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Tammy Swarek, Conceptual Artist

Tammy Swarek is an award-winning and internationally published multidisciplinary artist focusing on photography, painting, and sculpture who lives in El Dorado, Arkansas.  Her work is deeply emotional, and is often inspired by her own life experiences, as well as those of her son with autism, and her mother with Alzheimer’s.  Swarek is most known for her work featuring adoptable dogs from her local animal shelter.  Her series “Shelter Pets Project” became an international hit in 2016 and published across the globe. The following year Swarek was a top ten finalist in the annual Smithsonian photography competition.  

 

A lifelong lover of photography, it wasn’t until 2010 when she lost her home in a mile-wide tornado, that she pursued her art fully.  Her work has been featured by Vanity Fair Italia, Vogue Italia, LensCulture, Lenscratch, The Guardian, DailyMail, Good Morning America, ABC News, Yahoo News, Pop Sugar Celebrity, 516 Arts, Smithsonian, and more.  You will also find Swarek’s work on many book covers. 

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Tammy is represented by Arcangel Images, Art+Commerce, Fine Art America and 1x Gallery

As an artist, photography is my medium of choice. There’s a little bit of me in all of my work, including my portraits of people and animals. I find that when I am behind a camera, I am able to connect with the brokenness of us all.

 

I believe that everyone carries a sadness peculiar to themselves, that everyone is “broken”. We don’t see each other’s brokenness, because most of us have managed to put ourselves back together – with super glue or with tape and spit and a prayer. How well we’ve put ourselves back together doesn’t really matter; what matters is that we all are cracked, and we all carry pain.

 

 

 

Exhibitions

 

2025 South Arkansas Arts Center, El Dorado, AR, 'Father' Solo Exhibition *Details Coming Soon

2022 Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA., 'Human Faces and Figures' Group Exhibition 

2022 Lenscratch, '2021 Favorite Photograph, Group Exhibition

2021 PhotoPlace Gallery,  Middlebury, VT, 'Portrait' Group Exhibition

2021 Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA., "Icons" Group Exhibition

2021 PhotoPlace GalleryMiddlebury, VT, 'Essential Water' Group Exhibition

2021 H. Gallery, Ventura, CA., 'Art in the Time of Corona', International Group Exhibition

2021 Loosen Art Gallery, at Millepiani, Rome, Italy, 'The Dreamer', Group Exhibition

2021 Loosen Art Gallery, at Millepiani, Rome, Italy, 'Instability and Precariousness', Group Exhibition

2020 Dab Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA., 'Art in the Time of Corona', Group Exhibition

2020 Space 204 Gallery Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN., 'Holding Patterns', Group Exhibition

2020 Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA., 'Photography 2020', Group Exhibition

2020 New Museum Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA., 'Art in the Time of Corona', Group Exhibition

2020 Ground Floor Artists Gallery, Suprise, AZ., 'Frida Kahlo's World', Group Exhibition

2020 516 Arts Museum, Albuquerque, NM., 'The Resilience Project', Group Exhibition

2020 Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA., 'A Light in the Darkness', Group Exhibition

2017  South Arkansas Arts Center, El Dorado, Ar.,  'Shelter Pets Project', Solo Exhibition 

2016 Lenscratch, 'Animals Among Us', Group Exhibition

2015 Lenscratch, 'Favorite Photograph IV', Group Exhibition

2015 Lenscratch, 'Masks', Group exhibition

 

 

 

Awards

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2024 London International Creative Award, 2023 Winner, "Father" Series

2023 Prix de la Photographie, Paris PX3, Silver Winner. 'The Heirloom Dress'

2023 MIFA, Bronze for 'Heirloom Dress'

2022 London International Creative Competition, Official Selection for 'The Heirloom Dress'

2021 PhotoPlace Gallery, Director's Award for 'Letting Go'

2021 7th Fine Art Photography Awards, Nominated series "Photography Under Quarantine"

2021 14th Annual International Color Awards Winner, Honorable Mention in Still Life, 'Choices'

2020 Leica, Flower Photo Competition, Finalist and Award of Excellence

2020 Ground Floor Artists Gallery, Honorable Mention, 'Frida Kahlo, Love Letters'

2019 The Portrait Masters Associate Certification 

2018 Arkansas Life “Best of” Award

2017 Leica, Reflections Contest Winner

2017 Leica,  Award of Excellence 

2017 Smithsonian,  Award Finalist

2017 and 2018 The Portrait Masters,  Multiple Silver and Bronze Awards

2016 IPA, Honorable Mention, 'Deepest Part of Me' 

2016 Vogue Italia, Best Of PhotoVogue for series 'Forgotten' and 'The Artist'

2016 ViewBug,  Maternity Photo Contest Winner

2015, 2016, 2017 National Geographic YourShot Editors Choice

2014 Photopaths,  Grand Champion 

 

 

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Publications

Flower Power Daily 

Fraction Magazine 

Lensculture

Pro Photographers Magazine

Vogue Italia / PhotoVogue

Vanity Fair Italia

Good Morning America

ABC News

Yahoo and AOL news

Arkansas Life Magazine

Dogster Magazine

PopSugar Celebrity

The Guardian

DailyMail UK

Refinery 29

Inside Edition

US Weekly

Paris Match

ET Today

MSN News

Cosmopolitan Brazil

TheArtBo

My Modern Met

Avax News

Blaze Press

The Girls Magazine 

Many others around the world 

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