ART IS MORE.
Art — life experience and a worldview — is a manifestation condensed
into a single “image” that awaits interpretation. Symbols, as explanations
of the relationship between the world and humanity, have accompanied us
since time immemorial. Human energies and soul-paths clad in animal skins
endowed man, as a creature of nature, with a power that enabled him to
surpass himself.
Ruth’s works render precisely these manifestations on canvas. Don’t
trust your eyes! See with your heart! You will indeed need your intuition if you
want to be part of Ruth’s creations. Linger over the paintings, decipher their
message, and you will be initiated into a special language that, in truth, you
have known for a very long time.
Norbert Dávid- curator
Thoughts in animal skins"
On Ruth’s canvases, fairy-tale visions and the strange harmony of
everyday reality are reflected. Through the animal world she conveys hidden
messages that recall the innocence of our childhood, while at the same time
confronting us with deep emotional and social questions that touch us all.
Her works draw sometimes from personal experience and sometimes
from lifelike, imagination-born stories that can be both familiar and surprising
to us.
With her characteristically confident, practiced brushstrokes and her
pared-down compositions, Ruth effortlessly carries us along and encourages
us to immerse ourselves in the stories and to ponder further the events
depicted in the paintings.
In today’s chaotic world, her creations emit a kind of loving tranquility —
a place we can return to and linger in whenever we wish.
Budapest, 15.08.2025.
Szilvia Terdik - curator
Are we growing wiser, or just taller?
This is the question Ruth Schmidt poses as the textual explanation of
her painting of the same title. It is a question whose answer can bring us
closer to the painter’s world.
We perceive a kind of duality: a realist mode of depiction that here
functions as a technical element. Ruth paints boldly and with technical maturity,
yet without ostentation. Technique is not primary for her, and that is a good
thing. She does not fall into the trap of “I can paint well, therefore I am an
artist,” but instead allows the viewer to discover her pictorial world.
The other side of the duality is the dream. Not a simple dream, but a
projection of reality, a genuine manifestation. What happened to me? What if…
Ruth tells stories—authentic ones. Sad ones, joyful ones, and stories shaped
by worldly experience. A true Renaissance person, she presents her
knowledge, wisdom, and experiences to us in this exhibition.
I recommend Ruth Schmidt to everyone, we will be hearing a lot about her in the future.
Budapest, 14 August 2025.
Béla Balog - curator
