German artist Ralf Schmidt creates large scale figurative paintings that explore inner realities and collective feelings. Ralf typically removes his subjects from their original context and incorporates them into abstract backdrops. Ralf’s subjects, which predominantly take the form of figures or objects, are in a cartoon-type style, whilst the rest of the painting is formed of geometric abstract shapes, washes of colour and surrealist motifs. Focusing on creating a universal feel to his paintings, Ralf frees his subjects from situation or context, and seeks to reveal the collective feeling of human realities.
Ralf Schmidt’s Education and Development
Ralf graduated with a degree in Visual Communication from The University of Applied Sciences in Dusseldorf in the 1980s before going on to study Typography, Illustration and Graphic Design. After finishing his studies, Ralf continued to develop his style and in 1998, he started ‘free painting’. Ralf’s free painting is a process of isolating realistic elements and transforming them on the canvas. His paintings deal with interpretations of human nature in its collective form.
Exhibitions
Ralf is currently based in Dusseldorf, Germany, where he frequently shows his work in solo and group exhibitions. As well as having a successful career exhibiting in galleries and having residencies throughout Germany, Ralf has also recently exhibited his paintings in the Netherlands.
