BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Renwick Gallery -- Exhibit: June Schwarcz: Invention and Variation

DC -- Renwick Gallery -- Exhibit: June Schwarcz: Invention and Variation:

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Description of Pictures: June Schwarcz: Invention and Variation
March 10, 2017 – August 20, 2017
The exhibition will be the first retrospective spanning of the artist's entire career including works never seen before in public from her personal collection. June Schwarcz was the foremost enamelist in the country and known for her innovatatively designed vessels.

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[1] SIRGJS_170405_001.JPG	[2] SIRGJS_170405_007.JPG	[3] SIRGJS_170405_009.JPG
[4] SIRGJS_170405_012.JPG	[5] SIRGJS_170405_015.JPG	[6] SIRGJS_170405_017.JPG
[7] SIRGJS_170405_019.JPG	[8] SIRGJS_170405_022.JPG	[9] SIRGJS_170405_025.JPG
[10] SIRGJS_170405_027.JPG	[11] SIRGJS_170405_030.JPG	[12] SIRGJS_170405_034.JPG
[13] SIRGJS_170405_036.JPG	[14] SIRGJS_170405_044.JPG	[15] SIRGJS_170405_049.JPG
[16] SIRGJS_170405_053.JPG	[17] SIRGJS_170405_056.JPG	[18] SIRGJS_170405_058.JPG
[19] SIRGJS_170405_064.JPG	[20] SIRGJS_170405_066.JPG	[21] SIRGJS_170405_070.JPG
[22] SIRGJS_170405_072.JPG	[23] SIRGJS_170405_075.JPG	[24] SIRGJS_170405_079.JPG
[25] SIRGJS_170405_082.JPG	[26] SIRGJS_170405_085.JPG	[27] SIRGJS_170405_087.JPG
[28] SIRGJS_170405_090.JPG	[29] SIRGJS_170405_093.JPG	[30] SIRGJS_170405_096.JPG
[31] SIRGJS_170405_099.JPG	[32] SIRGJS_170405_101.JPG	[33] SIRGJS_170405_104.JPG
[34] SIRGJS_170405_109.JPG	[35] SIRGJS_170405_112.JPG	[36] SIRGJS_170405_114.JPG
[37] SIRGJS_170405_118.JPG	[38] SIRGJS_170405_121.JPG	[39] SIRGJS_170405_127.JPG
[40] SIRGJS_170405_129.JPG	[41] SIRGJS_170405_131.JPG	[42] SIRGJS_170405_133.JPG
[43] SIRGJS_170405_137.JPG	[44] SIRGJS_170405_139.JPG	[45] SIRGJS_170405_144.JPG
[46] SIRGJS_170405_147.JPG	[47] SIRGJS_170405_149.JPG	[48] SIRGJS_170405_151.JPG
[49] SIRGJS_170405_154.JPG	[50] SIRGJS_170405_159.JPG	[51] SIRGJS_170405_161.JPG
[52] SIRGJS_170405_162.JPG	[53] SIRGJS_170405_164.JPG	[54] SIRGJS_170405_167.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIRGJS_170405_001.JPG: June Schwarcz Invention & Variation June Schwarcz (1918--2015) was among the most innovative artists working in the enamels field. Best known for her electroplated metal sculpture with rich enamel color, Schwarcz produced an extensive body of work that referred to time-honored vessel making traditions. But her nonfunctional forms defied convention because, as she wryly noted, "They simply don't hold water." She first learned to fuse glass to metal around 1954 through informal workshops with friends. Largely self-taught, Schwarcz developed techniques that forged new territory, especially in her groundbreaking approach to building three-dimensional forms. The sources that inspired her abstract works reflect her abiding interests in fashion and textiles as well as in art from Europe, Africa, and Japan. Working from her home and studio in Sausalito, north of San Francisco, Schwarcz was a pivotal figure in the vibrant Northern California craft community. Among her friends and colleagues were many of the leading figures in postwar craft, including Kay Sekimachi, Bob Stocksdale, Peter Voulkos, and many others. Over a sixty-year-career, June Schwarcz continued her pioneering experiments in technique, finish, and design, offering a fresh vision to generations of enamelists. Her diverse repertoire of themes and inventions---which she revisited in nuanced variations---gave consistency to her work and integrity to all she produced.
