Phillip
Schwartz

Phillip Schwartz (1964, New York City) is an artist who lives and works in Gloucester, Massachusetts. His practice spans textiles, drawing, and installations. Through these media, Schwartz weaves together intimate stories, collective memory, and social justice.

His artistic journey began during the AIDS crisis, which profoundly shaped both his worldview and visual language. Diagnosed with HIV in 1988, he spent years creating work that confronted the disintegration of the body and the marginalization of those affected by the epidemic. This deeply embedded experience later expanded into broader social concerns, including the criminalization of homosexuality, forced displacement, and the erosion of civil rights. For Schwartz, making art is not a retreat but an urgent necessity.

He produces large-scale quilts using repurposed materials such as cast-off clothing, bed linens, and domestic fabrics, often imbued with personal significance. Rejecting preliminary designs, his compositions are emotionally driven. In his hands, quilting becomes a form of storytelling, confronting both personal and collective wounds. Each stitch expresses pain and perseverance.