Åsa Schick_Echoes of Elsewhere by paulthiebaudgallery

Åsa Schick

Echoes of Elsewhere 1

Åsa Schick Echoes of Elsewhere July 11, 2026 - September 12, 2026

PAUL THIEBAUD GALLERY 645 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 415.434.3055 | www.paulthiebaudgallery.com

Plate 1: Atlas, 2025 oil on canvas, 35 x 45 3/4 inches

Foreword The spark of creativity that every artist has within them is something that can seem to appear out of nowhere within a family, baffling their parents and siblings. It also can present itself as a trait that flows from one generation to the next. In the history of American art the Peale family of Philadelphia and the Wyeth Family of Pennsylvania and Maine are two of the most prominent examples of artistic dynasties. For Åsa Schick, the creative impetus has flowed through her family through multiple generations. Her grandfather and great grandfather were both glass blowers in Sweden, where she was born and has lived most of her life, so her life was full of music, theater, and art growing up. The cultured environment she was raised in has had an important impact on Schick’s life and art. The paintings featured in her exhibition Echoes of Elsewhere embody the beliefs she developed when she was young, namely that there is a spiritual element to the world around us. Her canvases convey this through loosely abstracted compositions that make one recall the surreal landscapes of our dreams. In the following pages, you will find not only installation views of her exhibition and reproductions of the individual paintings, but also an interview with her I conducted the day her exhibition at the gallery. I hope you find it as interesting and revealing as I have. I would like to give my greatest thanks to Åsa Schick for agreeing to let us exhibit her newest series of paintings and for participating in the artist talk interview. I would also like to thank my colleagues Colleen Casey and Gregory Hemming at Paul Thiebaud Gallery for their hard work and effort in making this exhibition and catalogue possible.

Greg Flood, Director August 2026

A Life in Art: An Artist Talk with Åsa Schick On July 11, 2026, Paul Thiebaud Gallery Director Greg Flood sat down with artist Åsa Schick to talk about her life as an artist and her exhibition Echoes of Elsewhere, which opened at the gallery that afternoon. The following is an edited and expanded record of their discussion, which was being video recorded for posting online. Greg Flood: Good afternoon, and welcome to our artist talk with Åsa Schick, whose exhibition Echoes of Elsewhere opens today at Paul Thiebaud Gallery. We were thrilled to be exhibiting Åsa’s new body of work in her first solo exhibition with the gallery. By way of introduction, Åsa Schick was born in Sweden, and lives and works in Stockholm. She received a B.S. from the University of Southern California and an M.F.A. from the New York Studio School of Drawing and Painting and Sculpture in 2011, and pursued graduate studies in psychology at Antioch University. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are held in public and private collections, including the William Louis Dreyfus Foundation, the Fantapia Museum in South Korea, the Lekab Communications Corporate Collection in Sweden and Skeppsholmen Sotheby´s International Realty´s Collection in Stockholm, Sweden. Welcome, Åsa. Åsa Schick: Thank you so much. I am very happy to be here. GF: My first one is, having lived most of your life in Sweden what has that experience been like? ÅS: It has been wonderful. I grew up in Sweden and I am very close with my family. We always did a lot of things in nature, sailing, skiing, walking in the woods, and doing sports. My family is also really interested in music, so there was always music around. We went to the theater and art shows, too, and so it was a mix of culture and nature. It was a great upbringing. GF: That sounds wonderful. I am always curious to know, when did you discover you had the creative bug that led you to become an artist? And, when did you decide that painting would be your medium? ÅS: Well, I have always loved color and been really drawn to it. I have vivid memories even as a young child. My father used to travel a lot for work, and he always brought us gifts when he came back. One time when I was maybe six, he brought me these colored pens that each had a scent to them. I just loved them, and they put a new dimension to colors and scents. I also vividly remember when I was around that same age, going to the Museum of continues on pg. 12

