IRIS SCHOMAKER

Titled Walking the Line, the paintings in this show share a theme of finding balance; in form, composition, colour and life. Distinctively working with abstracted figures and geometric formations, Schomaker’s process is often an exploration and contemplation of lines, aimed at finding an equilibrium. Revealing the entire process from sketch to finished painting in each piece, one finds thin charcoal lines next to multi-layered strips and faint brushstrokes. Not covering or erasing previous layers allows for a sense of movement in her work, an aliveness in the characters. It alludes to both the temporality of their position–they are not fixed in time–and the cadence of the artist’s gradual process.

Lines at times become forms and shapes, resulting in objects and figures. Schomaker’s often androgynous characters are without exception quietly introspective, with contemplative postures positioned in tranquil environments. Reclining against a kitchen wall, sat on a chair or laid down on a sofa they appear in solitude, or if in companion, only by an animal. A black totem fox occasionally occurs. Faces are faint or out of focus, to stay away from classical figurative language and allow for openness, room for identification, perhaps. For Schomaker, these moments of quiet reflection are, though often overlooked, of utmost importance, as it requires solitude and silence to truly know oneself. Schomaker’s paintings offer a gentle invitation to slow down, reflect and, for a moment, let the world pass by.

Iris Schomaker was born in 1973 in Stade, Germany. She studied Fine Arts in Kiel and Hamburg, Trondheim and Bergen, Norway. She has participated in various exhibitions, including Galerie Thomas Schulte (various, 2004–2017), Reflex Amsterdam (2017), Kunstverein Schwimmhalle Schloss Plön (2016), Beijing International Art Biennale (2015), Mediation Biennal, Poznan (2014), Museum Sinclair-Haus, Bad Homburg (2014), Frankfurter Kunstverein (2013), Berlinische Galerie (2007; 2010), Schloss Salzau (2009), Staatliche Galerie, Zoppot (2001), and Villa Manin in Passariano (2001). Her works can be found in both public and private collections. Iris Schomaker currently lives and works in Berlin.