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Marianna Schmidt
- born in Hungary
- immigrated to England ca. 1956, and to Canada ca. 1961
- B.F.A., Printmaking, Vancouver School of Art, Vancouver,
British Columbia (1965)
Marianna Schmidt became well-known in the 1960s for using
a variety of styles that draw on the Japanese woodblock, abstract expressionism and
surrealism. This eclectic style of working is suited to her often whimsical subject
matter, which in this earlier work revolved around goblin-like figures in strange
landscapes and interiors, mixing comedy with an undertone of horror and grotesqueness. An
example is her 1966 The Dialogue on the Bridge, a humorous yet horrific scene of a
bridge spanning a river. On both sides of the bridge goblin forms are dancing, fighting,
and chasing each other. In the 1970s, Schmidt moved from etching to explore lithography,
screen printing and sculpture, using photo-realism and minimal geometric forms. Her Bolivian
Hats (1977) shows a stack of round hats in a grassy landscape. The hats, already
surreal in these surroundings, are explored by strange, tiny female figures that crawl
about them, sometimes hiding under their rims. Schmidt also used this period of discovery
to travel and expand her art historical knowledge. In the 1980s she changed focus once
again and decided to concentrate on painting, returning to the kind of figuration she
explored in the 1960s. The distinct landscapes in her work disappeared, leaving figures
and objects floating on an ambiguous ground. Pregnant Bride of 1984 is an example
of this kind of work, described by Eve Johnson in 1985: "Her white veil and black
body, the line of dogs', pigs' or perhaps demons' heads along the far edge of the
painting, and the bride's curiously suspended movement combine to create an effect that is
simultaneously humorous and unsettling." More recently, in the 1990s, Schmidt has
been working in xerography, using photocopiers to make new images out of collages made
from found images and household junk. Her distorted figures and their often unwelcoming
environments have been interpreted by Robin Laurence as expressing "a condition of
loneliness, of emotional and cultural disruption [evoking] a crisis that is both
existential and particular" (1984). Considering that Schmidt lost her entire family
in the Second World War and spent several years afterward living in displaced persons
camps, this interpretation may not be without basis, and might even apply to the strange
crowds of goblins used in her earlier prints, as they suggest a sense of cruelty and
alienation. Schmidt won first prize in 1965 at the annual Calgary Graphics Exhibition,
also winning at the Burnaby National Print Show the same year, and the Sterling Award in
1966 at the annual exhibition of the Society of Canadian Painters, Etchers and Engravers.
In 1967, she was one of six Canadians chosen to show at the International Exhibition of
Prints and Engravings in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1985 |
Marianna Schmidt
Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver, British
Columbia |
1984 |
Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto,
Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia |
1983 |
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver,
British Columbia |
1982 |
Paintings
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia |
1980 |
Prints and Drawings
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, British ColumbiaDrawings
University of British Columbia Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
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1978 |
Retrospective
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia |
1970 |
Douglas Gallery, Vancouver,
British Columbia |
1969 |
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas,
Venezuela Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Lima, Peru
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1968 |
New Design Gallery, Vancouver,
British Columbia |
1965 |
University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Manitoba |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1984 |
The Longstaffe Collection
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia100 Years of Printing in British Columbia
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
The Warehouse Show
Vancouver, British Columbia
Drawings
The Pitt Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Contemporary West Coast Art
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
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1983 |
Growing Years
Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver, British
ColumbiaThe October Show
Vancouver, British Columbia
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1980 |
Bau-Xi Gallery Anniversary
Exhibition
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia5
Women Artists
Simon Friseur University, Burnaby, British Columbia
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1979 |
13th Biennale
Ljubjana, YugoslaviaB.C. Credit Union
Exhibition
Vancouver, British Columbia
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1978 |
Women in Art
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia |
1975 |
10th International Print
Show
Tokyo, Japan
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1970 |
3rd International Print
Show
Cracow, PolandNew Trends in Graphics
Brno, Czech Republic
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1969 |
5th Burnaby Print Show
Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, British ColumbiaII
