Local Atmosphere
Jean Schwartz
October 14th - November 11th, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 14th, 2023, 4:00-6:00 pm
Artist Statement
I find inspiration in the landscape that is most familiar to me, particularly that along the Potomac River as it runs from the foothills of the Blue Ridge, through DC and below. Throughout the seasons our moist climate provides ephemeral, atmospheric moments that often lend mystery or a sense of anticipation to the scene. These light effects give me the opportunity to experiment with luminous color and diffuse light in giving expression to these landscapes. Hence the title of the show, LOCAL ATMOSPHERE.
Biography
Jean Schwartz, a native of New Jersey is an oil painter who is equally working en plein air or in her home studio. Her subjects are varied and include landscape, marine, and cityscapes.
Schwartz majored in Fine Arts at Upsala College. After graduating from Upsala, she spent a year working and studying in Paris, where she enjoyed having her first exhibit of paintings at the Galerie du Passeur on the rue du Bac. Returning home, she exhibited her work in galleries and regional exhibits in New York state before moving to Washington DC, which became her permanent home. In DC, her work caught the attention of a gallery on Capitol Hill, Talking of Michelangelo, which exclusively exhibited the work of women artists. The gallery was active in promoting women artists throughout the 70s.
In the mid 80’s, Schwartz attended George Washington University where she graduated from the Landscape Design Program and started her own landscape design business. That work furthered her love of landscaping painting and after 12 years she closed her business and returned to painting full time.
Schwartz’s paintings are in private and corporate collections both in the U.S. and France. Through the State Department’s Art in Embassies program she has loaned paintings to the US embassies in Ankara Turkey and Soltje Macedonia. She is a juried member of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters, The Salmagundi Club NYC, The American Artist’s Professional League, Oil Painters of America, and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society.