Bill Schwarz

Artist Statement

Art helps me find equilibrium between what I was trained to do and what I want to do. As a lawyer, I look at facts and study detail in order to find the core of an issue. In my practice, what may often appear simple may be much more complex.

In my art, I like to do the opposite. The world around me ? landscape, architecture, people ? is a complexity of planes, textures, and colours. I like to make this intricacy simple. What I see undergoes an inner transformation; it is reshaped and crystalized into something elemental. My art is a quest for balance between the detail I perceive and the simplicity I want to achieve.

I have a deep interest in the urban landscape. This means architecture, from buildings and boats to vehicles and machinery. I am fascinated by the effect that nature has on this architecture . . . weathering or breaking it down to give it unique character. I am captivated by the idea that, when architecture is new, it tends to look essentially the same. It is time, above all, that gives it its unique characteristics and quality ? and that inspires me to integrate observed reality, memory, and imagination.