Statement

I am both fascinated and curious about the mystery of “the human condition”. We are innately equipped to adapt and survive, even when faced with intense adversity. We constantly push to be better, and find peace when we are in pain.

We endure ugly and horrific experiences, and yet we still get up and brush our teeth in the morning. Our unending sense of resiliency, strength and resolve inspires me. I try to express this through my work.

These minimal and contemplative paintings of lone figures in almost abysmal space express my feelings about emptiness, solitude and strength. My work has become my way of making peace with myself and the world around me. It truly helps me to see light in the darkest of places.

When I approach the canvas, I typically don’t have a particular image in my mind. There is seldom something pre-conceived. I begin with pure color. I apply layer after layer of paint, focusing on the forces that emerge from beneath the surface—dread, frenzy, isolation, fear, separation, love, intimacy, hope, humor, and solitude. Through this, an image begins to form. Then I build and embellish this form and allow it do develop into being.

I use the palette knife as my primary tool, because it allows for a greater sense of freedom in the overall sense of the figure. There are no fine characteristics or clearly defined attributes. These figures are “everyone” and “no one”. They are stripped to their most essential elements…their most basic form. The meaning is in the “representation” of the image, not the image itself. Abstraction is such a useful vehicle, in this regard…it leaves me with so much more to question.

René Romero Schuler | 312.952.3005 | rene@reneschuler.com | www.reneschuler.com