One Hundred Starlings

One Hundred Starlings (2019-ongoing) sumi ink on Murillo, oil on canvas

Created with Sumi ink on Murillo paper, One Hundred Starlings depicts one hundred minimal yet delightfully animated starlings, each standing with a distinct and vivid personality. Schwartz describes the process of creating them as “all of them flying onto the wall at once—a murmuration,” though here they’ve landed, grounded, and assembled with purpose.

Individually, each starling carries its own character, but together they form a powerful collective presence—a quiet chorus of forms, commanding in their simplicity and striking in their unity. Their arrangement holds the same magnetic energy as a murmuration in flight, only now, the movement is felt through posture, gaze, and the dynamic tension between them.