2016 Data (Information)

Terry Svat: Catalog of Works and Images

Svat, Terry

Throughout my adult life, art was my vocation and avocation. After graduating with a BFA from Kent State University, I worked in commercial art in Ohio, Minnesota, and the Washington, D.C. area. When my family began living and working abroad, I studied, taught, and worked in many art related fields in the former Soviet Union, Chile, Argentina, Panama and Germany. For twelve years abroad, I was exposed to the cultural currents in Russia, Latin America and Europe. I produced, exhibited and sold my work in most of the countries in which we lived. My one-person shows were in Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Panama City, Panama; and Munich, Germany. Returning regularly to the United States allowed me to remain current with art trends and to maintain relations with various organizations and galleries. Some of my one person exhibits were in Cleveland, Ohio, Washington, DC., Raleigh No. Carolina.
Later I received an MA in art therapy from George Washington University. I worked as an art therapist and taught in the program at GWU. For many years I have worked at the Graphics Workshop in Silver Spring MD
I am a co-founder of Washington Printmakers Gallery where my most recent exhibit was November 2014.

Artist Statement

"The artist's job is to keep alive the rituals of life…We are the myth
makers of the world." anonymous

If we judge by what has been preserved through the ages, we can see that the first
artists made images in an effort to communicate with the forces that
had power over their lives. Perhaps their imagery was a talisman or
prayer of sorts to ease their journey through life, helping them deal
with their joys and life struggles.
Over the past 25 some years, my art has been influenced by the
various ways in which people and societies not only leave their mark
on their civilizations but also provide a legacy of images, symbols,
and monuments that can speak to other societies and other times.
Because I have also had the opportunity to live and travel abroad, I was
able to study some of the symbols and images of those places. I
explored huacas from Pre-Columbian period, symbols and images of
Stonehenge and Machu Picchu, the significance of the Berlin Wall and
its demise, Apartheid, and our own Vietnam Wall.

My works are more of an inquiry into the efforts of mark markers in other
Societies, while trying to encourage an interaction with life forces. Working as an art therapist has opened my mind to understanding more fully these connections. I want my work to convey a sense of connectivity, a flow of past to the present and back again.

My latest series has a more noted focus on the passing of time, in the
form of generational issues. Using a small canvas and fragments of prints from past series, I have begun conversations on canvas.

In my work, I have chosen to use various forms of traditional and experimental
etching; Zinc, Copper, Plexiglas, Linocut, Solar Plate, ImagOn, pastel
transfer, and other forms of printing to compliment my exploration.
Found materials are incorporated into handmade paper that is made
from recycled prints.
Types of work include: prints, mixed media, assemblage, etching, painting