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llf illiam Schwedler's tragic UU deatn at the age of 40 (that's right, 40) has robbed me of a friend, and the art world of one of the more en' gaging and comPlex Painters to emerge from that some' times murky, Pluralistic, "me" decade of the Seventies. A tragedy, yes, but the large memorial exhibition that was mounted in FebruarY at the Ti- bor de NagY GallerY will helP secure Schwedler's Position as the major Painter that I al- ways felt he was. Being an ar- tist isn't alwaYs easy, but Schwedler always gavethe aP- Dearance that it was. Where I f ound the waters to be choPPY and cold, he would beckon "to come on in, the water'sf ine." Schwedler'sPaintings from the beginning to the bitter end were ripe with a surreal, ab- stract poetry filled with refer- ences to landscaPes (seen f rom above), architecture (seg- mented and blown apart), tex' ture (cracked), line (broken, chopped, and Pulled to pieces),and delicate, but vo- luotuous color. His work also had a dark sense of humor of a Buiuelish, Exterminating An- gel kind, where You want to leave (l've had enough) but you can't. Schwedlerwas born in Chi- cago in 1942,and the literature that has been written about his work makes much of the architectural influence this ci' ty had on him. I can imagine him in "potato citY," as he used to call his home town, studying at the Art lnstitute with his friends CYnthiaCarl- son, Jim Nutt, Art Green, and Karl Wirsum, taking in the grains, textures, spaces, ano elevated structuresof this oh- so-American city. I have in f ront of me two catalogues of his work. How much like Schwedler that the titles for his paintings say as mucn about his life and work as the essays included in the cata- logues do. A samPle Time FIies, ln The Long Run, Time ls Mon' ey, A Blessing In Dlsguise, Turn For The Worse, Going Over The Edge, AllShow-No Go. Ups and Downs, All That Glitters /s Gold, lndividual Needs, Misery Loves Com' pany, Falling For FlatterY, A Perfect Stranger, Thank You, Come Again, An EasY Out, and Against The Grain.One would be hard put to f ind more accu- rate and pungent titles to de- scribe an artist's sensibilitY and style of life better than these autobiograPhical titles assigned to Schwedler's work by himselfand his f riends. The early work, which I f irst saw in 1970(and there were a few f ine examPles of this Peri- od in the de NagYexhibition), consisted of strangeand mar- velous architectural elements resting in serene, soft color- field landscapes. Contradic- tions in both scale and image- ry abound in these works. Wooden phallic-like shaPes nestle cozily next to chain-link fences. Girders and beams bend around each other in f riendship; chunks of wood and brick spheres and other geometrical shapes (all won- derf ully rendered) f loat in and aroundknotted roPes and limP trestles. LandscaPes of the weird. The stuff that night- mares are made of . In 1974 a dramatic change came about in Schwedler's paintings. Gone were the ar- chitectural references,to be replaced by a more abstract view of the world. These large canvases, shown at the An- drew Crispo Gallery in 1975, presented the viewer with an impressive body of work based on landscapes as if seen through the eYeof a bird in f light on acid. For the most part these beautiful toPo- graphical paintings consisted of what seemed like f hou' sandsof f inelydrawn,web-like charcoal lines, crisscrossed by "states" of soft colors and "zones" of wood-grain Pat- terns. Interspersed within these lands were more heavi- ly drawn charcoallines,some- WILLIAM SCHWEDLER William Schwedler, Untitled, 1980. