From Hunger and Desire an exhibition at 107 Studios in San Antonio curated by The Lullwood Group.
"Elizabeth and I have shared studios in Texas and abroad over the last five years and while rarely collaborating on individual pieces of art there is a constant dialogue between our works - an exchange of ideas and a free flowing of concept and aesthetic. The title of the show, "Hunger and Desire" while remaining less than the focal point of either of our practices, addresses a strong intersection of both of our arts. In the paintings and sculptures on display an underlying compulsion or yearning, something taut just beyond the clutching filters of reason can be felt. It is this internal tension that sparks a similar feeling within the viewer, a small ember of curiosity that with luck will fan into a burning interest in the narratives behind the settings, the personalities behind the characters, and the history behind the work."
-Seth Orion Schwaiger
Seth Orion Schwaiger, born 1984, spent most of his childhood in a small town in northern Wyoming. He received his BFA from The University of Wyoming studying there from 2003-07. He has also trained as a studio assistant in Cortona Italy, practicing stone carving and as a woodcraft pupil at VKV Cultural Center in Kerala, India. The artist's work has been collected in Italy, Germany, the UK, and the US with large public sculpture at the University of Wyoming in Laramie; Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas, Texas; the Broomhill Sculpture Park, Devon, UK as part of the National Sculpture Prize Exhibition; and Ozu Cultural Centre in Rome, Italy. Mr. Schwaiger's work has recently been exhibited in the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien Galleries, Berlin; Sihlquai55, Zurich; and at the Affordable Art Fair in London, with solo shows at the Pentagon Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland as part of the International Festival of Visual Art as well as at the Glasgow Print Studio. Mr. Schwaiger has also shown work this year in San Antonio in the Historic Southern Music Company Building and with Blue Star Contemporary Arts Center. He is currently producing work for two additional shows with Elizabeth McDonald, the first in October at The Chalet, Glasgow and the second in December with the Ruiz-Healy Gallery in San Antonio.
Elizabeth McDonald was born (1985) and raised in Texas. She earned a BFA at the University of North Texas and an MFA at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. Ms. McDonald has shown work extensively in the US and in Europe and her work has been recognized by many prominent jurying bodies at home and abroad. Staking her claim in 2010 she was a finalist for five prizes, showing at the Hunting Art Prize exhibition, Houston (and again in 2012) ; also exhibiting at the Salon Art Prize, Matt Roberts Art, London; earning second place at the Celeste Art Prize in New York; shortlisted for the John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize, Liverpool; and winning the BP Portrait's Young Artist Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Since then she has exhibited widely with solo shows in Cardiff, Wales and Dallas, Texas and her work has been presented in numerous publications including 500 Portraits published by the National Portrait Gallery in London and the The Catlin Guide released at the 2012 London Art Fair. In San Antonio Ms. McDonald has shown work at The Historic Southern Music Company Building, also at Blue Star's Red Dot event, and was selected by the deputy editor of Art News Magazine, Barbara MacAdam, as one of eight artists for the San Antonio Painters exhibition also at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. Elizabeth McDonald, while currently working on joint shows with Mr. Schwaiger at The Chalet, Glasgow, and Ruiz-Healy Gallery in San Antonio, is preparing for a solo show at Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York City's East Village next month.
