Gallery features art

by Zach Swenson

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Zach Swenson may be entering his last year at New Ulm High School, but as an artist, he's produced a collection of paintings that would be the envy of a far more experienced painter.

The 17-year-old artist's creations will be on display for the next three weekends at the Council for the Arts in New Ulm Kiesling House Garden Gallery at 220 N. Minnesota St.

An artist's reception is set for Saturday at the gallery, running from 2-4 p.m. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. Showings for groups by appointment on other days can be arranged by calling 507-359-1819.

Oils and acrylics are his mediums for painting, but he also does some pencil drawings.

His paintings range from the abstract to representational abstraction to representational, often with almost a cubist approach.

A good example is a smaller painting with a somewhat cubist look that features a young woman standing in front of a brick wall. You see her head and the top of her almost bare shoulders; then you see the figure dressed in a suit and tie to the knees where the outfit then becomes the evening dress again.

Although he says he doesn't try to capture dreams as subjects, some of his paintings portray subjects that seem to have sprung from a turbulent nightmare.

Some even seem to have elements of symbolism, but he says that if a painting does seem to have symbols in it, it's totally an accident.

"It's really non-objective; I really don't have a point to prove," he said. "It's not some sort of counter-culture thing or anything; it's just an inspiration that comes out of my mind."

He'll use different surfaces, including fabric, for creating his paintings, and their size will vary from very large to very small, depending on how he's feeling about the painting.

He works rapidly. When he first started, he used the paints sparingly. However, as he gained experience, he learned there were advantages to using several coats of paint, he explained.

For Zach, however, art isn't just a pastime or hobby.

"If I could paint for the rest of my life, it would be awesome," he said.