2. SIRGJS_170405_012.JPG: Bowl (#316) 1957 Etched copper and enamel
3. SIRGJS_170405_015.JPG: Basse-taille In much of her early work, June Schwarcz used a traditional basse-taille enameling technique: cutting or etching into the surface of copper plates, plaques, and bowls to create complex compositions to which she added layers of transparent enamel. Fundamental to her work in bassetaille was her knowledge of printmaking techniques, particularly etching---using an acid bath to alter the surface of a metal plate. Schwarcz's nonrepresentational approach to basse-taille and her interest in ethnographic materials can be seen in several early works.
4. SIRGJS_170405_017.JPG: Fugue in Japanese (#491) 1966 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel, mounted in a wood panel
5. SIRGJS_170405_019.JPG: Old Manuscript (#411) 1964 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel, mounted in a wood panel
6. SIRGJS_170405_022.JPG: Nut Bowl II (#332) 1959 Etched copper and enamel
7. SIRGJS_170405_030.JPG: Barn (#327) 1956 Etched copper and enamel
8. SIRGJS_170405_034.JPG: Landscape and Nature Landscape---its ability to call forth memory and mood---inspired Schwarcz throughout her life. While Barn (#327) is one of her most descriptive compositions, the abstract panel Mist (#396) portrays cloud-covered mountains, an homage to the Asian landscape tradition. An Asian-inspired Zen aesthetic also informs her spare Holland Landscape (#643). Here the raw surface of the lower half contrasts sharply with vaporous mists in the upper zone. Mountain Landscape (#704) depicts more vibrant terrain. Upward-soaring vertical masses representing tree-covered mountains are enlivened by light shimmering across an intricately etched surface. Mountain Landscape depicts nature's deepest mystery as well as its most soaring majesty.
9. SIRGJS_170405_036.JPG: Mist (#396) 1964 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel
10. SIRGJS_170405_044.JPG: Holland Landscape (#643) 1974 Etched and electroplated copper, fused electroplated copper, and enamel
11. SIRGJS_170405_049.JPG: Mountain Landscape (#704) 1977 Etched copper, fused electroplated copper, and enamel
12. SIRGJS_170405_053.JPG: Vessel (#2249) 2004 Electroplated copper foil
13. SIRGJS_170405_056.JPG: Bowl (#494) 1966 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, purple oxide
14. SIRGJS_170405_058.JPG: SLAC Drawing VII (#661) 1975 Electroplated copper and enamel
15. SIRGJS_170405_064.JPG: SLAC Drawing VIII (#662) 1975 Electroplated copper and enamel
16. SIRGJS_170405_066.JPG: SLAC Drawing III (#646) 1974 Electroplated copper and enamel
17. SIRGJS_170405_070.JPG: Electroplating By the early 1960s, Schwarcz felt limited by the thinness of the copper in her basse-taille enamels. She wanted to build higher walls around the recessed areas of etching and more varied surface texture. She found her trailblazing answer in electroplating---an industrial metalworking process that uses an electric current to move positively charged metal particles through a solution and deposit them on an object. About 1962 Schwarcz's husband built a thirty-gallon plating tank in their home and asked a colleague to teach her the process. With a few basic instructions, she began her pioneering experiments. After etching the surface of her plaques and vessels, she coated the etched areas with a masking agent. She then submerged the piece in the tank, and, over time, the areas of exposed metal were built up. She often repeated the process, covering built up areas and re-submerging the piece. Once she had achieved the desired effect, Schwarcz cleaned the piece, applied enamel color, and fired it in her kiln.