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 36 x 72". Courtesy Tibor de Nagy Gallety. times leaving a hazY laYerof dust across the colored areas and zones. For me this mode of operation came to its f inest realization one Year later in his one-person exhibition at the Alessandra GallerY. Here Schwedler started to exPlore the use of gel as a means of sculptural relief or emboss- ment. Built uP and uP, some' times clear, sometimes tinted and patterned, bands of gel crisscrossed and meandered across the canvases, like rest- less rivers and lakes. These works also contained a fine dose of his now familiaramor- phic, microcosmic, and Phal' lic imagery. These can be most readilY seen in the work on paper ot 1975'76lilled ltala. which can be read either as a pun on the maP of ltalY or as an homageto his close f riend. Italo Scanga. The most recent worKs shown in the de NagY exhibi- tion were the Painful (Painful only in the sense that these were the final works), irregu- lar, densely Packed shaPed- paintings on PlYwood of 1980-82. RelativelY small and of various eccentric sizes. they were arranged on one large wall, jutting out into real soace to confront the vlewer with a joyous sadness. These bending, curving, sculPtural paintings made extenslveuse of the rich vocabularY that SchwedlerdeveloPed over his much too brief career of barelY twenty years. Brightly Painted wooden dowels coveredin texture and design, patterns of charcoal lines careeningnext to small. obsessively built-uP areas of color, and relaxed Patches of loose washes that sit comfort- ably next to shaPes of acidY purples and oranges make uP these final Paintings. There are even collage elements: wallpaperborders, Pictures of slain President KennedY's face cut from matchbook cov- ers, and membershiP cards and vouchersf rom that notori' ous gay watering hole and hangout,The Anvil. ExPloding areas of everYthing.In fact. these last works seem like so many explosions in a gay dls- co on a hot summer night. In his short, imPortant, highlY personal career as an artist. William Schwedlerhas left us with a rich bodY of work. Tak- ing the title of his Painting f rom 1978-79, he will be Sore/Y Mlssed. (Tibor de NagY, Febru- ary 5-March 9) lra Joel Haber
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l l f i l l iam Schwedler 's t ragicUU deatn at the age of 40
(that 's r ight , 40) has robbedme of a f r iend, and the artwor ld of one of the more en'gaging and comPlex Paintersto emerge from that some't imes murky, Plural ist ic, "me"decade of the Sevent ies. Atragedy, yes, but the largememorial exhibi t ion that wasmounted in FebruarY at the Ti-bor de NagY Gal lerY wi l l helPsecure Schwedler 's Posi t ionas the major Painter that I a l -ways fel t he was. Being an ar-t is t isn ' t a lwaYs easy, butSchwedler always gave the aP-Dearance that i t was. Where If ound the waters to be choPPYand cold, he would beckon " tocome on in, the water 's f ine."
Schwedler 's Paint ings f romthe beginning to the bi t ter endwere r ipe wi th a surreal , ab-stract poetry f i l led wi th refer-ences to landscaPes (seenf rom above), archi tecture (seg-mented and blown apart) , tex 'ture (cracked), l ine (broken,chopped, and Pul led topieces), and del icate, but vo-luotuous color. His work alsohad a dark sense of humor of aBuiuel ish, Exterminat ing An-gel k ind, where You want toleave ( l 've had enough) butyou can' t .
Schwedler was born in Chi-cago in 1942,and the l i teraturethat has been wri t ten about
his work makes much of thearchi tectural inf luence this c i 'ty had on him. I can imaginehim in "potato c i tY," as heused to cal l h is home town,studying at the Art lnst i tutewith his f r iends CYnthia Car l -son, J im Nutt , Art Green, andKarl Wirsum, taking in thegrains, textures, spaces, anoelevated structures of th is oh-so-American ci ty. I have inf ront of me two catalogues ofhis work. How much l ikeSchwedler that the t i t les forhis paint ings say as mucnabout his l i fe and work as theessays included in the cata-logues do. A samPle Time FIies,ln The Long Run, Time ls Mon'ey, A Blessing In Dlsguise,Turn For The Worse, GoingOver The Edge, Al lShow-NoGo. Ups and Downs, Al l ThatGlitters /s Gold, lndividualNeeds, Misery Loves Com'pany, Fall ing For FlatterY, APerfect Stranger, Thank You,Come Again, An EasY Out, andAgainst The Grain. One wouldbe hard put to f ind more accu-rate and pungent t i t les to de-scr ibe an art ist 's sensibi l i tYand sty le of l i fe better thanthese autobiograPhical t i t lesassigned to Schwedler 's workby himsel f and his f r iends.
