Marjorie Norman Schwarz:
Ode In Nine
Opening Saturday, October 25, 6 - 8pm
10.25.25 - 12.06.25
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12.26 is pleased to present Ode in Nine, a solo exhibition by Dallas-based artist Marjorie Norman Schwarz featuring nine large-scale oil paintings.
The nine paintings, each nearly the size of a doorway, poise themselves like portals beckoning for the body to come nearer. Nine is a magical number after all.
The exhibition’s title, Ode in Nine, sounds like Odin, the Norse God of wisdom, war, and poetry. In the poem, “The Sacrifice on Yggdrasil,” Odin hangs from the cosmic World Tree for nine days and nine nights to gain wisdom. In a way, it is like Odin walked through metaphorical doorways chasing knowledge of other universal realms.
In another vein, Ode in Nine, which has a lyrical ring to it, is reminiscent of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9,” with its final movement, entitled “Ode to Joy.” Schwarz’s body of work holds poetic and musical resonance, too, with its rhythmic and lyrical qualities.
Schwarz’s work extends an invitation for onlookers to pause and inspect the surface and its numerous sheer layers of water-soluble oil paint stacked atop one another.
One work with an orange-tinged border presents almost like a vertical landscape, abundant with lush-like forms, fruitful masses, and striated patterns of sage, burgundy, and rust. Peering into its laminations, the deposits of color nearly appear to reveal an image, but of what is uncertain.
In the practice of looking, the brain tries to make sense of what it is looking at, and while this may trigger ideas of figurations and representations, those subjects are not relied upon in the painting process for Schwarz.
For Schwarz, the practice of painting every day is a rigorous discipline with intellectual demands and exciting challenges. While small works are a comfort to paint, Schwarz operates with a philosophy that growth comes about through discomfort, hence the enlarged scale of the works comprised within Ode In Nine.
Time is of importance too, for Schwarz; nothing is done hastily, and this isn’t by choice for the artist; slowness has always been customary to her practice. The long hours and time invested in each work result in alluringly effortless paintings.
Marjorie Norman Schwarz (b. 1972, Harvey, IL) lives and works in Dallas, TX. She received her BFA from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (1999). Schwarz’s recent solo exhibitions include 12.26, Los Angeles, CA (2024); Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY (2023); SOCO Gallery, Charlotte, NC (2022); 12.26, Dallas, TX (2022, 2020), among others. Recent group shows include The Power Station, Dallas, TX (2025); Chilli Art Projects, London, UK (2025); PRP & Kate Art Space, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2024); The Valley Taos, Taos, NM (2023), among others. Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
The nine paintings, each nearly the size of a doorway, poise themselves like portals beckoning for the body to come nearer. Nine is a magical number after all.
The exhibition’s title, Ode in Nine, sounds like Odin, the Norse God of wisdom, war, and poetry. In the poem, “The Sacrifice on Yggdrasil,” Odin hangs from the cosmic World Tree for nine days and nine nights to gain wisdom. In a way, it is like Odin walked through metaphorical doorways chasing knowledge of other universal realms.
In another vein, Ode in Nine, which has a lyrical ring to it, is reminiscent of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9,” with its final movement, entitled “Ode to Joy.” Schwarz’s body of work holds poetic and musical resonance, too, with its rhythmic and lyrical qualities.
Schwarz’s work extends an invitation for onlookers to pause and inspect the surface and its numerous sheer layers of water-soluble oil paint stacked atop one another.
One work with an orange-tinged border presents almost like a vertical landscape, abundant with lush-like forms, fruitful masses, and striated patterns of sage, burgundy, and rust. Peering into its laminations, the deposits of color nearly appear to reveal an image, but of what is uncertain.
In the practice of looking, the brain tries to make sense of what it is looking at, and while this may trigger ideas of figurations and representations, those subjects are not relied upon in the painting process for Schwarz.
For Schwarz, the practice of painting every day is a rigorous discipline with intellectual demands and exciting challenges. While small works are a comfort to paint, Schwarz operates with a philosophy that growth comes about through discomfort, hence the enlarged scale of the works comprised within Ode In Nine.
Time is of importance too, for Schwarz; nothing is done hastily, and this isn’t by choice for the artist; slowness has always been customary to her practice. The long hours and time invested in each work result in alluringly effortless paintings.
Marjorie Norman Schwarz (b. 1972, Harvey, IL) lives and works in Dallas, TX. She received her BFA from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (1999). Schwarz’s recent solo exhibitions include 12.26, Los Angeles, CA (2024); Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY (2023); SOCO Gallery, Charlotte, NC (2022); 12.26, Dallas, TX (2022, 2020), among others. Recent group shows include The Power Station, Dallas, TX (2025); Chilli Art Projects, London, UK (2025); PRP & Kate Art Space, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2024); The Valley Taos, Taos, NM (2023), among others. Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art.