About the artist
Ruth Schmidt (née Ilonka Ruth), born in 1982 in Transylvania, now lives and works in Budapest.
If they ask her how long she has been painting, she would say since 2017, even though she started earlier, attending several drawing and painting classes. These years before 2017, she prefers to call “experiments.”
The years 2017-2021 she calls ‘The Learning Years’ in which she produced vast amount of study paintings in many styles.
She particularly likes the works of Piet Mondrian, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Albert Bierstadt, Rembrandt van Rijn, Karoly Marko …. The names bear witness she enjoyed experimenting with different styles and techniques. These can be seen mainly in her eclectic study paintings, where she uses a mixture of features from various ages, styles, and trends. Her admiration for Warhol and Mondrian can be seen in her pop art and Mondrian-inspired geometric figurative paintings
In 2020 she started to paint her paintings on symbolist and surrealist themes, in realistic style. She found herself in them.
Her teacher, Kálmán Gasztonyi, writes about her:
“Ruth Schmidt draws on the knowledge of the masters of past centuries, using their painting techniques to address the people of the 21st century. Her works, painted with the biggest professional shyness and fantastic precision, provide an aesthetic visual experience that is unmistakably unique to her. The paintings are narratives where the bare experience gets enriched with stories and feelings. Ruth’s basic nature is fun, a positive worldview, humour. Unfortunately, humour is having less and less space in contemporary painting, even though it is one of the greatest gifts of our lives. Fortunately, the Creator was generous with this gift to Ruth. The depiction of divine power also appears in her paintings, as her faith is very important to her. Her painting is perhaps best characterized by symbolism, but surrealism also appears occasionally. After all her ‘study paintings’ we will not find in her work a simple still life, or landscape or classically planned compositions. There is always a ‘twist’ by Ruth out there that transcends and makes the realistic painting to art.
Ruth’s talent, diligence, and sense of purpose have many, many more excellent paintings in store for us.”
ARTIST STATEMENT
She try to use her paintings not only to copy the visible world, but to transmit thoughts and feelings, to capture the intangible world like affection, child-like faith, human cooperation, God-to-human relationship, grief, hope, love, loss, pain and humour.. Her symbolist paintings, which strike sometimes into surrealism "speak the unspeakable". Tey are based on her own experiences, situations and concepts, and because each of them is a small piece of her soul. She paints with oil on canvas.
They are based on her own experiences, situations and concepts, and because each of them is a small piece of her soul. She paint with oil on canvas.
“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” (Henry Ward Becher)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2024 - Hungary (Miskolc) - MÖM - "You can only see well with your heart." (January)
2022 - Romania (Szentegyháza) - Gábor Áron House of Culture - "The Great Journey" (July)
2021 - Hungary (Budapest) - Titok Gallery- "Through different eyes" (October)
2020 - Hungary (Budapest) - Schmidt Ruth Paintings- independent gallery and studio- permanent exhibition (from March 2020)
2017 - Hungary (Budapest) -Duna Plaza- "Development"
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2025- Hungary (Salgótarján) - Salgótarján Cultural Centre/ Dávid Gallery - The colours of rebirth (March)
2025 - Hungary (Budapest) - Takács István Gallery - Hungarian Independent Salon XXXIII. national exhibition (January)
2024 - Austria (Vienna) - CITYgalleryVIENNA - Christmas zum Opernhaus (December)
2024 - Hungary (Budapest) - Dávid Gallery- 100 paintings, 100 thoughts (November)
2024 - Hungary (Budapest) - K Gallery - Kunsthalle (September)
2024 - Monaco - Salon International D'art Contemporain - represented by Agaphe Gallery (Barcelona) (August)
2024 - Greece (Athens)- Art Number23 Gallery- Athens Open Art (July)
2024 - Japan (Tokyo)- Design Festa Gallery- Tokyo Open Art (June)
