Jane Swavely’s abstract compositions synthesize elements of romanticism and minimalism, drawing inspiration from natural and cinematic references. Her vibrant oil paintings feature dense fields of color set alongside areas where paint is carefully scrubbed away, utilizing a process of attrition to reveal underlying tones and residual forms. The resulting interplay between color and movement, presence and absence, invites viewers into a layered visual experience.
Swavely began her formal training at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts before moving to New York City in 1980, where she studied at the School of Visual Arts while working as a studio assistant to New Image painter Lois Lane and then to Brice Marden until 1985. In 1986, Swavely held her first solo exhibition at CDS Gallery, where she continued to exhibit her work through 2005. She later became a member of A.I.R. Gallery, the iconic artist-run space established in the 1970s to champion women in the arts, where she mounted five solo exhibitions of her work between 2011 and 2022.
Swavely was recently featured in Painting in Color at the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester. She has held solo exhibitions at kaufmann repetto Milan; Magenta Plains, New York; Stance Gallery, Stockholm; Night Gallery, Los Angeles; the New Arts Program, Kutztown; Loyola College, Baltimore; and Mandeville Gallery at Union College. Swavely is the recipient of a Ford Foundation Fellowship. Her work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Allentown Museum of Art, Allentown; union college, Schenectady; JP Morgan Chase Collection, New York; and TD Bank Collection, toronto. Swavely (b. 1959, USA) lives and works in New York City where she has maintained a painting studio on The Bowery for over 45 years.
shows at kaufmann repetto
my little pony, 2026, solo show at kaufmann repetto milano
download pdf Jane Swavely (b. 1959 Allentown, PA) lives and works in New York. Selected solo and two-person exhibitions 2026 My Little Pony, kaufmann repetto, Milan Strawberry Fields, Magenta Plains, New York works on paper, stance gallery, stockholm 2025 Supernatural, Night Gallery, Los Angeles
2024
Independent New York with Alan Uglow, Magenta Plains, New York
Paintings, Magenta Plains, New York
2022
Pareidolia, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2020
Jane Swavely, Mandeville Gallery at Union College, Schenectady
2018
Jinx, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2016
Espial, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2013
Purlieu, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2012
New Work, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2002
A Detacher, New York
1996
New Arts Program, Kutztown
1992
Loyola College, Baltimore
1990
CDS Gallery, New York
1998
CDS Gallery, New York
Public Installation, One Penn Plaza, New York
1987
CDS Gallery, New York
1986
CDS Gallery, New York
Selected group exhibitions
2026
Painting in Color, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
10 year anniversary, magenta plains, new york
splash, hesse flatow & night gallery, amagansett
42, David shelton gallery, houston
2025
Proto-Heroine, Sarah Brooke Gallery, Los Angeles
Just a Song Before I Go, Last Days Gallery, New York
2024
TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, Rachofsky House, Dallas
The Salon by NADA and The Community, Magenta Plains, Paris
Swim Hole, Magenta Plains, New York
2023
Three Painters, Theadore, New York
In August, Sarah Brook Gallery, Los Angeles
Viewing Room I, Magenta Plains, New York
2022
Lather, Rinse, Repeat, lokal_30 Gallery, Warsaw
Modus Operandi, Kean University, Union
Body Root, Sarah Brook Gallery, Los Angeles
Very Metal, Theodore, New York
2021
A Dog Legging Horizon, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York
2020
Soft Windows, Public Swim, New York
2019
Install/Deinstall, Artspace 601, New York
Said I Meant, PS 122, New York
The House Made of Sugar, NADA House, Governors Island, New York
1959: Spirit of the Void, Two Coats of Paint Headquarters, New York
2018
LAttitude, Artepoetica, New York
2017
September Gallery, Hudson
2016
Cochin Biennial Satellite Space, Cochin
Salon Zurcher, New York
The Weight We Hold, Causey Contemporary, New York
2015
The Body in Revue, curated by Lynne Warren, Arc Gallery,
Chicago Unframed, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2014
A.I.R. ReFreshed, Nashville
Adore, San Francisco, CA
The Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies, Princeton University, Princeton
Ginko Room, Washington University, St. Louis
House 5B, Governors Island, New York
If These Walls…, Governors Island, New York
Wet Paint, A.I.R. Gallery, New York
2013
The Impermanent Collection, Los Angeles
2012
Anomalistic Revolution, AIR gallery, New York
2005
CDS Gallery, New York
2003
CDS Gallery, New York
2002
CDS Gallery, New York
New Arts Program, Kutztown
1999
CDS Gallery, New York
1998
CDS Gallery, New York
1997
CDS Gallery, New York
1996
The Young Ones, CDS Gallery, New York
1987
Leo Castelli Gallery, New York
1985
8 Artists/8 Years/SVA, SVA Gallery, New York
Further Exposure, CDS Gallery, New York
1984
The Fan Show, Jon Leon Gallery, New York
1983
Artists Choose Artists, curated by Jack Flam, CDS Gallery, New York
Issues & Trends in Modern Art, Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta
1981
Cave Girls Show, White Columns Gallery, New York
1980
SVA Gallery, New York
Selected public collections
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown
jp Morgan Chase Manhattan Bank, New York
Union College, Schenectady
td bank collection, Toronto
