Susan Swartz: Breaking Away at the Manetti Shrem Museum in UC Davis

“The leitmotif of ‘breaking away’ is embedded in all of the paintings in this show, at multiple levels. The works incrementally tell the story of Swartz’s experience and output as a series of pivotal moments: The artist breaking away from attachment to decorative notions of ‘beauty’ in art, breaking away from depicting outward nature to reflecting her inner nature, breaking away from the limits of representation and successive formalist stages, from the pause imposed by the duties of motherhood, family, career, from the debility of personal health issues and the imperatives of the market.” - Melik Kaylan, journalist for the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and New York Times

This booklet is published on the occasion of the exhibition SUSAN SWARTZ: BREAKING AWAY at the Manetti Shrem Museum in UC Davis, California.