rocki swiderski's work investigates the American Southwest as a site between the seen and the imagined, where water is precious, night offers refuge from the sun, and military installations encroach on the landscape.

dry river used to run (rillito) depicts Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Power lines hover over a dry river bed carved out of the scrub brush, fences mark the terrain, and a lone military helicopter hovers over the pink hues at the edge of day. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Rillito River in Pima County has been degraded through diversion of surface and ground water for urban and agricultural growth, contributing to the decline of wildlife-supporting riparian habitat. Both beautiful and elegaic, swiderski's painting reflects on what's been lost and what remains in equal measure.

In the words of the artist, "dry river used to run (rillito) feels like a diary entry. this complicated world, so heart-wrenching, yet i can only see as far as the furthest mountain or the most distant electrical cable poles and at times i learn the most from looking at what’s right in front of me."