About and Contact Information
The themes of my paintings come out of my experience as a psychoanalytically trained psychiatrist and from my social and political worldviews, as well as from my baroque-Catholic upbringing in Europe, from the fairytales of my childhood, and the cultural experience of a European in America.
The strongest influence on my art comes from the Viennese School of Fantastic Realism and from Friedrich Hundertwasser, from surrealism, German Expressionism, Gustav Klimt, and some young contemporary New York artists (Aaron Olshan, Sarah Bedford).
I like to tell stories with my paintings which often turn out to be whimsical, tragic-comical, grotesque, about abnormal, surrealist mental conditions, celebrating metamorphoses and transformations, human suffering and dissolution. Many themes are about aging, disappearance of organic and inorganic forms and their reappearance in altered shapes. For that reason I like to paint in multiple layers and possibly overpaint everything in the end.
I used to paint mostly figuratively in oil, acrylic, and pastels. In the last two to three years I have been painting more abstract or a mixture of abstract with scattered realistic elements or collages of all imaginable objects.. I also experiment with etchings, monoprints, and encaustic work, tonal charcoal, and ink.
Born and raised in post World War II Vienna, Austria, I attended Medical School at the University of Vienna which, lucky for me, turned out to be the second best art school in town. The teachers made us copy human anatomy from huge blackboards throughout medical school. After graduation I specialized in Anatomic Pathology which demands some good manual talents and recognition of visual patterns. In 1976 I received a fellowship to Stanford University in California. I decided to stay in California and do a residency training in psychiatry. I ended up working for the State of CA and the County of Los Angeles for indigent patients, and also as an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of California in Los Angeles. Later in life I was finally able to attend a private art school and then moved to Santa Fe. Here I am attending art classes at the Santa Fe Community College and study with private teachers.
I keep saying that I could paint stories and ideas for the next hundred years as a result of my adventurous private and professional life.
1) New Art International, volume VIII, 2003-2004 (pages 118-119),
volume IX, 2005-2006 (page 101)
volume XI, 2006-2007 (page 140)
Book Art Press, New York
Direct Art, Fall-Winter 2004 (page 73)
Collectors’ Guide, (Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque) 2007-2008 (page 247)
100 Santa Fe Etchers, published by Bell Tower Editions
2008,
(pages 172-173)
New Mexico Wax, New Mexico Encaustic Artists (copyright Blurb Inc., 2009)
Psychiatric Times, Oct. 2009, page 32, 34
A Published Gallery, (book) 2009, edited by Sonja-JadeLilly
Education: Medical School in Vienna, Austria, Doctor of medicine in 1971
Residency Training in Anatomic Pathology (University of Vienna, Stanford
University, California)
Residency Training in Psychiatry (Camarillo State Hospital, CA, University
California, Los Angeles)
Ass. Clinical Professor, Psychiatry, Univ. of CA, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Renaissance Art School, Los Angeles, 2001-2002
Santa Fe Community College, Art Department, since 2003
Study with private mentors
“Below the Surface” (BGH Gallery, Santa Monica, CA) 2001
“Flores de Malo” (Onion Gallery, NorthHills, CA) 2002
“Chaos, Fools, and Dragonkillers” (Ojai Center for the Arts, CA) 2002
“Flowers and Places” (Show and Sell Fine Art Gallery, Santa Monica) 2002
“Evolutions and Happenings” (BGH Gallery, Santa Monica, CA) 2003
“Transformations and Variations” (Dartmouth Street Gallery, Albuquerque,
NM) 2003
“Santa Fest” (Read Street Gallery, Santa Fe, NM) 2003
“To Shoot a Hummingbird” (Jo Basiste Studio, Santa Fe) 2003
“Flat Earth and Flowerdreams” (Santa Fe Fine Art Brokerage, Santa Fe) 2004
“Haight Ashbury Holiday Art Show” (Whitney Young Cultural Center,
San Francisco, CA) 2004
“Expressions in Hot Wax” (Santa Fe Fine Art Brokerage, Santa Fe) 2005
“What Happened?” (BGH Gallery, Santa Monica, CA) 2005
“Fun with Art” (Icon Gallery, Phoenix, AZ) 2005
“All Kinds of Flowers” (Collaboration Gallery, Santa Fe) 2005
“Witches and Transparent People” (Jadite Gallery, New York, NY) 2006
“Magic Letters” (Collaboration Gallery, Santa Fe), Jan. 2007
“Magic Letters” (Ushasti Gallery, Albuquerque) March, April 2007
“Sanctuaries” (Java Joe, Santa Fe) May 2007
“Magic Letters” (Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles) July 2007
“Landscapes from a different View” (Harwood Art Space, Albuquerque)
“What Have We Done!” (A Shenere Velt Gallery, Los Angeles) 9/07
“Magic Letters” (Vallejo Center for the Arts, CA) Sept. 2007
“Magic Letters”, Arthaus 66, Albuquerque (Nov. 2007)
“Magic Letters and Secrets”, Aztec Café, Santa Fe (Dec. 2007)
“Secret Doors”, Unitarian Congregation, Santa Fe (Jan. 2008)
“Magic Letters” Downtown Subscription, Santa Fe (Feb. 2008)
“Fruitcakes and Vegetables”, Counter Culture Café, Santa Fe (Sept. 2008)
“Secret Doors”, Vallejo Art Center, CA (July 2008)
“Secrets and Magic”, Backroad Pizza, 1807 2nd St #1, Santa Fe (March 2008)
“This is not an Accident, don’t call 911!” Higgins Confections, 847 Ninita St, Santa Fe
“Secret and Magic Letters”, Verb Collective Gallery, Albuquerque, April-May 2008
“Magic Letters and Secret Doors”, James Gray Gallery, Bergamott Center, Los Angeles, CA (Jan. 2009)
“A Little of Everything”, Java Joe’s Café, Rodeo Plaza, St. FE, October 2008
"House Of Pleasures", A More Beautiful World Gallery, 1525 South Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90035 (April, 2010)
Further Solo Shows:
Counter Culture Café (Santa Fe, 2003, 2006)
Main Library (Santa Fe, 2004, 2006)
Santa Fe Baking Company (Santa Fe, 2006)
Infusion Gallery (Los Angeles, 2006)
Border’s Bookstore/Café (Santa Fe, 2005)
Aztek Café (Santa Fe, 2005)
Ragin’Shrimp Restaurant (Albuquerque, 2004, 2005)
Jo Basiste Studio (Santa Fe, 2003, 2005)
Jean Cocteau Cinema (Santa Fe, 2005)
Dinner for Two Restaurant (Santa Fe, 2005)
Java Joe’s Coffeehouse (Santa Fe, 2005, 2007)
Santa Fe Market (Santa Fe, 2004)
Baca Street Bazaar (Santa Fe, 2005)
Arrediamo Oriental Rugs (Santa Fe, 2006)
© 2009 Eliza Schmid, and Dizzy Fish Design.
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