The ear ly work, which I f i rstsaw in 1970 (and there were afew f ine examPles of th is Per i -od in the de NagY exhibi t ion),
consisted of strange and mar-velous archi tectural e lementsrest ing in serene, sof t color-f ie ld landscapes. Contradic-t ions in both scale and image-ry abound in these works.Wooden phal l ic- l ike shaPesnest le cozi ly next to chain- l inkfences. Girders and beamsbend around each other inf r iendship; chunks of woodand br ick spheres and othergeometr ical shapes (al l won-derf u l ly rendered) f loat in andaround knotted roPes and l imPtrest les. LandscaPes of theweird. The stuf f that n ight-mares are made of .
In 1974 a dramat ic changecame about in Schwedler 'spaint ings. Gone were the ar-chi tectural references, to bereplaced by a more abstractv iew of the wor ld. These largecanvases, shown at the An-drew Crispo Gal lery in 1975,presented the viewer wi th animpressive body of workbased on landscapes as i fseen through the eYe of a birdin f l ight on acid. For the mostpart these beaut i fu l toPo-graphical paint ings consistedof what seemed l ike f hou'sands of f inely drawn, web- l ikecharcoal l ines, cr isscrossedby "states" of sof t colors and"zones" of wood-grain Pat-terns. Interspersed withinthese lands were more heavi-ly drawn charcoal l ines, some-
WILLIAM SCHWEDLERWil l iam Schwedler, Unt i t led, 1980. Acryl ic and
mixed media on canvas, 36 x 72". Courtesy Tibor deNagy Gallety.
t imes leaving a hazY laYer ofdust across the colored areasand zones. For me this modeof operat ion came to i ts f inestreal izat ion one Year later in hisone-person exhibi t ion at theAlessandra Gal lerY. HereSchwedler started to exPlorethe use of gel as a means ofsculptural re l ief or emboss-ment. Bui l t uP and uP, some't imes clear, somet imes t intedand patterned, bands of gelcr isscrossed and meanderedacross the canvases, l ike rest-less r ivers and lakes. Theseworks also contained a f inedose of h is now fami l iar amor-phic, microcosmic, and Phal 'l ic imagery. These can bemost readi lY seen in the workon paper ot 1975'76 lilled ltala.which can be read ei ther as apun on the maP of l ta lY or asan homage to his c lose f r iend.I ta lo Scanga.
The most recent worKsshown in the de NagY exhibi-t ion were the Painful (Painfulonly in the sense that thesewere the f inal works), i r regu-lar , densely Packed shaPed-paint ings on PlYwood of1980-82. Relat ivelY smal l andof var ious eccentr ic s izes.they were arranged on onelarge wal l , jut t ing out into realsoace to confront the v lewerwith a joyous sadness. Thesebending, curving, sculPturalpaint ings made extenslve useof the r ich vocabularY thatSchwedler develoPed over hismuch too br ief career of barelYtwenty years.
Br ight ly Painted woodendowels covered in texture anddesign, patterns of charcoall ines careening next to smal l .obsessively bui l t -uP areas ofcolor, and relaxed Patches ofloose washes that s i t comfort-ably next to shaPes of acidYpurples and oranges make uPthese f inal Paint ings. Thereare even col lage elements:wal lpaper borders, Pictures ofs la in President KennedY'sface cut f rom matchbook cov-ers, and membershiP cardsand vouchers f rom that notor i 'ous gay water ing hole andhangout, The Anvi l . ExPlodingareas of everYthing. In fact .these last works seem l ike somany explosions in a gay dls-co on a hot summer night. Inhis short , imPortant, h ighlYpersonal career as an art ist .Wi l l iam Schwedler has lef t uswith a r ich bodY of work. Tak-ing the t i t le of h is Paint ingf rom 1978-79, he wi l l be Sore/YMlssed. (Tibor de NagY, Febru-ary 5-March 9)
l ra Joel Haber