Plate 2: Solara, 2025 oil on canvas, 32 x 39 1/2 inches 9

Modern Art in Stockholm (Moderna Museet). They have a beautiful sculpture garden with Niki de Saint Phalle sculptures that are all really large, colorful, and have interesting shapes. This was a very memorable experience. Painting was also something that I was used to from an early age. My grandmother was a great painter and my mom also painted when I was growing up. But, it was when I was in my late teens that I knew I was an artist. I just painted for myself, sort of like my own diary, for many years. At a certain point I decided I wanted to do something with it, or I knew I would regret it. Later, on a skiing trip in Sun Valley, Idaho, when I was going up the ski lift with friends whom I had met in Sun Valley, we started talking about art. One of my friends said “Why do not you show me what you are doing?” At that time I had not shared my work with many people, but I decided to show images of my current paintings. I had no idea that he was highly involved in the art world in New York. This was probably a good thing as, I may have gotten intimidated otherwise. This meeting turned out to be a key moment in my life, as it led me to receiving scholarships to the New York Studio School for four years. A lot of stuff happened in between, but that was a turning point. He is still a very good friend and I am forever grateful for our friendship, our meeting, and the chance I was given. GF: Tell us about the New York Studio School. ÅS: It was fantastic. It was like a dream. I was immersed with painting, with painters, and fantastic teachers for over four years. I studied in the great Graham Nickson´s atelier. He challenged us in many ways such as the use of scale, the use of color, and to really re-assess if the painting was working. Our art history teacher Karen Wilkin was also a key person for me. She is brilliant and she taught us about all the masters in a very interesting way and awoke a keen interest in art history in me. Stanley Lewis and Ron Milewicz, amongst others, were also very influential for me. I moved to New York from Sweden with my son when he was nine, and my family probably thought I lost it, but it all worked out great. GF: New York is such a vibrant place. I cannot see why anyone would question why you were going to one of the great cultural capitals of the world. ÅS: I think they were concerned that it would be very difficult since I was a single mom to my son, who was only nine years old then. They were concerned about where we would live as well as schools and activities for my son. My son wanted to move to New York and it worked out wonderfully. Both my son and I had a life changing experience. My parents, who were already retired, would come often for long visits and they, too, had a wonderful time. They would also always come and stay with us when the Studio School had their incredible Marathons at the beginning of each semester and over the continues on pg. 15

Plate 3: Aeros, 2025 oil on linen, 9 x 7 1/4 inches 13

Plate 4: Lumina, 2025 oil on linen, 44 x 33 inches 14

summer. During the marathons the students are completely immersed with the work, from morning until late at night, and being challenged every step of the way. Graham Nickson used to say that we would be dreaming about drawing and painting by the end of it. There are no words for how much I learned and grew during those periods and it carried with me during the whole coming semester. GF: Looking back a bit, the previous body of your work that we have had here at the gallery has a loosely impressionistic feel to it, and they are landscapes done at a small scale. Did those come out of your time at the Studio School and what inspired them? ÅS: No, those actually came while meeting up with my painting friends in Florida. They were painted en plein air there, and some of them were painted outdoors in Stockholm. At the Studio School I did very large-scale work, about 10 by six feet in scale. GF: That is huge. I did not know you had painted that big before. ÅS: I love it. I love painting so big so you can walk into the painting. GF: In your exhibition Echoes of Elsewhere, the works are larger than the ones that we have had previously. What led you to move to a larger format for these pieces? ÅS: Well, these paintings start from very small drawings that are the size of the of palm of your hand. They are very intimate. These canvas sizes felt instinctively right for these paintings. I tend to paint in different series. Ever since I was a teenager, I have been really interested in the spiritual world, the metaphysical, and consciousness. For a long time, I have combined painting and that interest together. These works are a continuation of my search to capture the essence of the spiritual in a painting. GF: When you start a painting, how do you begin? What is the process like for making it? How do you know when it is finished? ÅS: I am very influenced by nature, my meditative process and the spiritual. As I mentioned, I start with looking at whatever palm-sized sketch I am drawn to, and use it as a seed to make the painting. The issue of scale is a big one. I do not paint the composition exactly like the drawing, but I feel like it gives me something to hang on to. Then, I work to create space, movement, and rhythm with form and color. GF: That makes sense to me entirely. Looking at these two paintings, Meridian and Astralis, between them you are using the two different supports. Astralis is painted on regular canvas, and Meridian is painted on an open weave linen. They each have very different surfaces and a different visual feel because of this. What led you to linen and how has is affected how you paint? In the past, I have seen you do work on canvas and on paper, but I have never seen you work on linen before. continues on pg. 18

