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Schmidberger: The beginning of the end

Schmidberger: The beginning of the end
Library Shelf Location 18.SCHM
Publication Date 2011
Description Christoph Schmidberger's first solo exhibition in Italy. Though Austrian born, Schmidberger has lived for years in Los Angeles and has emerged in recent years thanks to his painting style, which seems to simultaneously incorporate the most significant aspects of both the American and European schools. While his colours and aesthetic are openly indebted to California, his works stand out for their analytical vision of the present, filtered through one of the most traditional genres of art: the portrait. The figures portrayed by Schmidberger live in an indefinite dimension. The apparent simplicity of the context in which they move, when examined more deeply, reveals social and especially spiritual concerns which give rise to a series of contrasts where realism clashes with a chromatic interpretation that is highly personal. The coldness of execution is at odds with the warmth of the scenario depicted; the intimacy between creator and subject is undermined by a wilful stylistic detachment. In reality, what appears as casual is the fruit of a carefully studied compositional process. The result yields a strange emotional tension that pervades all the works, it is matched in turn by sweeping titles such as Wars And Rumors Of War, I Promise and You No Longer Know Who I Am. Psychologically complex, vaguely seductive and constantly aware of an external eye examining them, the protagonists of Schmidberger's paintings capture a transitory moment such as the present, illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of an undecided generation torn between the material world in which they have chosen to live and a tormented personal quest for ways to escape. Alongside his paintings, in “The Beginning Of The End” the artist will also exhibit his drawings. Featuring a skilful use of chromatic grading, these drawings add a veil of romanticism and nostalgia to Schmidberger's vision, bringing out an imaginative world linked to the golden age of cinema, reviving an iconography that has left indelible marks on our age. Christoph Schmidberger was born in 1974 in Eisenerz (Austria). He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Quantity 1
Pages 47 p. 24 ill. (most in colour)
Authors Michelle Robecchi, Christoph Schmidberger
Format Paperback
Publisher Brand New Gallery, Milan
Related Artist Christoph Schmidberger
Category Artist (relating to a single artist/collaborative team)
Related City/Region Los Angeles
Related Country/Global Region United States of America (USA)
Related Gallery Brand New Gallery, Milan
Artist's Nationality Austrian
Languages English, Italian

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