Ben Schwab’s paintings and drawings of urban landscapes (Troy, 2008, oil on canvas) are visual explorations of architecture and time. Contemplating his work, you begin to understand the a view of a city is not an image of static mass of steel, glass, and concrete. Instead, his works show arrested moments revealing the existence of three simultaneous eras: the city’s past plans, its current appearance, and – look closely – hints of its future.

My review of his current exhibition is in this week’s City newspaper, and the show is on view at the University of Rochester’s Art and Music Library through June 12th.

An excerpt:

With his brush, he reduces streets, buildings, and bridges to shapes of nearly pure color; with his pencil, his talents as a precise draughtsman recreate supple architectural textures and details. … But his works reach beyond skill-driven retellings. As he looks out over a municipality, Schwab sees a swirl of past, present, and future, expressed in the human-made peaks and canyons of the urban landscape.

ALB to NRT
Through June 12, 2009 | UR Art and Music Library, Rush Rhees Library
Mon, Thu & Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tue-Wed 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
library.rochester.edu