Charles Swenson

Charles Swenson was born in Los Angeles back when the L.A. River was a place for kids to play–OK a dangerous place to play. He spent most of his life, when not playing dangerously, making animation for kids and some not for kids. Everything from Nickelodeon’s Rugrats to Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels, from the much lauded Twice Upon a Time, using LucasFilm and Korty Films expertise, to his own underground classic, Dirty Duck, using Roger Corman’s money. More recently he has been painting, following four different subjects: Sidecars, Soldiers, Shoes and Nudes. These last two have recently intersected in a series where his wife’s high heeled shoes are laid over classic studio paintings of nudes. The overlay has created a tension that speaks to contemporary women’s roles, their relationship of fashion, the current move toward female dominance in education and the work place, as well as the always present voyeurism of the classical nude.