Arnold Schmidt

b. 1959, Austrian

Tags: Painting

Born in Austria, Arnold Schmidt began treatment in 1986 at the House of Artists, a residential community of psychiatric patients with serious artistic practices, at Maria Gugging, near Vienna. His figures and faces, usually composed of several symmetrical circles, pulse with the movement of a quick hand. He layers loosely applied color over carefully composed sketches. Although an assistant helps him set up, he works alone. He renders his figures using acrylic, crayon, pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor, centering them on empty backgrounds. Schmidt attends local exhibitions with fellow artists at Maria Gugging. His work has been exhibited in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.