ÅS: I have worked on stretched linen before, but not like this. It was a very interesting to experiment to see how color reacts on different surfaces, and I was trying to push myself further as a painter. These were very interesting to do and quite challenging. I was painting them on the ground outside, and then I also hung them on a clothesline as well to paint them. It takes a lot of color because it is such an open weave, it just goes right through it. GF: I have to say, when you get up close to the linen works you get the sense that you can almost see through it. It is more like it is stained into the linen than it is painted onto it. ÅS: Yes, and I love that effect. GF: When you have written and spoken about this body of work, you have talked about the spiritual influence in the work. Would you share with us a bit more about what you mean by that? ÅS: Somebody said once that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and that is very much what I believe. I believe that there is so much more that we do not see with our eyes, per se. There is so much more out there, and that we are all connected. That gives my life great meaning. I meditate a lot, and try to step out of the way and just feel connected. GF: Within your compositions, there are these flowing lines and shape that interact, touch, and impact each other as the eye moves across the surface. They have that sense of kind of interconnectedness, where everything is relational to everything else. I think that that follows with what you are talking about. But, in many of these I sense that there is a landscape or something like that within them. You might call it a dreamscape. Am I wrong in that reading? ÅS: No, no, not at all. They are definitely dreamscapes and landscapes, my inner landscape, and all of those other landscapes that are out there in the spiritual world – the world most of us do not necessarily see or pay attention to. For me, it also has a lot to do with how something feels, and how that feeling translates into painting. GF: Do you feel like they are a reflection of your inner self or something that is within you, or do they come from another place? ÅS: I think that they are both. I feel that I (and a lot of artists and people) connect to something that is not necessarily within ourselves, but at the same time it is within ourselves. Since I made these paintings I have felt that they, somehow, also reflect a part of me. GF: Are there going to be more of them, and how do you see them evolving? continues on pg. 22

Plate 5: Vespera, 2025 oil on canvas, 18 x 15 inches 19

Plate 6: Numina, 2025 oil on canvas, 35 x 45 5/8 inches 20

ÅS: Yes, I am definitely going to continue in this direction. I want to push further and experiment more in this same realm. I will also continue to do plein-air paintings and drawings as well as figurative work. For me, they feed on each other. I love to travel and paint on location. These experiences carry me when I am back in the studio, and both abstract and figurative work comes out of it. GF: Many of us know Sweden because of things like ABBA and IKEA, the Swedish chef on The Muppets, or, for those who are politically minded, its recent entry into NATO in 2024 after many years of military non-alignment. But, what is the art world like there? I do not think many people in the United States know what the Swedish art world is like in terms of its cultural institutions and its general scene. ÅS: It is definitely much smaller than the New York art scene, or San Francisco or Los Angeles. But, we have nice museums and good galleries, and it is definitely present. It is just not the abundance that you have here in America. GF: Are there people that you are inspired by in Sweden whose work you really like? ÅS: Definitely. There is one living artist, her name is Karin Mamma Andersson. She does figurative work I really admire. I love the way Anders Zorn captures light and water. Then, of course, there is Hilma af Klint. I have been a great admirer of hers for many years, even before the paintings that have become so famous were shown. They used to have a painting hanging at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm (Moderna Museet) that was not part of that group. I was always so drawn to that painting. GF: To end the interview, I would like to ask a modified version of the questionnaire that was originally invented by Marcel Proust. To begin, what is your favorite word? ÅS: Love, joy, and gratitude. GF: What is your least favorite word? ÅS: Hate. GF: What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? ÅS: Being in nature, being with family and friends, music and my meditative process. GF: What turns you off? ÅS: Loud noises and too much cement. GF: What is your favorite color? continues on pg. 26

Plate 7: Aetheria, 2025 oil on linen, 45 1/8 x 30 1/2 inches 23

ÅS: That is a hard one since they are all related. I will pick the whole rainbow. GF: Who is your favorite artist? ÅS: There are so many… Joan Mitchell, Hans Hofmann, Hilma af Klint, Helen Frankenthaler, Richard Diebenkorn, to just name some of them. GF: What sound or noise do you love? ÅS: I love the sound of nature, and I love beautiful music. GF: What sound or noise do you hate? ÅS: I really do not like squeaky noises, and chewing noises. GF: If you were not an artist, what other profession would you like to attempt? ÅS: I do not know. My answer is still in the arts. I would love to work with and blow glass. My grandfather was a glass blower, and great-grandfather as well. I would love to work with glass, stained glass, and ceramics. GF: What profession would you least like to do? ÅS: I really do not think I would want to be a lawyer. GF: If you were reincarnated as some other plant or animal, what would it be? ÅS: I think being a plant would feel a little too stagnant. For an animal, I think I would either want to be a bird so I could fly, a fish so I could swim, a horse so I could gallop over meadows, or a dog in a great family. GF: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? ÅS: I think that I would feel love from God. GF: Finally, what piece of advice would you give an artist starting out today? ÅS: Do whatever it is that you want to do. Go in the direction you want to go in. GF: Thank you, Åsa. ÅS: Thank you Greg. I am so grateful to have a solo show here at Paul Thiebaud Gallery.

