Wendi Schneider
Wendi Schneider is an American artist known for States of Grace, her ongoing series of hand-gilded photographs begun in 2012. Drawing on a background in painting and art history, she creates atmospheric impressions of the natural world that explore beauty, impermanence, and the expressive possibilities of the photographic print. Her images are layered with color and texture, printed on translucent vellum or Japanese kozo, and gilded on the verso with precious metals. As light moves across their surfaces, the works reveal subtle shifts in luminosity and depth.
Schneider’s photographic practice began in the early 1980s, when she used a camera to create reference images for oil paintings. Captivated by photography and the alchemy of the darkroom, yet drawn to the sensuousness of paint, she began applying oils directly to photographic prints. These early explorations of surface and illusion laid the groundwork for the layering and gilding that distinguish her work today. Her practice is also informed by her collection of turn-of-the-twentieth-century art and objects and her experience in design, art direction, and editorial and advertising photography.
Her work has been exhibited and published internationally and is held in permanent collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Center for Creative Photography; the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Royal Photographic Society; the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; the Asheville Art Museum; and Auburn University Libraries Special Collections.
Schneider is represented by A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans; Arnika Dawkins Gallery, Atlanta; Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston; Etherton Gallery, Tucson; GalerÃa PhotoGraphic, San Miguel de Allende; Rick Wester Fine Art, New York; Vision Gallery, Jerusalem; and Wach Gallery, Cleveland. She serves on the Advisory Council of the Colorado Photographic Arts Center.
