Bio
Born in Hawaii to a Japanese mother and a military aviator father, Sali Swalla’s early years were spent living in various US States, as well as Japan and Korea. After attending University in Tokyo, she moved to Los Angeles and finally began to put down roots. Having moved so often in her youth, Sali developed a unique inner life, fed by the enormous variety of places she has lived. Her work is an expression of a sense of longing and loss, tightly related with a search for wholeness and something beyond the tangible world. Process-heavy layering, veiling, and scraping away mimic this search and serves as a metaphor for personal growth. Sali’s work has been shown nationally in juried exhibits and fairs, placed in numerous public and private collections, chosen for placement on television, and repeatedly featured in Saatchi online collections and catalogues.
Tap Into Your Creativity Video Interview (click to watch)
Light of Hope Show Interview (click to watch)
Voyage LA Interview (click to read)
Shoutout LA Interview (click to read)
Canvas Rebel Interview (click to read)
Portrait of an Artist Podcast (click to listen)
“I hope to make visible the invisible worlds that move, motivate and guide us as soulful beings. My deepest wish for the work is for it to make the viewer pause, even for the briefest of moments, to reflect on or connect with their deeper selves. To make visible to them something that has only ever been a feeling or a dream.”
Statement
I am a painter of imagined landscapes and gardens. Through them I strive to make tangible the intangible, just beyond our reach, spiritual side of nature. I am drawn to the close up nooks and crannies of a garden, the whimsy of a bouquet and the horizon line where tree and flower meet Sky. They imbue me with a sense of communing with the Divine in a kind of active mediation. I wish for my work to allow others to experience the same and to see more than what is right in front of them.
I work in the mediums of oil paint and cold wax in a process driven style. I start with many multiple layers of oil paint and cold wax; building a history and depth, alternating between opaque and translucent, organic and structured, warm and cool, big and small. I use a variety of tools – brayers, squeegees, palette knives, ceramic tools, stencils and razor blades to lay down these layers over many days, allowing each layer to fully dry. Eventually these layers are covered over and then scraped and carved back into to reveal the piece’s final form and true nature. Like a mystery revealed, my work becomes a diary of my experiences in the world as well as a dream of how I’d like the world to be.
Exhibitions
2023
CASA Los Angeles Wine+Art auction / Nov 11 / Inner City Arts / Los Angeles, CA
Anniversary Show / August 1-30 / Art & Light Gallery / Greenville, SC
Flora / August 1-30 / Sager Reeves Gallery? Columbia, MO
2022
Anniversary Show / August 1-30 / Art & Light Gallery / Greenville, SC
Almond Blossom / June 3- 30 / Chartreuse Muse Gallery / Modesto, CA
ArtMarket San Francisco / April 21-24 / Peace Waters Gallery / San Francisco, CA
2021
November SHOPPE / Nov 6-30/ Sager Reeves Gallery/Columbia, MO
Anniversary Show / August 1-30 / Art & Light Gallery / Greenville, SC
Sapphire / Feb 7 -28 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/Los Angeles
2020
Harmony / May 5-30 2020 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/Los Angeles
Small Works Show/July 2020/Sager Braudis Gallery/Columbia,MO
Art & Light Gallery Anniversary Show / August 4 -31 / Art & Light Gallery / Greenville, SC
BLUSH / Aug 3-31 / Gloria Delson Contemporary / Los Angeles
Second Blush /Sept 4 - 29/Gloria Delson Contemporary / Los Angeles
Claris Health Silent Auction and Show / Sept 1-12/ Unita / Manhatten Beach, CA
Light of Hope 2 person show / Oct 1-31 / Art & Light Gallery/ Greenville SC
Art SHOPPE / Nov 6 - 30 / Sager Braudis Gallery / Columbia, MO
