Barbara Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
artist and art teacher.
Schwartz was born in Philadelphia. She studied at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
for her BFA. She moved to New York and had her first solo show in 1975 at the Willard Gallery. Towards the end of the 1970s, she aimed to develop abstract painting, including non-Western decorative elements, such as an Islamic influence, as well as integrating geometric with organic forms. Her painted plaster reliefs were associated with the Pattern and Decoration
Pattern and Decoration
Pattern and Decoration was an art movement situated in the United States from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. The movement has sometimes been referred to as "P&D" or as The New Decorativeness.The movement was championed by the gallery owner Holly Solomon....
movement in New York. From 1978, she taught at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
. In 1979, she was represented in the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
. She experimented with numerous materials, including wood, glass, and metal, and often cast pieces in bronze and aluminum. She used glazed ceramic for her work in the 1990s. Her last representing gallery was the Andre Zarre Gallery in New York, where she had a show shortly before her death.
Her work is in the collections of Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is Utah's primary resource for culture and visual arts. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah on the University of Utah campus near Rice–Eccles Stadium. Works of art are displayed on a rotating basis. It is a university and state art museum...
, Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
, New York, Neuberger Museum, New York, the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
, Cincinnati Museum of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
.
She married, and was divorced from, artists Bill Jensen and Art Schade. She died age 58 from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
which developed from chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
she had twelve years previously for ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
, said her companion, Richard Johnson; she was also survived by her stepdaughter, Megan Schade.