It was Steve Swagerle’s late grandfather’s sign shop that ignited Swagerle’s passion for creating his surreal, yet humorous, pop art. His grandfather didn’t paint “Stop” signs, rather lettering on glass windows. Swagerle could be seen painting in his grandfather’s shop as early as age 10.
And so, Swagerle’s first job out of university was painting billboards on large panels after moving to Austin, Texas, in 1979. Before then, Swagerle went to school for his undergraduate degree at Indiana State University, and later received his graduate degree at Purdue University, also in Indiana. He studied art and education.
“They don’t paint billboards anymore,” he said.
After getting “tired of that job,” Swagerle continued sign painting until getting a gig teaching art at a high school in Austin for roughly 20 years. During his teaching stint, Swagerle painted murals to promote the 1993 coming-of-age comedy film “Dazed and Confused.”
Then, Swagerle and his spouse started traveling around the country showcasing their art at shows and fairs. Upon participating in a fair in Madison, the couple decided the city would be their new home. In 2016, that became the duo’s reality.
The pop artist’s personal works over that time evolved into representations of the late Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein jamming out on the guitar (separate pieces), cultural commentaries like controversial business moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg in straight jackets and American actor Bill Murray in a baseball uniform. Those works are on display as part of Carnelian Art Gallery’s Figure exhibition that goes until Dec. 28. The gallery has also scheduled a holiday reception for Figure that is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6.
Swagerle said he paints his pieces using acrylics.
“Like all artists, you know, you work back to front,” he said, discussing a piece depicting the four late United States presidents carved into the Mount Rushmore National Memorial as a four-piece band. “I fill in the background first. Then, I draw in the shapes of all the people that are going to be in it. I fill that in with medium green. I draw on top of that and draw all the faces and all of that … all the detail. Then, I bring in washes of color over that. After that I build that color up and start to put in detail. That’s it.
“I look at what I do as illustrations for an article in a magazine.”
His main inspirations? Swagerle’s grandfather, of course, who “was a character,” and other artists like Rene Magritte, a late Belgian surrealist who became known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar and unexpected contexts. Ring a bell?
“He dropped out of school in the sixth grade in 1912,” Swagerle said of his grandfather. “He joined the circus when he was in his 20s.”
When asked about showcasing his art as part of Figure, Swagerle said “It was a great opportunity.” His art was also featured as part of the gallery’s grand opening in March 2024.
“This is a great space to show your art,” he said, referring to Carnelian Art Gallery as the “best gallery in town.”