Plate 8: Aurora, 2025 oil on linen, 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches 27

Plate 9: Meridian, 2025 oil on linen, 43 1/2 x 34 inches 28

Plate 10: Astralis, 2025 oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches 30

Plate 11: Zephyra, 2025 oil on canvas, 45 3/4 x 35 1/4 inches 34

Plate 12: Celestia, 2025 oil on canvas, 35 x 45 1/2 inches 36

Exhibition Checklist

Plate 2: Solara 2025 oil on canvas 32 x 39 1/2 inches

Plate 6: Numina 2025 oil on canvas 35 x 45 5/8 inches

Plate 3: Aeros 2025 oil on linen 9 x 7 1/4 inches

Plate 7: Aetheria 2025 oil on linen 45 1/8 x 30 1/2 inches

Plate 4: Lumina 2025 oil on linen 44 x 33 inches

Plate 8: Aurora 2025 oil on linen 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches

Plate 5: Vespera 2025 oil on canvas 18 x 15 inches

Plate 9: Meridian 2025 oil on linen 43 1/2 x 34 inches

Works not Exhibited

Plate 10: Astralis 2025 oil on canvas 28 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches

Plate 1: Atlas 2025 oil on canvas 35 x 45 3/4 inches

Plate 11: Zephyra 2025 oil on canvas 45 3/4 x 35 1/4 inches Plate 12: Celestia 2025 oil on canvas 35 x 45 1/2 inches

ÅSA SCHICK EDUCATION

2011-2012 2008-2011 2007 1995-1997 1991

New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, New York, NY Post Graduate Studies, Painting New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, New York, NY Master of Fine Arts, Painting New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, New York, NY Summer Session in New York & Italy Antioch University, Los Angeles, CA Graduate studies in Master of Arts, Psychology University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

TEACHING EXPERIENCE 2025 2023 2012 2011

Workshops – Let’s Paint, at Atelje’ Åsa Schick, Stockholm, Sweden Teaching assistant to Tina Kraft, Plein-air & Still life Workshop, Seattle Arts League, Seattle, WA Teaching assistant to Elisa Jensen & Ron Milewicz, Landscape Painting Class, NYSS, New York, NY Teaching assistant to Graham Nickson, Landscape Painting Class, NYSS, New York, NY Teaching assistant to Elisa Jensen & Ron Milewicz, Landscape Painting Class, NYSS, New York, NY

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS 2019 2016 2015 2011-2012 2008-2011 2007-2008

Grant from Föreningen Svenska Konstnärinnor through the Elsa Franzen fund Grant for Exhibition - Sveriges Konstföreningar Grant for Exhibition - Sveriges Konstföreningar Post Graduate Studies Scholarship - New York Studio School Scholarship - Painting Marathon in Naples, Florida with Graham Nickson, New York Studio School MFA & Certificate Studies Scholarship, New York Studio School Summer Session Scholarship, New York Studio School

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2026 Åsa Schick: Echoes of Elsewhere, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2025 Kulturnatten, Atelje´ Åsa Schick, Stockholm, Sweden 2024 Åsa Schick: New Paintings, LEKAB Communication, Stockholm, Sweden 2018 Åsa Schick - Paintings, La Diabla Bakfickan, Sollentuna, Sweden 2017 Transformation, Fru Bellman, Stockholm, Sweden 2016 Yesterday – Today - Tomorrow, Tallbo, Järbo, Sweden 2015 Behind the Horizon, Tekniska Nämndhuset, Stockholm, Sweden 2014 Livsglädje & Mystik, Galleri B:fors, Stockholm, Sweden New Work, Galleri Fyra Årstider, Stockholm, Sweden SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2025 2024 42

Samtidskonst – Medlemsutställning Föreningen Svenska Konstnärinnor, Galleri Elfva, Lidingö, Sweden Dina Vänner & Bekanta, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden Busan International Environmental Art Festiaval “Old Future” 2024 exhibition, South Korea