2019
November Show / Nov 1-30 2019 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
Art Santa Fe / July 18-21 2019/ Peace Waters Collective / Santa Fe, NM
Small Work Show / July 2 - 27 2019 / Sager Braudis Gallery/ Columbia, Mo
Art & Light Gallery Anniversary Show / August 23 2019 / Art & Light Gallery / Greenville, SC
Sundry / April 6-30 2019 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
March 5-30 2019 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
Flora & Fauna / Feb 1 - March 2019 / Jen Tough Projects / Benicia, CA
Art Palm Springs / Feb 14 - 18 2019 / Palm Springs Convention Center / CA
Group Show / Jan 3 - 26 2019 / Sager Braudis Gallery / Columbia. MO
2018
CASA Wine + Art auction / Nov 3 2018 / DTLA arts district
Art San Diego / Oct 18-21 2018/ Opus Art Juried Collective/ San Diego, CA
"Eat Drink Art" / March 18-Nov / The Fifty Five Fifty Apartments / Hollywood, CA
Art Santa Fe / July 12-15 2018/ Opus Art Juried Collective/ Santa Fe, NM
"Mix it Up" Group Show / May 16-June 16/ Beyond the Lines Gallery/ Los Angeles,CA
"Movement" / March 5-30 2018 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
CASA Wine + Art auction / Jan 27 2018 / DTLA arts district
2017
"Guilty Pleasures" / Nov 8-30 / Jen Tough Gallery / Vallejo, CA
"Twilight"/ Oct 4- 30 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
"Bliss" / Aug 5- 30 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
"Moments Captured" / August 12 -21 / Beyond the Lines gallery / Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
"Glow" / July 5-30 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
"Quad" Group Show / April 1-30 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
"Female Figure" / April 5-12 / Beyond the Lines Gallery / Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
"In Flawed Abundance"/ IEA Juried Group Show/ April 7- May 6 / New Art Center in Newton, Massachusetts
Conception Arts Group Show / April 27 / Iron Triangle Brewery / Los Angeles, CA
"12th Annual Encaustic Invitational" /Juried Group Show /March 4-31/Conrad Wilde Gallery/Tucson, AZ
"Septime" Anniversary Show / March 4-31 / Gloria Delson Contemporary/ Los Angeles, CA
"A Brighter Future for Children" /Dreambuilders Benefit Auction / Los Angeles, Ca
"Abstract 1 " Group Show / March 4-12 / Beyond the Lines Gallery / Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
"Love" group exhibition/ Feb 4-16 / Beyond the Lines Gallery / Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
2016
Open Theme Group Show/ Dec 2 - Dec 31 / Beyond the Lines Gallery / Bergamont Station, Santa Monica, CA
"Making Your Mark" juried group exhibition/ Sept 21- Oct 23 / Encaustic Art Institute/Santa Fe, NM
"Perform" group exhibition/ Oct 1-Oct 29 / Beyond the Lines Gallery / Bergamont Station Santa Monica, CA
Pasadena Art Walk 2016 / Oct 22 2016/ Pasadena Playhouse district
Newport Beach Art Exhibition Group Show /Newport beach Civic center
“Botanicals” group show /Light Space & Time Gallery
“Leaves and petals” group show / Fusion Art Gallery
2011
"Get Art 4 " Group Show / Siren Studios/ Hollywood, CA
"Catalyst" Group Show / Los Angeles, CA
2010
"Get Art 3" Group Show / Siren Studios/ Hollywood, CA
Notables
Curb Your Enthusiasm Set
Saatchi Art Fall 2018 Catalogue
Saatchi Art Fall 2019 Catalogue
Permanent Collection Rochester Museum of Fine Art
Progressive television commercial 2017/2018
Williams Sonoma Summer 2017 Collection Print
Pottery Barn Fall 2016 Collection Prints
Featured artist "Spotlight on LA" collection /Curated by Jessica Mcqueen/ Saatichi Online
Featured Artist "Inspired By Pollock" collection /Curated by Evangelyne Delacare / Saatchi Online
Featured Artist “New This Week” Feb 2020 collection curated by Rebecca Wilson / Saatchi Online
Education
2016 Kline Academy of Fine Art / Los Angeles, CA
2011 Brentwood Art Center / Los Angeles, CA
1993 Sophia University / Tokyo Japan/ BFA