When we get a glimpse inside the studio of this month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz, we not only see into gain insight into where she works, but in this video, we are also given the privilege of seeing how she works. I promise you will never look at one of her paintings the same way again.
The limited palette and tight scope of the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is what continues to keep me enthralled with her paintings. An artist whose work shares these same characteristics is Lily Stockman, whose work I’ve featuredtwice here on the blog.
Lily and her sister, Hopie, have teamed up to create Block Shop, a textiles company creating hand block printed, naturally dyed scarves crafted in India by the Chhipa family of master printers ( more about the process here ). Doesn’t it seem fitting that if you love Peri’s focus on her place of inspiration, creation, and process that you would wear an artist designed, hand crafted and created scarf? Of course it does!
Because they are hand crafted, only a limited number of Block Shop textiles are created at one time. The entire inventory sold out in less than a week when Block Shop launched back in December! So Lily & Hopie have restocked and are taking pre-orders for April 1st shipping. And if you love these as much as I do, you’d better get your order in now before they’re gone!
See more from Peri Schwartz and Block Shop on their websites, linked here and here.
I may have mentioned Mr. Forager has taken up beer making. Lately he has been obsessed with finding out the best methods and practices for brewing the perfect beer. He recently told me about a fellow brewer he found online that worked for over twenty years to perfect one particular brew recipe. Talk about practicing and perfecting your craft! This month’s Featured Artist, Peri Schwartz is equally tenacious in striving to capture every nuanced surface, angle and corner in her own studio.
Studio IX, color monotype, 30×34.5Studio XXX, oil on canvas, 38×48
By narrowing her scope of work and field of vision, Schwartz frees herself to carefully explore her space, the forms inhabited therein, and the light that enters and retreats each day. Although her overall style and palette remains consistent, we can see her exploring how the space and objects are represented.. sometimes they are mere planes of color, other times their shapes are more concrete.
Studio 12, ink and charcoal on mylar, 12.34×27Studio #13, ink and charcoal on mylar, 13.30x28x25
In other instances, as in her black and white drawings above, she is carefully studying the effect of light on the familiar surfaces, carefully watching and interpreting the reflective play between light and shadow.
March is here! Where in the world did February go? Sneaky little short month catches me off guard every time. But I’m excited to welcome a new month because it means welcoming a new Featured Artist to Artsy Forager! Please help give a warm artsy welcome to New York artist Peri Schwartz!
Studio XXXII by Peri Schwartz
Be sure to head on over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page where Peri’s work will be gracing the cover for the month of March! And don’t forget to check out her Facebook album, where you’ll see a combination of her latest work and a few of my personal favorites. Happy month of March!
Life just gets so complicated, doesn’t it? We are constantly bombarded with imagery and information, it’s a wonder our brains can keep up! What I love most about the work of New York artist, Peri Schwartz is her way of seeming to keep things simple in such a complicated world.
Studio XXVIII, 2010, 38×52
Using simple swathes of bold color, she distills objects and spaces into their purest planes and forms. We are no longer caught up in minute, mind-numbing detail, but instead, can enjoy her worlds for the lively, colorful spaces they are.
Studio XXXI, 2011, 38×50
She uses perspective to great advantage, as it is directs us and gives our too often over-saturated brains a bit of a rest.. sort of just gently pulling us along so that we know just what we are seeing before we even realize we are seeing it. 😉
Bottles and Jars XVI, 2011, 36×22
The peek-a-boo quality of the lines and grids give a hint that there is much more going on beneath the surface than our eyes may notice upon first glance.
Studio XXIX, 2010, 38×52
Doesn’t that always seem to be the case, though? We make simplistic conclusions about complicated processes. Each of these works are a complex juxtaposition of color, light and space, fooling our eye into seeing form and shape in a primitively intricate way.
Studio XXXII, 2011, 40×44
To see more of Peri Schwartz’s work, please visit her website.