Susan Schwalb

Susan Schwalb
Strata #502 by Susan Schwalb
Born	1944 New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Carnegie Mellon University
Known for	contemporary painter

Susan Schwalb is a contemporary silverpoint artist. She was born in New York City (1944), graduated from the High School of Music & Art (1961), and has a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University (1965). She married the composer Martin Boykan in 1983 and currently lives and works in New York City.

Schwalb was born in New York City (1944), graduated from the High School of Music & Art (1961), and holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University (1965). In 1983 she married composer Martin Boykan and works from her Manhattan studio. Her work blends the mediums of drawing and painting. She is a leader in the use of silverpoint in contemporary art.

Susan Schwalb is one of the foremost figures in the revival of the ancient technique of silverpoint drawing in America. Most of the contemporary artists who draw with a metal stylus continue the tradition of Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer by using the soft, delicate line for figurative imagery . By contrast, Schwalb's work is abstract, and her handling of the technique is innovative . In some works, paper is torn and burned to provide loose uncontrolled contrast to the precise linearity of silverpoint. In others, silverpoint is combined with flat expanses of acrylic paint or gold leaf. Subtle shifts of tone and color are evident from the juxtaposition of a different types of metal. In more recent works, Schwalb has abandoned the silverpoint stylus in favor of wide metal bands that achieve a shimmering atmosphere reminiscent of watercolor paintings.

Memories of light have been a recurrent source for her work. Travels to Arizona and New Mexico suggest some of the colors and shapes in the painting series called "Mesa", and other works are influenced by light on the Hudson River as viewed from her studio on the West Side of Manhattan. Visits to artist colonies such as the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts have also provided a backdrop to influence her work.