PRETTY GIRLS SERIES - ARTIST STATEMENT:

These paintings of girls whom I know represent a deep infatuation as well as woeful acceptance of what will never be. These young women are unflinchingly beautiful; they never take a bad picture, they are full of vim and because of a variety of circumstances we will remain nothing more than friends at best. I have attempted to communicate the implicit emotions by creating portraits that are unflattering as well as slightly disturbing. Their beauty has been skewed but not altogether hidden, for they should be celebrated for their splendor, yet I cannot ignore my grievances. These are the first of an ever-growing collection of my "pretty girls."

Born in Portales, New Mexico, Zach spent the first two years of his life amid a spacious, arid landscape that could be likened to the wide open space that is the subconscious. Relocating to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1987, Zach found himself seventeen years later surrounded by the sky-prodding towers of New York City, as he attended Pratt Institute for his B.F.A. in illustration. Following that, he acted as artist-in-residence through the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa for a year between 2009 and 2010, and is currently living and working back in Cincinnati.

Zach Sawan's art, aesthetically, is concerned with exploring the space that exists between the realistic and expressive figure; his work is neither one or the other, but has characteristics of both. There is a strong emphasis on the subconscious and Zach magnifies this in terms of both technique and subject matter. Human interaction is at the core of Zach's oeuvre and his imagery includes scenes and people from day-to-day life, figures intimately embracing (whether it be violently or lovingly) and even erotic work.

Education

2008 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York B.F.A. Communication Design, concentration in Illustration

Awards

2009: Artist in Residence with the Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa •Supplied with living and studio space to develop artistic vision for one year

Pratt Institute Presidential Scholarship Society of Illustrators scholarship competition finalist

"Pratt Show" exhibitor, Pratt's annual exhibition of the graduation class' best work

Recipient of Pratt Institute's Society of Illustrators award

Group Exhibitions

2010 RDZ Fine Art, Coral Gables, Florida Phoenix Gallery, Moline, Illinois Wells-Fargo Building, Davenport, Iowa Thirty-Fourth Annual Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition, Rock Island, Illinois Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois

2009 CS13 Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio Bucktown Center for the Arts, Davenport, Iowa Iowa welcome center, LeClaire Iowa "Grapevine Series," Davenport, Iowa Riverssance Art Festival, Davenport, Iowa

2008 The Pratt Show, New York, New York The Society of Illustrators Annual Scholarship Competition, New York, New York