2024 - USA (New York) - New York Art Expo - Represented by Artavita & Worlwide Art (April)
2024 - Italy (Lavagna) - Con-Temporary Art Obesrvatorium - "The Art of Freedom 2." (March)
2024 - Hungary (Budapest)- Dávid Gallery 2 - "Papillon Carnevale" (March)
2024 - USA (St. Petersburg) - Poynter Park - "Embracing our differences 2." (March)
2024 - USA (Sarasota) - Florida's Bayfront Park - "Embracing our differences" (January-March)
2023 - France (Paris), Carousel de Louvre- Salon International D'art Contemporain (October)
2023- United Kingdom (London) - The 6th London Art Biennale (July)
2023 - UK (London), Holy Art Gallery (July)
2023 - Hungary (Budapest)- Teravarna Gallery (Los Angeles, USA) and Golden Duck Gallery (Budapest) -artBIAS - First International Art Show
2023 - Spain (Madrid)- Gaudi Arte Gallery - "The brushstrokes of freshness" (April)
2023 - Hungary (Budapest)- Golden Duck Gallery- "The First Catalogue"
2023- France (Nice) - Nice Art Expo - International Art Exhibition- represented by the Spanish Gaudi Arte Gallery - Madrid, (April)
2023 - Hungary (Budapest) - Golden Duck Gallery- "Art for Peace" (February)
2022 - UK (London) - New Artist Fair - The Thruman Brevery
2022 - Hungary (Budapest)- Szimpla Kert (Jancsó Art Gallery)- "Spring in the city" (April)
2022 - UK (Newark)- Thoresby Gallery- "Universal Human Values"(February)
2019 - Hungary (Budapest) - The Zsilip Art Center- "Flora and Fauna"
PUBLICATIONS
2023 - Budapest- Novart Culture and Arts Magazine (June 18) -online article
MEDIA APPEARANCES:
2024 - Canada (Toronto) - Divide Magazine- Issue 11 (October)
2024 - UK (London) - Art Seen Magazine- Issue 13 (Autumn edition), interview (August)
2024 - Netherlands - Visual Art Journal Magazine- Issue 2, interview (July)
2024- USA (Sarasota) - Herald-Tribune- 2024 EOD People's Choice Award (24 May)
2024 - Hungary (Miskolc) - Miskolc Diary - Volume XXI Issue 4 (27 January)
2024 - Hungary - BOON (Borsod- Abauj- Zemplen Country News Portal) (January 27)
2023- Hungary (Budapest) - RTL TV- "Célirány" -report (26 November)
2023- Hungary (Budapest) - Művész Ma, Culture and Arts Magazine, online (29 July)
2023 - Hungary (Budapest) - ARTsCAP Contemporary Art Magazin 2023/2/XI appearance (“Art for peace” exhibition)
2022 - Budapest- ARTsCAP Contemporary Art Magazine 2022/1/X appearance ("Human Gold" Exhibition)
2021 - Hungary (Budapest) - On Karc Fm 105.9 Rádio, “Paholy” ( converastion with Antal Marosi) - (theme „With different eyes” -solo exhibition)
2017 - Hungary (Budapest) - On Karc Fm 105.9 Radio, “Paholy” -converastion with Antal Marosi – (theme „Development” -solo exhibition)
CATALOGUES:
2024- Artexpo New York- USA (New York)
2024- Embracing our differences 2024- USA (Sarasota)
2023 - Modern Art Masters in Louvre Complex- MOCAMAG Museum and Gallery- (Austria)
2023 - A 6th The London Art Biennale - UK (London)
2023 - Fine Arts Capital - "First Catalogue" - Hungary (Budapest)
2022- Human Values - UK (Newark)
2020 - Creativ Guts Zine- Spring edition - USA (Newfields, New Hampshire)
RECOGNITIONS:
2024 - Austria (Vienna) - CITYgalleryVIENNA - Concept Award (December)
2024 - USA (New York) - ArtJobs - Artist of the Month Award (June)
2024 - France (Lyon) - Circle Foundation for the Arts - Art IDEAL Competition - Master Mind Award (June)
2024 - USA (Sarasota) - "Embracing our differences" - Contest - Audience Award
2023 - France (Lyon)- Circle Quarterly Art Review Magazine Competition- Artistic Excellence Award (December)
2023 - USA (Santa Barbara) - World Wide Art/ Artavita Competition - first place (October)
2023 - UK (London), selected as an artist in the 6th The London Art Biennale (July)
2023 - USA (Los Angeles)- Teravarna Gallery- "7th Animal"- International competition- Talent Award (June)
2023 – Hungary (Budapest)- Teravarna Gallery (Los Angeles, USA) and Golden Duck Gallery – (Budapest)- artBIAS- First International Art Show- “Special Jury Award” (second place) (June)
2021 - USA (New York) - People and Paintings Gallery- "Vulnerable" painting competition- Audience Award
2019 - Hungary (Budapest) - "Flora and Fauna" - Zsilip Art Center painting competition, audience prize (professional category) I. place
2019 – Hungary (Budapest) - The Zsilip Art Center painting competition (professional category) - second place