Thomas Schmidt

Thomas Schmidt is an American artist, designer and Co-founder of Recycled China . Currently I am interested in mining the zone between two and three-dimensional space. Drawing from aspects of ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, and photography, the objects I make are attempts at seeing the volume of a skin. At what point does an image become ink on p... aper and when does a substance become insubstantial? Thus, I believe these material experiments step beyond questions of materiality into an exploration of perception itself. In my work, I am driven by a sense of discovery that develops as I investigate materials and their properties. I use methods such as mold-making, scanning, and photography to capture material moments. These samples can then be printed, cast, layered, and distorted. This process fascinates me, because like our own constructed histories, the objects are imbued with layers of material memory that echo and obscure the original moment. Like the shift from experience to memory, all the transformations that take place are deviations from the original event, yet each transformation carries with it a new truth.” From 2009 through 2013 Schmidt taught ceramic design at the Alfred/CAFA (China Central Academy of Fine Art) Ceramic Design for Industry program in Beijing. He received his Post-Baccalaureate Certificate at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA at The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Schmidt also worked as an assistant to renowned modernist sculptor Ruth Duckworth. His sculptural work is included in numerous public and private collections including The Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, Missouri, The International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy, The Schein-Joseph Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, New York, and a forth-coming acquisition by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. To contact Thomas please click here .Read More