International Minibiennial Print Show
Stockholm, Sweden
Contemporary Canadian Prints and Drawings (travelling)
Australia
Ist Biennial Print Show
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ist British International Biennial
Bradford, England
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1968 |
The 11th Annual Show
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, ManitobaYounger
Vancouver Sculptors
The Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia
Spectrum '68
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Younger Vancouver Cross Section 68
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Directions in Western Canadian Printmaking
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Northwest Printmakers, 39th International Exhibition
Seattle, Washington
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1967 |
Society of Canadian
Painter-Etchers and Engravers 51st Exhibition
Toronto, OntarioWestern Print Makers
Travelling Exhibition
Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Canadian Print Makers Exhibition
Expo '67, Montréal, Québec
Joy and Celebration
Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
53rd Annual Exhibition of North West Artists
Seattle, Washington
International Exhibition of Prints and Engravings
Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
Eleven Canadian Printmakers
Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (travelling)
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1966 |
Society of Canadian
Painter-Etchers and Engravers 50th Exhibition
Toronto, OntarioAnnual Exhibition
of B.C. Artists
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Prints and Plastic Combines
The New Design Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
52nd Annual Exhibition of North West Artists
Seattle, Washington
International Exhibition of Prints and Drawings
Lugano, Switzerland
Northwest Printmakers 37th International Exhibition
Seattle, Washington
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1965 |
36th International Print
Show
Seattle, WashingtonCanadian Watercolours
and Prints
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Beyond Regionalism
Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
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1964 |
Alberta College of Art and
Design
Calgary, Alberta
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COLLECTIONS
Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary,
Alberta
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canada Offices of Parliament, Ottawa, Ontario
Concordia University, Montréal, Québec
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Ministry of External Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario
Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick
Museum of Contemporary Art, Lima, Peru
Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas, Venezuela
Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
National Gallery of Australia, Adelaide, Australia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Regina Public Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balkind, Alvin. Joy and Celebration. Vancouver,
British Columbia: Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, 1967.
British Columbia Art Collection, 1974-1980. Victoria, British Columbia: Province of
British Columbia, Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Government Services, Cultural
Services Branch, 1981.
Carter, Sam, Leita Richardson, and Maurice Yacowar. 64-94: Contemporary Decades.
Vancouver, British Columbia: The Charles H. Scott Gallery, 1994.
Direction des affaires culturelle, Ministère des affaires extérieures du Canada, Dialogue.
Ottawa, Ontario: Ministère des affaires extérieures du Canada, 1976.Farrell-Ward, Lorna, and Ron Longstaffe. Selected View: The
Longstaffe Collection, 1959-1984. Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancouver Art Gallery,
1985.
Harris, Steve, David McWilliam, and Russell Keziere.
Vancouver, British Columbia: Contemporary Art Gallery, 1983.
Kelly, Sue, Lisa Langford, and Francesca Lund. Artopolis
93: Public Art about Public Issues. Vancouver, British Columbia: A.T. Eight Artopolis
Society, 1993.
Laurence, Robin. "Marianna Schmidt." Vanguard
(February 1984): 44.
Lindberg, Theodore E. Marianna Schmidt. Vancouver,
British Columbia: The Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr College of Art and
Design, 1985.
---, Daina Augaitis, and Elsa Schamis. Vancouver
School of Art: The Growth Years, 1939-1965. Vancouver, British Columbia: The Charles
H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr College of Art and Design, 1983.
Lord, Barry. Eleven Canadian Printmakers. Hanover,
New Hampshire: Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, 1967.
McPerson, Hugo. 3rd National Burnaby Print Show. Burnaby,
British Columbia: The Burnaby Art Society, 1966.
Ninth Burnaby Biennial Print Show. Burnaby,
British Columbia: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1977.
Smith, Gordon, and Maurice Tuchman. 4th National
Burnaby Print Show. Burnaby, British Columbia: Burnaby Art Gallery, 1967.
Summerskill, Paul K. The 8th Burnaby Biennial, Open
Juried Show of Edition Art. Burnaby, British Columbia: Burnaby Art Gallery,
1975.
Tuele, Nicholas, Leslie Dawn, and Greg Bellerby. Printmaking
in British Columbia, 1889-1983. Victoria, British Columbia: Art Gallery of Greater
Victoria, 1983.
Varney, Ed, Joyce Woods, and Irene Dual Chan. Warehouse
Show: Local Contemporary Art. Vancouver, British Columbia: Warehouse Show, 1985.
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