About Steven Allan Schwartz aka SAS

I’ve been painting for some time exploring a range of visual landscapes. Always about presence, surface, vibrancy and concept, my work first got a bit of attention in the East Village, NY in the early 1980's. Initially noted for my Abstract pieces, then my faux primitive Timemarkers, I now employ found and repurposed materials for my futuristic totem sentinels that I call #imageUnits. These are my abstract avenues.

Simultaneously, I work in a different vocabulary altogether, painting naturalistic elements referencing many sources, all out of a unique paint selected for its lushness, nitrocellulose. I paint where I’m called, and don’t follow traditional artist branding strategies of doing the same thing forever. I mine deeply, finish up, move on. This can be a difficult way to shape a career, as when you think of known artists, familiar looks come to mind, but rarely several per artist. I wrote a blog about this awhile back if you’d like to look into this further.

I live and work in Los Angeles.

Art making is my soul and lifelong passion, and keeps me grounded in a chaotic world. Something about the touch and physicality of painting acts like a key that opens a way to deeper understandings, but you must steel your nerves and follow the clues.

I also explore other creative modes - not always a studio practice, as people are so self-conscious of these days - such as my involvement with skateboarding, SKATE N.Y.C., online design, art missioning in Africa, and writing.

Steve Sas Schwartz