A new solo show by the renowned Ludwig Schwarz is invariably worthy of note, and “Mountain View,” at Dallas’ Conduit Gallery, is no exception.
In a rare combination, Schwarz has full mastery of two distinct but complementary aspects of art-making: both the sensuous facility of painting to please the eye, and the canny ability to create conceptual frameworks in which to embed his paintings. (For example, he has presented his works as emerging from within a computer desktop or a thrift shop.) A painter and a conceptual artist in one, Schwarz creates works that appeal to fans of similarly brainy artists such as R.H. Quaytman or Jutta Koether, both of whose work stretches the mind of the viewer.
The 6 1/2-foot-tall-on-canvas paintings in “Mountain View” each integrate an immense variety of pattern and texture within a shallow visual space. Billowy color fields like those of Richard Diebenkorn or Helen Frankenthaler writhe around patches of goofy Sigmar Polke-like patterns, bouncing off each other in all directions.
The paintings hint at resolving into a coherent, illusionistic visual space without quite doing so, creating a delicious visual tension that leaves the viewer wanting more.
Don’t miss it!
Details
“Ludwig Schwarz: Mountain View” is on view through Oct. 4 at Conduit Gallery, 1626 C Hi Line Drive. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. 214-939-0084. conduitgallery.com.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.