18. SIRGJS_170405_072.JPG: Bowl (#572) 1970 Electroplated copper foil and enamel
19. SIRGJS_170405_075.JPG: SLAC Design Box (#1044) 1989 Electroplated copper and enamel, mounted in a cherry box
20. SIRGJS_170405_079.JPG: Sculptural Form As Schwarcz became proficient in electroplating, she realized she could use that process---rather than standard, physically demanding metalworking techniques---to create three-dimensional, sculptural forms. Her breakthrough in the early 1960s enlisted her skills in design, patternmaking and sewing, and plating to formulate a dramatically new approach and a powerful body of work. Schwarcz conceived these pieces by first creating paper forms, maquettes of a sort, that resembled sewing patterns. Using these paper templates, she cut sheets of thin copper foil into the desired shapes. She then sewed these shapes together, often in vessel forms, using copper wire. She next immersed the still-malleable, stitched copper form in the plating tank for several days until it was substantial enough to stand on its own. It was then ready to be cleaned, enameled, fired, and finished.
21. SIRGJS_170405_082.JPG: Fortuny Bowl (#829) 1981 Electroplated copper and enamel
22. SIRGJS_170405_085.JPG: Fortuny Bowl (#828) 1981 Electroplated copper and enamel, raku fired
23. SIRGJS_170405_087.JPG: Central Asia II (#567) 1970 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel
24. SIRGJS_170405_090.JPG: East India (#978) 1987 Electroplated and etched copper foil and enamel
25. SIRGJS_170405_093.JPG: Vessel (#2329) 2007 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, gold plated
26. SIRGJS_170405_096.JPG: Art History Lesson – V�zelay (#682) 1975 Etched copper and enamel
27. SIRGJS_170405_099.JPG: Art as Inspiration: V�zelay Art History Lesson – V�zelay (#682) was inspired by the carved stone sculpture on the facade of a Romanesque church in France. The curving lines and arcing falls of the drapery across Christ's lap in the sculpture "triggered an idea" for this animated composition.
28. SIRGJS_170405_101.JPG: Detail from D�rer (#470) 1965 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel
29. SIRGJS_170405_104.JPG: Art as Inspiration: Albrecht D�rer Detail from D�rer (#470) is the earliest piece here directly inspired by the work of another artist. This panel reflects Schwarcz's admiration for the work of the sixteenth-century German painter and printmaker Albrecht D�rer, particularly his print depicting the Old Testament story of the Prodigal Son among the Swine. However, it was not the prodigal son himself that prompted her. Rather, it was the formal element of the overlapping rooflines in the background of the print.
30. SIRGJS_170405_109.JPG: Apollo's Pool (#2025) 1993 Electroplated copper foil and enamel
31. SIRGJS_170405_112.JPG: Vessel (#2046) 1994 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, patinated
32. SIRGJS_170405_114.JPG: Vessel (#2332) 2007 Electroplated copper mesh, patinated
33. SIRGJS_170405_118.JPG: Vessel (#2181) 2001 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, iron plated and patinated
34. SIRGJS_170405_121.JPG: Vessel (#2329) 2007 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, gold plated
35. SIRGJS_170405_127.JPG: Panel (#802) 1980 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel
36. SIRGJS_170405_129.JPG: Portrait of Fujiwara Mitsuyoshi (#777) 1979 Etched and electroplated copper and enamel
37. SIRGJS_170405_131.JPG: Adam's Pants #2 (#2196) 2002 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, sandblasted
38. SIRGJS_170405_133.JPG: Fortuny Bowl (#828) 1981 Electroplated copper and enamel, raku fired
39. SIRGJS_170405_137.JPG: Fortuny Bowl (#829) 1981 Electroplated copper and enamel
40. SIRGJS_170405_139.JPG: Vessel (#2110) 1997 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, sandblasted
41. SIRGJS_170405_144.JPG: Vessel (#2257) 2004 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, sandblasted
42. SIRGJS_170405_147.JPG: Vessel (#2117) 1998 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, oxidized and sandblasted
43. SIRGJS_170405_149.JPG: Vessel (#593) 1971 Electroplated copper foil and enamel
44. SIRGJS_170405_151.JPG: Bowl (#804) 1980 Electroplated copper foil and enamel, iron plated
45. SIRGJS_170405_159.JPG: Bowl (#809) 1981 Electroplated copper and enamel, green patination
46. SIRGJS_170405_161.JPG: Noshi Bowl (#717) 1977 Electroplated copper and enamel
47. SIRGJS_170405_162.JPG: Kimono Bowl (#709) 1977 Electroplated copper and enamel
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