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Sharon Swift Career Retrospective Exhibit Now on Display in Neil Britton Art Gallery
Newly-retired VWU faculty member’s art reflects society in unexpected ways
University News | September 4, 2024
When Òùµ´ÉÙ¸¾ Professor Emerita of Art Sharon Swift sees a phrase or image, she views it with a penetrating focus, looking beyond the obvious for deeper meaning. When she finds it, the result is often a thought-provoking piece of art. Swift retired from teaching at VWU in May 2024. After serving 23 years in Òùµ´ÉÙ¸¾’s Susan S. Goode School of Arts and Humanities, a career retrospective of her work is being featured in the Neil Britton Art Gallery in the H.C. Hofheimer II Library now through the end of the fall semester. 
“I make photos,” says Swift. “And I use photos to create more complicated artworks that combine a variety of materials and techniques. Some projects are my response to a phrase gleaned from reading or a newscast. My sketchbooks are filled with more words than images. Sometimes these words become a title, and the work grows from that.”
The exhibition features artworks created from the 1970s through this summer. In her review of the exhibition, Dr. Michelle Tillander, Associate Professor, University of Florida, notes that it “demonstrates a persistent interrogation of the ways in which Swift sees her world through photography, design, drawing, and assemblage. Swift’s texts and images in this exhibition are from her practice, as well as appropriated from mass media. By manipulating them, Swift reflects a reality that brings events into our sight, prompting us to pause and think about what is happening in our world. 
“Playing subtly with abstraction, Swift’s command of visual layering, juxtaposing, and expertise with color and hand coloring brings insightful meaning, context, and interpretation for the viewer’s musings. Her approaches are sometimes aesthetic, sometimes ironic, sometimes humorous, and sometimes serious and critical—but always thought provoking.”
Even as a child, Swift saw the world differently and it is her hope that this exhibition reflects that inclination. “When I was about 10 years old, I wrote a note that stated my hope for my life was to make the places I pass through better,” says Swift. “I still have that note. I am grateful that making art hand-in-hand with my academic career has provided the avenue to, at least in some small way, have done so.”
About Sharon Swift, Professor Emerita of Art
Sharon Swift has participated in more than 140 juried and invitational art exhibitions. Her works can be found in many private collections plus the permanent holdings of the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Franklin Furnace in NYC. Swift's professional recognition includes a Fulbright Travel Grant to the People's Republic of China, selection for prestigious workshops at the Maine Photographic Workshops, the Santa Fe Workshops, an Artist's Residency at the Virginia Center for the Arts, and numerous design and photography awards. She has taught in Japan, the Bureau of Indian Affairs School, and four universities, including Òùµ´ÉÙ¸¾.