New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition 2024, Virtual Show on Artsy Englesonsgallerier – grupputställning, Gothenburg, Sweden Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Eldhuset i Stora Mossen, Stockholm, Sweden 2023 Busan International Environment Art Festival, Busan, South Korea Artportable group show, Stockholm Fisk, Sweden New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition 2023, Virtual Show on Artsy Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Eldhuset i Stora Mossen, Stockholm, Sweden 2022 Så som i en spegel, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden Arbon Art Festival, Arbon, Switzerland Qatar International Art Festival, Qatar New York Studio School 2022, Virtual Show on Artsy Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Eldhuset i Stora Mossen, Stockholm, Sweden Rassegna d´Art Contemporanea Arte Roma, Rome, Italy 2021 National Art Gallery, Maldives Art Bratislava, Bratislava Castle, Bratislava, Slovakia Korea 2nd International Art Exhibition “Beyond the Borders”, Fantapia Museum, South Korea 2021 Arte Venezia, Scuola Grande, San Teodoro, Venezia, Italy New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition 2021, Virtual Show on Artsy Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Eldhuset i Stora Mossen, Stockholm, Sweden 2020 New York Studio School Alumni Exhibition, Virtual Show on Artsy 2019 Hoppla vi lever, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden NYSS Alumni European Show, Gerald Moore Gallery, London, United Kingdom 2019West Coast Chapter Alumni Exhibition, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2019 Bowery Gallery National Competition, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY 2019 West Coast Chapter Alumni Exhibition, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York, NY Årsringar, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden Winter 2019 Juried Exhibition, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY 2018 Hög Tid, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden 27th Annual Juried Competition, Juror: Karen Wilkin, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY JuxtaPositions – Juried Exhibit, The Painting Center, New York, NY Utsikt, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden 2017 Vinterutställning, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden Vårutställning, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden 2016 Loggbok, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden Small Works Invitational: Works on Paper, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY 2016 Juried Exhibition at Prince Street Gallery, Juror: Graham Nickson, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY 2016 Juried Exhibition at Blue Mountain Gallery, Juror: Stanley Lewis, Blue Mountain Gallery, New York, NY 2015 Vintersalongen 2015, Juried show, Nacka Konsthall, Nacka, Sweden Huset, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Konstnärshuset, Stockholm, Sweden Bowery National Competition, Juror: Stephen Westfall, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY 2014 Mätning II, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden Postens Höstsalong, Solna, Sweden 23rd Annual Juried Competition 2014, Judge: David Cohen, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY Ankomst 2013, Konstnärshusets utställning för nya medlemmar 2013, Stockholm, Sweden 2013 Mätning 1, Konstnärshusets Medlemsutställning, Stockholm, Sweden Juried Alumni Association Exhibit, New York Studio School, New York, NY Working it out – Juried Exhibit, The Painting Center, New York, NY 2012 21st Annual Juried Competition 2012, Judge: Lance Esplund, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY 2012 National Juried Exhibition, Judge: Dore Ashton, First Street Gallery, New York, NY Painting Governors Island, Governors Island, New York, NY Recent Works, New York Studio School Student Gallery, New York, NY Spring Group Show curated by Karen Wilkin, New York Studio School Lobby Gallery, New York, NY 2011 Fall Group Show curated by Karen Wilkin, New York Studio School Lobby Gallery, New York, NY 43

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (cont.) 2011 20th Annual Juried Competition 2011, Judge: Stanley Lewis, Bowery Gallery, New York, NY Salon des Refuses, Båthall 1, Galärvarvet, Kungliga Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden Painting Governor’s Island, Governors Island, New York, NY 2011 MFA Thesis Show, New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, New York, NY 2010 Fall Group Show, Patton Boggs LLP, New York, NY Group Show curated by Karen Wilkin, New York Studio School Lobby Gallery, New York, NY New York Studio School Landscape Painters, The Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, Recent Works, two-person show, New York Studio School Student Gallery, New York, NY Spring Group Show, Patton Boggs LLP, New York, NY 2009 Fall Group Show, Patton Boggs LLP, New York, NY Governors Island, Governors Island, New York, NY Recent Works, two-person show, New York Studio School Student Gallery, New York, NY Spring Group Show, Patton Boggs LLP, New York, NY 2008 Group Show, New York Studio School Lobby Gallery, New York, NY Governors Island, Governors Island, New York, NY PUBLIC COLLECTION Fantapia Museum Permanent Collection, Seoul, South Korea LEKAB Communication, Stockholm, Sweden Skeppsholmen Sotheby’s International Realty, Stockholm, Sweden The William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, New York, NY MEMBERSHIPS Föreningen för Svenska Konstnärinnor (FSK) Konstnärernas Riks Organisation (KRO) New York Studio School Alumni Association Svenska Konstnärernas Förening (SKF) University of Southern California Alumni Association

Cover: Numina (detail), 2025 Rear Cover: Meridian (detail), 2025 Copyright 2026 Paul Thiebaud Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Images copyright 2026 Åsa Schick. Design: Greg Flood and Matthew Miller. All images, photo: Matthew Miller. No portion of this document may be reproduced or stored without the express written permission of the copyright holder(s). 46

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