| Susan Schwalb’s work, along with those of artists like Philip Guston, Jean Dubuffet, and Joseph Beuys, is featured in the exhibition Post-War Abstraction: Works from The Courtauld. July 2 – October 12, 2025 The Courtauld Institute of Art Project Space Floor 2 Somerset House Strand, London, MC2R 0RN Open Daily 10am-6pm Drawn from The Courtauld’s significant collection of post-war art, this Project Space display will examine forms of abstraction which emerged in Europe and America in the 1950s and 1960s. It will explore the radical approaches towards non-representational image making and experimentation with techniques and materials. Running alongside the Gallery’s main exhibition, Abstract Erotic: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Alice Adams, this display will contribute to a season of abstraction at The Courtauld. Susan Schwalb‘s primary medium for over 40 years has been the Renaissance technique of silverpoint and metalpoint drawing. The works on paper juxtapose a wide variety of metals (silver, gold, brass, copper, platinum, pewter, bronze, and aluminum) to obtain soft shifts in tone and color reminiscent of the transparency of watercolor. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines evoke an atmosphere of serenity, and the shimmer of light on the surface, created by the metals, is quite unlike any of the usual effects. Her work is abstract, and her handling of the medium has become increasingly bold. |
Susan Schwalb, Parchment XXVIIParchment XXVIII, 1982, copperpoint, wax, fire, smoke
on video media paper, 12″x9″