In his early days as an artist Gary Schneider sought to portray his subjects and ideas through painting, filmmaking and performance art. So it was by happy accident that in 1975, while creating a film of intimate close-ups of the body, he realized that the individual frames would be better presented as “stills” in the form of photographic prints. It was from this original sequence that Self-Portraits 1975-2015 lays its foundation and finds inspiration.
“When exhibited they comprised as few as one image and as many as sixteen. Unlike cinematic linear progression these sequences could be read from left to right or the reverse or episodically. It was factual as well as metaphorical, and also dealt with a private performance that could then be made public.”
Schneider’s most recent works reflect his attitude towards revisiting the past, creating a dialogue, in order to sort out present problems. In several of his current “self-portraits” he takes small prints, images of past projects, and presents them mounted onto large-scale color abstraction encapsulating his self-reflexive methodology, “I often revisit past projects, comparing old and new images as a way of tracing how my ideas have developed over time. My process is reductive and ritualized. These series are my attempt to address unsolvable problems, not by arriving at solutions but by gaining insight.”
What may be most prevalent in the exhibition though, is Schneider’s endless curiosity and joy at exploring with the medium, and his use of various technologies. A seasoned technician in classical gelatin silver printing, and digital technique – the artist now goes beyond the traditional print to present his ideas in a variety of fresh and interesting ways. Harkening back to his early days as a multi-purpose experimenter, Schneider presents several large-scale prints on canvas, collages, and an enormous multi-panel abstraction printed on self-adhesive fabric. The images themselves are always beautifully rendered and subtly intricate—and most often mysterious, leaving it to the viewer to decipher… “In this way I strive to marry art and science, identity and obscurity, figuration and abstraction, the carnal and the spiritual.”
Please join us at the Stephen Daiter Gallery on Saturday, September 19th from 10am – 12pm for a Reception with the Artist.
OTHER Events Scheduled for Gary Schneider:
Friday, September 18th from 1:00-2:30pm at Expo Chicago Booth#337
Stephen Daiter Gallery is pleased to host a book signing at our Expo Chicago booth (#337) with photographic artist, Gary Schneider, marking the release of his latest publication HandBook, South African Artists, (Fourthwall Books). We will have copies of the book available at our booth (#337), and Mr. Schneider will be signing them on Friday, September 18th from 1:00-2:30pm. We will be featuring artwork from the publication in our booth as well. We hope to see you there!
Friday, September 18th from 6:00-8:00pm At Stephen Daiter Gallery
Join us the evening of the 18th for the River North’s/ Expo After Hours, Gary Schneider will be in attendance.
*A Catalog of this Exhibition is also available
