Christine Schwathe

    My art is intrigued and inspired by human emotion and our relationship to our environment, or lack thereof.  I find myself drawn to the interconnected nature of balance and contrast in life; softness and sharpness, vulnerability and strength, fear and bravery, sadness and joy, life and death.  These themes run through all of my pieces, along with a sense of isolation which is both very personal to me, living in a very isolated environment far away from my peers, as well as being an emotion I feel is beginning to dominate modern society no matter your location.    

    I grew up in a small town in Southern Colorado, helping out with the family restaurant and inheriting not just a strong work ethic but a long creative tradition passed down from parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, friends and mentors. I continued my studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where I became fascinated with printmaking and earned my BFA with a focus in printmaking and drawing.

I'm a painter, illustrator, printmaker, self-taught designer, seamstress and knitter, small time farmer, amateur beast trainer and I cook some pretty tasty food (a necessity when you live as far away from civilization as I do)... let's just say I keep busy and that little bits and pieces of my life sneak into my art from all directions. I enjoy working in almost any medium and relish the fact that each creative project, even when seemingly unrelated, brings inspiration for the next. My interests have led me down many artistic paths before settling back into a lifelong obsession with painting, primarily with oil paints.

Today, I am living and working in the small, rural, Northern New Mexico village of Costilla with my partner and fellow creative, Bradley Sleep, where my art has taken over a small room in our home. I hang out in there, surrounded by: scraps of paper, shelves of paint and pencils, sewing machines and folds of thrifted fabric and yarn, mugs of tea, and the occasional canine or feline companion, and obsess, in a mostly good and only slightly crazy sort of way, over brushstrokes and stitches, ink washes and pencil marks.

Education

  • BFA in Drawing and Printmaking, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Exhibitions

  • “Moon Womb: Annual Women’s Show”, Revolt Gallery, Taos, NM March 10 - April 10 2023

  • "Annual Miniature Show and Sale", Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM February 4 - March 5 2023

  • “Grief and Hope”, Solo Exhibition, KEEP Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM November 20 - December 13 2020

  • “When Worlds Collide: Explorations into the New Contemporary”, KEEP Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM June 14 - July 14 2019

  • "Annual Miniature Show and Sale", Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM February 9 - March 9 2018

  • "Crying Out Loud", Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM April 21 - July 9 2017

  • "Prints by Southwest", South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM  April 20 - June 2 2017

  • "Sight Unseen", Abend Gallery, Denver, CO February 24 - March 25 2017

  • "Random Visions", David Anthony Fine Art, Taos, NM September 8 - November 30 2016

  • "Christy Schwathe Collector's Preview", David Anthony Fine Art, Taos, NM April 1 - July 9 2016

  • "McCurtain-Blair and Schwathe", The Farmhouse Cafe and Bakery, Taos, NM March 7 - 31 2016

  • "Annual Miniature Show and Sale", Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM February 6 - March 6 2016

  • "The Museum of Temporary Art", Taos Artisans Gallery, Taos, NM  September 18 -25 2015

  • "Southwest Print Show", YAYBIG Gallery, Tucson, AZ  June 7 - 29 2014

  • "Under the Hill: Artists Under 40", E.L. Blumenschein Museum, Taos, NM, September 2013 - February 2014

  • "Print 2012", E.L. Blumenschein Museum, Taos, NM, September 2012

  • "Art in the Family", Taos Homegrown Gallery, Taos, NM, December 2005 - January 2006

  • "Taos Fall Arts", Taos, NM, September 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Representation

  • KEEP Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2019 - Present

  • David Anthony Fine Art, Taos, NM 2016 - 2017

  • Taos Artisan's Gallery, Taos, NM 2013 - 2015

  • Taos Homegrown Gallery, Taos, NM 2005 - 2007

Publications