3Moving Through Time, an exhibition of new paintings by Holly Newton Swift, opens June 7 at Groveland Gallery. A native of Illinois, Swift received her MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and moved to Minnesota in 1996. Swift’s work can be found in public and private collections throughout the region.

For years, Swift has focused her attention on the northern Minnesota wilderness, primarily the North Shore. Interactions of line, color, and space anchor Swift’s abstract and loosely painted works. Dramatic expressions of light and dark combined with fractured elements in motion characterize these drawings and paintings. Fleeting moments are captured, imagination merges with the present moment, and Swift’s mark-making guides the way. Of this new work, she writes:

“I discovered some twenty-five years ago the wilderness of northern Minnesota along the shore of Lake Superior. Standing on the oldest exposed bedrock on the planet in a landscape formed by volcanic fire and glacial ice ignites my imagination and energy. It is the dramatic interplay of ancient forest and water that holds a deep connection for me as the source of all my work.  I find myself drawn to what is elusive and difficult to catch, all related to a world that is evolving and dissolving. This engagement with constant change kept my paintings open and exploratory, leading me to unexpected paint application and use of color. It is my response to the beauty of nature’s fleeting moment. Working both in my studio and on location, I enter a silent but active discourse between materials, visual fluctuations, and my internal scape. It is a record of my experience over time, a way of understanding what I am seeing and feeling, like chapters in a book.”

The artist will be present at the opening reception on Saturday, June 7 from 2-5 pm. The exhibition runs concurrently with Vision to Form by Barbara McIlrath. Barbara McIlrath & Holly Newton Swift will give a combined artist talk at Groveland Gallery on Saturday, June 28 starting at 3 pm. Both shows continue through July 12, 2025.