On view through January 31, 2004 by Appointment

M.Y. ART PROSPECTS' upcoming exhibition, Daydreaming Is Free, introduces the young American artist Carolyn Swiszcz. Her most recent paintings, the byproducts of long walks near her studio in St. Paul, MN and her Massachusetts hometown, evoke the ambiguity of affection and aloofness for lackluster places and objects in urban surroundings.

Swiszcz portrays pay phones, window displays, store facades, and parking lots, typically avoiding human presence. Her acrylics on paper transform these banal scenes into appealing compositions of color and texture. Her airless and motionless imagery engages the viewer in a surprising surrealistic moment. In her world, daydreaming is a cost and risk-free way to come to terms with tedious everyday routines.

A trained printmaker, Swiszcz experiments by incorporating simple techniques such as monoprint, collage, and rubber stamp into the paintings. "Quilted" seams that join scraps of paper together add another layer of interest. The worn, rubbed surface texture and flat, graphic rendering style lend a strong aesthetic appeal to Swiszcz's idiosyncratic naïve approach.

Born and raised in New Bedford, MA, Carolyn Swiszcz attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she earned a BFA in 1994. She spent three winters in Miami on a fellowship from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. This program culminated with an exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC in 2000. Her work has also been exhibited at the Ambrosiono Gallery in Miami, Wendy Cooper Gallery in Madison, WI, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Drawing Center in New York. A 2002 recipient of the Bush Fellowship, Ms. Swiszcz lives in St. Paul, MN. Her work is represented in the Microsoft Art Collection and at the Minnesota Historical Society.

Prior to this exhibition, M.Y. ART PROSPECTS will preview Ms. Swiszcz's work at *The Affordable Art Fair New York (Pier 92, October 30 - November 2, 2003). For further information and/or photographic materials, please contact Miyako Yoshinaga or , tel. 212 268 7132 / e-mail. MYartpro@aol.com.