Gallery Opening: The Tools You Need

An art gallery isn’t normally the place people think of when they think about skateboarding, but with Jason Swift’s new exhibition, The Tools You Need, the two worlds come together seamlessly.

The Karl Drerup Art Gallery’s newest exhibit is a collection of the most recent works from Swift, PSU’s associate professor of art education. The exhibit consists of Swift’s life experiences, ranging from his childhood experiences of learning woodworking with his grandfather in North Carolina, to his love of skate culture.

Swift’s vision for this exhibit is a combination of his life experience with his art. “Experience plays an important role in who you become, how you chose materials, and how you construct the narrative. It influences how you tell a story,” Swift said.

The Tools You Need comprises of things Swift identifies with, but also experiences that art students will identify with.

From the various paintings, woodwork and skateboard ramp, viewers will see the artistic diversity Swift used to create an impressive and cohesive presentation of his artwork.

Swift said he enjoyed seeing the little things in his materials that made the pieces come together as a whole. “Even skateboards have an artistic, attainable art. There is so much personal and aesthetic quality,” he said. “There is beauty in homemade construction and shapes.”

Swift’s hope is that visitors can connect not only with his vision for his art, but also with their own experiences. “I want it to be open enough for them to get a personal connection, to interpret it in their own way,” he said.