This abstract artwork features a predominantly dark, brooding palette, with a central shape that appears to be a shadowy, vaguely human form. The composition is characterized by bold, gestural brushstrokes and a sense of depth, with contrasting lighter areas on the sides creating a sense of movement and mystery. The overall style suggests an expressionistic approach, where the artist's emotional response to the subject matter is conveyed through the dynamic use of color, shape, and texture. This piece may reflect the artist's personal exploration of the human condition or a broader commentary on the darker aspects of the human experience. ...
Iris Schomaker's distinctive style of figuration is intricately intertwined with abstraction, employing bold graphic forms and composite anthropomorphism. Her radical approach to figurative-abstraction incorporates collected samples of visual culture, such as photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera from her studio that serve as references for grounding her figures in reality. The influence of Chinese and Japanese ink drawing and wood prints, as well as European artists like Henri Matisse, is palpable in Schomaker's interplay of line and form. Schomaker's artworks often feature still figures in reclining or relaxed poses, frequently accompanied by an animal. The artist describes these scenes as "private moments", carefully distilled through a meticulous process of reduction. Schomaker deliberately employs a limited color palette to present her figures in their most simplified form. Her artistic process typically involves creating a series of drawings, selecting the most successful ones to be translated into large-scale charcoal works, and then progressing to mixed-media techniques. Consequently, Schomaker's artworks bear the marks of her diverse working methods, revealing pencil strokes and strong graphic outlines, resulting in a surface that bears witness to her artistic process.
...
