Tender Alchemy is the first exhibition to present the works of Beth Ames Swartz and Julianne Swartz—mother and daughter artists whose distinct practices are united by a shared devotion to transformation, healing, and the invisible forces that shape human experience. Though their materials and methods differ, both artists engage in a kind of alchemy: a transmutation of matter, energy, and emotion into forms of quiet power and profound presence.

For more than sixty years, Beth Ames Swartz (b. 1936) has devoted her practice to spiritual inquiry and personal evolution, delving into esoteric wisdom traditions and spiritual cosmologies. Her layered, luminous paintings act as meditative spaces—vessels for reconciliation, transformation, and the poetic resolution of brokenness. Both deeply personal and interpretive, her practice reveals an enduring quest for enlightenment through symbolic and often ritualistic mark-making.

Julianne Swartz (b. 1967) synthesizes sound, light, energy, and other matter into participatory experiences that are both intimate and expansive. Her sculpture and site-specific installations invite tactile, auditory, and affective engagement, often incorporating ephemeral or immaterial elements to make subtle energies and emotional frequencies physically felt. Less about representation than presence, her work attunes viewers to unseen forces and suggests alternate modes of embodiment and empathy.

The exhibition unfolds across three galleries. The first surveys six decades of Beth Ames Swartz’s abstract interpretations of universal spiritual themes, revealing her lifelong pursuit of art as a catalyst for inner awakening and collective healing. The second presents new and recent sculptures by Julianne Swartz made as multisensory instruments to attune viewers to the energies that animate the body and environment. The third gallery presents their first collaboration in an installation of Beth’s newest series, Quantum Light, expanded through an immersive soundscape composed by Julianne.

Together, their work forms a cross-generational dialogue, grounded in tenderness, perception, and transformation. While their methods differ, their intentions echo across time and space, offering complementary visions of how art can serve as a bridge between worlds.

A catalog co-published with Hirmer Verlag will accompany the exhibition, featuring full-color images of Beth Ames Swartz’s paintings, Julianne Swartz’s sculptures and installations, and documentation of their creative processes and research. New scholarly essays deepen the exhibition’s themes: Lauren R. O’Connell explores intergenerational artistic vision by comparing the two artists’ practices, Dr. Susan Aberth situates Beth’s work within the tradition of transcendentalism; and Nancy Princenthal examines Julianne’s use of sound and vibration as participatory, experiential media.

Organized by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Lauren R. O’Connell, curator of contemporary art.  Support provided by World Class Sponsor Sarah and JT Marino, Signature Partner Ann B. Ritt Charitable Foundation, Signature Sponsors Jill M. Brown, Richard Corton, Nancy and Michael Gifford, Diane and Gary Tooker, and an anonymous donor, and Supporting Sponsors Jane and Mal Jozoff, Sally and Richard Lehmann, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, and an anonymous donor.