in the Sixties". www.vancouverartinthesixties.com. Vancouver, Canada. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Celebrating the Arts, in Public: Vancouver boasts more than 350 outdoor artworks". Vancouver, Canada: The Vancouver Sun. 27 September 2014. p. 19. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  8. ^ François-Marc Gagnon. "Sculpture". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "The Emily Awards: 75th Anniversary Archival Exhibition". Vancouver, Canada: Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. 10 June 2000. p. 68. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  10. ^ Lehmann, Henry (4 April 1998). "Scrutiny only deepens the mystery, by Henry Lehmann". The Gazette. Montreal, Canada: The Gazette. p. 118. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b c Campbell, James D.; Wyatt, Joseph; University of Waterloo Art Gallery; Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery; Charles H. Scott Gallery (1998). Dissembling structures: a survey of Judith Schwarz sculpture, 1989-1998 (pbk.) (Catalogue ed.). Waterloo, Canada: University of Waterloo Art Gallery. pp. 1–48. ISBN 0969382316. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  12. ^ Hassan, Jamelie (1985). "The pressure of a body" (pdf). C Magazine. Spring (5). Toronto, Canada: 76–77. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  13. ^ Dewdney, Christopher (December 1989). "Enigmatic / Emblematic: The Internal Logic of Judith Schwarz's Sculpture". Canadian Art. 6 (4).
  14. ^ a b Gallery/Stratford (1989). Reciprocation: Judith Schwarz. Stratford, Canada: Stratford Gallery. OCLC 79098038.
  15. ^ Hill, Sharon (30 Nov 1989). "Exhibit is a 'moving' experience". Windsor, Canada: The Windsor Star. p. 40. Retrieved 23 Apr 2019.
  16. ^ Reno, Mike (30 September 1989). "Names in the News". Vancouver, Canada: The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  17. ^ Judith Schwartz. OCAD University Library. 1990. pp. 1–38. ISBN 0919837271. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  18. ^ Gustafson, Paula (7 Jul 1990). "More than just a travel adventure: Artists make fresh links between people, nature on Oldman Expedition" (Online). Calgary, Canada: Calgary Herald. p. 13. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  19. ^ Tousley, Nancy (27 January 1994). "Art takes us behind the looking glass" (Online). Calgary, Canada: Calgary Herald. p. 18. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  20. ^ Campbell, James D. (1997). "Eloquent Liar" (pdf). CMagazine. Feb–Apr (52). Toronto, Canada: 17–20. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  21. ^ Armstrong, John (2000). "Rapprochement: John Armstrong on an exhibition of works by Carmelo Arnoldin & Judith Schwarz" (pdf). CMagazine. Summer (66). Toronto, Canada: 12–17. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  22. ^ Dault, Gary Michael (25 September 2004). "The knotty question of perception". No. Arts. Toronto, Canada: The Globe and Mail, Inc. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  23. ^ Tousley, Nancy. "Art". Calgary, Canada: Calgary Herald. p. 18. Retrieved 23 Apr 2019.
  24. ^ Youngs, Christopher (2000). Judith Schwarz: transcriptions - a travelogue. Reading, USA: Freeman Gallery. OCLC 978018009.