rocki swiderski

rocki swiderski (b. 1994, California) lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. Spanning disciplines, swiderski manipulates color and form to capture the untold essence of the desert southwest. Their most recent solo projects have been exhibited at Rivalry Projects in Buffalo, NY and at Everybody in Tucson, AZ. They are a 2024 recipient of Night Bloom, Grants for Artists through MOCA Tucson and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts. Currently swiderski also co-runs Precious Cargo, a gallery and artist publication project in Tucson, AZ.

In Conversation with Friday Arts

Friday Arts

Tell us about your practice and process.

rocki swiderski

walking my dog, looking at the sky, working on my truck, picking up trash (out of attraction), dreaming of the new world, doing something about it, painting as portal or mirror.

What themes/ideas do you find yourself continuing to return to over time?

darkness, reflective portals, desert animism, protection and boundaries as both cactus spines or border militarization, the intervention of infrastructure, the misrepresented and complicated legacy of the image of southwest landscape.

How do you think about place in relation to your work?

my work is deeply informed by place, the desert, this (sonoran) desert, the no-placeness of deserts, the treatment of land when it’s considered empty or undesirable or belonging to no one.

How do your works, night mare (dream horse) and dry river used to run (rillito) fit into your larger practice.

these paintings span a few years of time. night mare (dream horse) feels like a directive while 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.

Can you speak about the hose and water motif that often appear in your work?

the puddle provides a reflection, and like painting, is both portal and mirror. water represents emotional and spiritual space. but also water is a precious resource, in all places but especially arizona. the reflection may or may not be accurate, and is upside down from the vantage point of someone looking. an image appears in memory, enters a physical picture plane, gets depicted, reflected, each iteration twisting slightly, turning upside down.

Animals figure into your work often, can you speak about the horse in night mare (dream horse)?

this horse lived once in a dream. it’s at the edge of bramble turning around. it’s asking you to follow, i think. my dog is named after georgia o’keefe. she is a dirty white dog but my friend says this horse looks just like her. to me this horse, an odd creature of the night, possesses a spirit of knowing and is asking us to access that spirit if we haven’t yet.

Are there artists who you think your work is in conversation with?

my close friends and comrades and collaborators. Nika Kaiser, her and her partner’s project Alluvium, and Robert Hurley. also aspirationally Celia Reed, Grace Rosario Perkins and other southwest artists who bridge desert reflection, spiritual navigation, and revolutionary politics. Jewel Babb, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin, historically.

What are your thoughts on the role of art and artists today, at this particular moment in time?

Diane di Prima revolutionary letter #15 : you are not demonstrating, you are fighting a war.