Robert Schmid
Robert Schmid is a draftsman and painter who has been exhibiting his work in New York City since 1973. He has shown multiple times at the Sears-Peyton Gallery and other showings include Saatchi Gallery and Jane Baum Gallery. Robert has been critically written by Ken Johnson, former columnist and art critic of the New York Times who described his work as a “sensitive, assiduous craft” with “compositions that have a moody, cinematic quality”.
The drawings and paintings tend to depict figures, objects, and urban scenery with fleeting streaks of smears which convey motion and the passage of light and time. These theatrical works typically portray figures in contemporary attire, sometimes walking or standing in formal outfits as if discussing or approaching a corporate or office meeting. Robert’s work exemplifies New York life with their sense of fleeting, captured moments revealing a sensitivity to memories and image-capturing.
Much like photography, the figures and subjects appear as if captured in a moment rather than studied over time. Sometimes the figures’ body parts and faces will smear into separate forms which convey different moods and directions. Usually isolated but sometimes contained within an urban interior, Robert’s figures and portraits communicate to the audience their rapid motion and sense of urgency. Like a damaged, aging film or photograph, the drawings and paintings depict unclear, grainy, blurred, and smoky imagery and scenery.
Sleep (pictured above) depicts a falling ribbon and remains one of the few non-figurative pieces in Robert’s portfolio. Unlike most of his paintings, the bright color of the ribbon stands out for the bold tones and conveys a sense of contrast against the monochromatic interior. With pink streaks and a carefully placed shadow, the ribbon rapidly falls to the floor which becomes represented by just a gray rectangle against a white square indicating a wall. Sleep remains one of Robert’s most minimalistic pieces in both concept and execution.
Robert Schmid holds a vast career steeped in advancing realism through depictions of rapid motion and fleeting memories. His work embodies the fast, restless nature of New York with tangible soft renderings being ‘violated’ into smears of ever-moving pressure. The figures remain sustained and omniscient within their compositions as Robert centers our attention towards their tasks and limited presence. Robert expresses a portfolio steeped in urban culture and essence not so much in representation but through a fleeting atmosphere swiftly penetrating carefully subtle delineations.
