OSilas Gallery to Open Color and Form: the Art of Don Swanson

OSilas Gallery at Concordia College is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of paintings by Don Swanson, which will be on view June 5 – 15. An opening reception, free and open to the public, will be held on June 4 at 7 pm.

For more than four decades, Swanson has called The Frick Collection in New York City his professional home, rising to become the institution’s Chief of Collections Preservation and Graphic Designer. Although he retired from his position in preservation in 2017, Swanson continues in his role as the Frick’s graphic designer. Throughout his multi-faceted career at the Frick, Swanson pursued his private passion for painting. Color and Form: the Art of Don Swanson is his first major solo exhibition featuring twenty-six oil paintings, and OSilas Gallery is delighted to present it.

All works on view will be available for acquisition, with prices available upon request.

Swanson’s paintings are abstract, contemplative and vibrant. Swanson says his paintings celebrate the “joy of color and surfaces.” He likes to work in “layers of glazes – the finished effect creates a sense of depth and ambiguous space.” The many techniques he employs create texture and tension, evoking the viewer’s interaction and interpretation of the forms along with the joy of color. In addition to viewing his work in OSilas Gallery, visitors to Bronxville will also be able to see one of Swanson’s paintings on display in the storefront window of 105 Pondfield Road (next to Dobbs & Bishop Fine Cheese Shop).

Swanson received his BFA in Painting from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and did graduate work at Kent State University. He studied with artists Walter Darby Bannard, Don Eddy and Larry Zox. He counts among his artistic influences Henri Matisse, Willem deKooning, Arshile Gorky, Frank Stella and Elsworth Kelly.

Color and Form: the Art of Don Swanson will be on view June 5 – 15 at OSilas Gallery, with an opening reception on Tuesday, June 4, at 7 pm.  Both the reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public. OSilas Gallery is located on the campus of Concordia College, 171 White Plains Road, Bronxville, in the Donald A. Krenz Academic Center on the second level of Scheele Memorial Library. Free and ample parking is available on campus and is accessible via entry on Concordia Place off White Plains Road.

Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 2-5 pm (closed June 12 & 13 for a private function) and by appointment by contacting Executive Director Elizabeth Vranka at elizabeth.vranka@concordia-ny.edu. Please see osilasgallery.org for more information about exhibitions, special events and programs.

OSilas Gallery integrates the visual arts into the cultural and educational life of the Concordia College campus and surrounding community by providing quality exhibitions and programs that are diverse in style, content, and media; memorable, thought-provoking, and spiritually enriching; and of artistic originality, integrity and excellence.

About OSilas Gallery at Concordia College

The OSilas Gallery at Concordia College is founded to serve the visual arts and the liberal arts programs at Concordia College, to integrate visual arts into the life of the campus and local communities by providing quality experiences in the visual arts diverse in style, content, and media, memorable, thought provoking, and spiritually enriching of artistic originality, integrity and excellence. To achieve this goal, the OSilas Gallery organizes exhibitions, slide lectures, and gallery talks; produces educations programs and materials, including exhibition catalogs, brochures, and cards; integrates gallery events with the visual arts and program at Concordia College and offers a gallery course and gallery internships; integrates gallery events with other academic disciplines, and initiates interdisciplinary projects, and explores other innovative ways of integrating visual arts into the life of the campus and the community. Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Open Thursday until 7:30pm Special Hours during student and summer exhibitions