Artist Stanley Schwartz offers the world another look at his collection of
marvelous sculptures of the animal kingdom. Most of the larger pieces are
one-of-a-kind creations, while a few are limited editions for home décor.
Stanley Schwartz is a native Angeleno whose technically masterful beasts are
animated with a lively charm.
Stanley Schwartz's creations not only pay tribute to the particular genius
of each animal, but are also homage to his varied materials. The viewer
stands back, or crawls up close, in awe of a mind that could perceive in the
rawness of a block of wood the finished, polished creature before us. His
ebony rhinoceros lumbers stolidly over the land, though it stands but a few
inches tall. His parrot seems to have just touched down from a foraging
flight through tropical vines. His rabbit bears a soft coat of fur mimicked
in the grain of wood. These animals coexist in an enviable "peaceable
kingdom."
Some years back, the well-known poet Tom McGrath wrote a short appreciation of Stanley Schwartz’s work when it was on display at the Lane Galleries in Westwood. We quote from the Brentwood-Bel Air Pacer:
“Man began representing animals through painting and sculpture in order to extend a magical control over the creature he represented—this, he thought, assured him success in hunting. (Abstract art, among other things, suggests that man has lost control over his environment.) Later he went on making his images of wild nature for various reasons including his need for fun, for play.
“The Stan Schwartz show…is a good example of art-as-play. These decorative sculptures in walnut, maple and ash are mostly of birds, beasts and fish. They are beautifully turned out and the forms are handled with a wit and fantasy which render the essential gestures in exceptionally handsome terms. While the animal forms for the most part show Schwartz’s wit, there is a group of dancing figures in a lyric mode which have real strength along with great charm. An off-beat, unpretentious and quite considerable talent made these pieces.”
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