Robert Swain
Artist Statement:
Color, as a form of energy from the electromagnetic spectrum, stimulates our perception and conveys emotions. It can be culturally encoded, with colors often symbolizing specific meanings. For example, red may evoke danger in some cultures, while green and red each produce distinct emotional responses based on their wavelengths. The energy emitted by color creates physiological changes, affecting our feelings. Altering a color, like transitioning from pure red to pink or earth tones, shifts its emotional impact. In this way, color becomes a direct transmission of energy and emotion, beyond cultural associations. When colors are paired—like red and green—contrast intensifies, enhancing the experience of their unique energies. This interaction reveals the substantial content inherent in the wavelengths of color.
Artist Biography:
Robert Swain (b. December 7, 1940, Austin, Texas) is an artist with an extensive exhibition history, including fourteen solo shows and over sixty group exhibitions at prestigious museums like The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work has been featured in biennials at The Corcoran Gallery of Art (1968, 1998).
Swain has received notable awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969), multiple National Endowment for the Arts Grants (1976, 1989), and the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teaching of Art Award (1998). He has also completed ten major commissions, including works for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, I.M. Pei, and the University of Buffalo. His artwork is housed in over 290 private and public collections, including The Albright-Knox Art Gallery and The Detroit Institute of Arts. For more, visit www.robertswainnyc.com.
AAA:
Member Since: 1978
