I wanted to bring your attention to an abstract artist you probably are not aware of. His name is Ed Swarez and you can find him at SwarezArt.
The work he’s done over the last 15 years or so (as of 2024) is quite exceptional. He works with highly toxic oil/resin based paint.
His work is entirely abstract in nature and he loves using the forces of nature to create large spectacular pieces of art.
For example, I’ve watched Ed on his youtube channel strap a canvas to a 5 foot in diameter metal tumbler and pour paint on it to see what he would get.
A favorite of his are the spinning tables his sidekick ‘Ady’ puts together for him.The table literally spin around like a lazy susan except Swarez’s are motor powered.
The results are quite exceptional.
This entire enterprise rests on the back of this artist and his ever present buddy and partner in artistry, Ady.
Ady handles the technology side of things, like running their weekly live streams from his separate area and building the physics defying machinery for his creative partner, Ed.
Bucking The SystemSwarez seems to have completely bucked the gallery scene.
In fact, as I can remember, he mentions in one of his videos that any artist today, absolutely does not need a gallery to sell their work.
I got the impression that he approached several galleries early on and had bad experiences with them.No loss though. Although he didn’t say it in so many words,
SwarezArt has built quite a name and client list for itself over the years.
He recently finished installing 26 huge paintings in a client’s brand new NYC office. In his words, “a once in a life time commission.”
More Special Work
These are more recent accomplishments. Earlier on he was approached by a private collector who absolutely loved Jackson Pollock’s paintings and own 36 of them. That makes this private collector the world’s largest owner of Jackson Pollock original paintings.
However, the original “Blue Poles” remains the only known version. It is housed at the National Gallery of Australia.
So, the collector contacted Ed Swarez and asked if he would be willing to recreate it for him.I don’t believe Swarez is prone to saying no to any challenge.
Although this one was massive.Ed Swarez eventually said yes, but it took him a full year to research Pollock’s work and paint the imitation.
He analyzed its composition, materials, and techniques used by Pollock.
Swarez then attempted to recreate the painting as accurately as possible for his client. He used similar materials and methods to Pollock’s.
Have a look at what Ed Swarez did for his client below. I took the screenshot directly from Ed’s site.
Amazing! THAT’S the imitation.
Although this is an extraordinary achievement by Ed Swarez his rendition of Jackson Pollock’s ‘Blue Poles‘ does not appear to be a recognized and authorized copy.
As you can see though, it’s clear that the private collector who commissioned Ed Swarez must have been pleased with the results. Check out the entire process Ed took to recreate this amazing painting.
If you liked this article you might like these:
How to spot a Jackson Pollock forgery
How Jung Influenced Pollock’s Art
Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner
GET THE BACKSTORY ON JACKSON POLLOCK’S ‘BLUE POLES’
