Emma Schwartz
Emma Schwartz is originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. She received her BFA in Drawing and Illustration from Herron School of Art + Design in 2022 and is currently pursuing her MFA in Studio Art at Syracuse University. Her work was featured in solo exhibitions with Storage Space Gallery in Indianapolis, IN, and the Biblio Gallery in Syracuse, NY. Additionally, her work has appeared in group exhibitions at the Indianapolis Art Center, the Harrison Center, and Lost Dog Gallery in Indianapolis; Governors Island and High Line Nine Gallery in NYC; and Soft Times Gallery in San Francisco. Her work broadly focuses on the ways indoctrination is used within the religious and secular realms to control our views of right and wrong relating to sexual and body ethics. She looks to singular and collective experiences to convey these expansive observations and their ignominious effects on the development of personal morals. She features communal and solitary settings in her work where individual inquisition, acceptance, care, and mutual consciousness-raising occur.
Collect Bean: What does growth mean to you?
Emma Schwartz: Growth is about following your passions and being able to take the highs and lows in stride. As an artist it is about loving what you are creating and that you feel you are developing into a fuller version of yourself.
Collect Bean: If you had to describe your work in only three words, what would they be?
Emma Schwartz: Fleshy, intimate, and personal
Collect Bean: What does an ideal day in your studio look like?
I start the day by getting up early to walk the dog, drink coffee, and then head over to the studio. Once I get there, I turn on music, Caroline Polacheck is what I’ve had on recently, or a podcast, Sound & Vision is my go-to. I then mix paint by color matching from my reference image and then start painting. I usually work on one painting for a few hours and then I switch to another piece. Rotating between works helps me to have fresh eyes and see things that I need to change or develop more. I then head home and spend the evening writing and reading. I find I can write about the work best when I take time away from it.
Collect Bean: What is the kindest thing someone can tell you about your work?
Emma Schwartz: One of my friends told me that my work gave them a new perspective and that an artwork has not done that for them in a while. That really meant a lot to me because my work uses personal stories as a point of consciousness-raising. That sort of confirmed to me that the aim of my work is coming across to others.
Collect Bean: How do you decide on the subject matter for a painting?
Emma Schwartz: My personal experiences of sexual exploration, partnership, comradery, and consent are the basis of my work. I create a welcoming environment of sexual freedom for the figures and the viewer. I aim to emulate the self and collective acceptance that can be hard to find in a world based in shaming those who do not conform to traditional standards.
So, after I am done taking reference images, I print out around 15 to 20 of my favorites and look at them side by side. I compare them to see which one is accomplishing my concepts best. Once I narrow it down to two or three images that convey my ideas fully. The other ones I will visit later.
