Amy Swartele

Amy Swartele was born to a Belgian father and American mother. She lived in five countries before the age of 18, so she learned early that what is normal or expected in one place, is strange in another. This idea inspires her paintings and love of travel.  Her paintings develop from traditions of surrealism and expressionism, using occasional illusion and an evocative use of paint to play with expectations and ideas of what is normal. To date her work has been featured in 15 solo exhibitions and in over 100 group exhibitions internationally. Her work has been exhibited throughout Europe, the United States, India and Canada.  Swartelé received her BA with departmental honors from Wesleyan University, and her MFA in Painting from SUNY at Buffalo. She has taught at universities in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and Rhode Island. She has lectured on her work throughout the US, and in Spain, France, Belgium and India. She is currently Professor of Art at the State University of New York at Potsdam.