Wilder Schmaltz


Wilder Schmaltz
schmaltz0@gmail.com

Born
Portland, Oregon, 1979

Educated
Pacific Northwest College of Art, BFA, 2001
University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy, 2000

Selected Solo Exhibitions
"Expeditionary", Gallery at the Jupiter, Portland, 7/2016
"The Extending Eye", Albatross, Portland, 11/2015
“Night Lands”, Gallery 6 PDX, Portland, 7/2013
“All Is Ready For A Cordial Welcome” (in conjunction with “Gallery Walk”), TBA Festival, Portland, 9/2011
“The Forever Fight”, Tiga, Portland, 8/2010
“Courtesy/Catastrophe”, Tart Gallery, Portland, 9/2007
“New Color Prints”, Flight 64 Press, Portland,6/2007
“Recent Drawings and Paintings”, Center Street Studios”, Portland, 3/2003

Selected Group Exhibitions
"Year of the Monkey", Froelick Gallery, Portland, 8/2016
“Albatross Group Show @TADADA”, Albatross Gallery, Portland, 5/2015
“4th Annual Recycled Rain Project”, invitational, Olympic Mills Building, Portland, 5/2015
“Pop w/o Pop”, PNCA Commons, curated by Modou Dieng and Mack McFarland, 11/2013
“Portland As Fuck”, Compound Gallery, Portland, 2/2013
“Undressing Room”, Froelick Gallery, Portland, 6/2012
“Simply Red 2”, Mark Woolley Gallery at Pioneer, Portland, 5/201
”Gifted: 2011 Portland Visual Art Exchange”, Littman Gallery, Portland, 12/2011
“Smoking Section”, Froelick Gallery, Portland, 11/2011
“Equine”, Froelick Gallery, Portland, 6/2011
“The Love Show”, Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, 2/2011
“Facing Fear”, Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, 11/2010
“Alumni Exhibit”, PNCA, 2006
“Flight 64 Press Portfolio Exchange Show”, Concordia Coffee, Portland, 6/2005
“Alumni Exhibit”, PNCA, 2005
“Studio Show”, Bucktown, Portland,6/2004
“All Nude Revue”, Ogle Gallery, Portland, 4/2002

Associations
Assistant Director, Froelick Gallery, 2015 – present
Registrar, Froelick Gallery, 2010 – 2015
Juror, BFA Juried Show, Pacific Northwest College of Art, 2013
Co-founder and Past President of Flight 64 Press, a nonprofit printmaking studio
Freelance Illustrator, including “The Portland Mercury”, “Grantland Quarterly”, others
Glass studio assistant, 4th Dimension Studios, 2005 – 2010
Gallery Manager, Print Arts Northwest, 2002 – 2004
Youth Program Instructor, PNCA

Statements

Night Lands
July 2013

I’m interested in character types from the early 20th century- specifically, the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Their styles, postures and the concerns of their time appeal to me. I like to think that their expressions, though often only slight variations on “straight-faced”, convey certain attributes- the barest difference in a raised/lowered eyelid or a corner of the mouth can seem honest, sinister, longing, sensual or regretful. A seeming avoidance of overt displays of emotion, though the information is still there for the careful observer. I search for images that support this idea in old magazines, photographs and school yearbooks.

Through the use of intense, often dissonant colors, I transport these people out of their own time and in to something like a science fiction setting. Likewise, landscapes or buildings behind the figures are subjected to the same hypersaturation. Working in colored pencil on surfaces coated in black gesso and finished in shiny varnish, I’m looking to achieve a heightened contrast between areas of bold, bright color and a deep, void-like black negative space.

The Forever Fight
August 2010

As a kid I developed a trick to combat the many anxieties encountered in a given day, from dark basement stairways to math quizzes to busy streets. By imagining myself as a monster, scarier and more intimidating than the source of my unease, I could will myself to do things that seemed otherwise overwhelming, or at least to ignore those problems for a while. I can’t claim success in every scenario, but it helped at times.

Though I haven’t resorted to this mechanism in years, I wonder how it might serve me in an adult context. The drawings in this series depict monsters and people interacting in various ways- sometimes the monster is bedeviling the person, sometimes the reverse is true, and sometimes it works well for both or neither. The role of protagonist is interchangeable. That is the Forever Fight- a wrestling match with the small fanged and hairy things of daily living.

Statement, Works on paper
2010

Much of my recent work draws from old newsmagazines, catalogues, textbooks and the like. I’m interested in images that portray outdated notions of concepts like clean living, delinquent or dangerous behavior, good citizenship and masculinity/femininity. People who were once considered icons of attractiveness (or at least good-looking enough to advertise sexy products like cigarettes and liquor) who, not due to any physical change but rather to a wider shift in the beauty ideal, now seem plain or absurd. Rendering the large hair and moustache styles of past decades is a satisfying exercise in line work as well.

Courtesy/Catastrophe
September 2007

There are many perils associated with childhood, but there are none greater than the dangers of ignorance. The textbooks, magazines, and catalogues which were the source material for this body of work sought to educate the youths of their day to the dangers of strangers, household items, and everyday activities- as well as to steer them along the path to good citizenship through sharing, caring, and regular checkups.

With this series of instructional and cautionary drawings, I have adopted this noble goal- to guide today’s young person through the chutes and ladders of modern urban living. The kids depicted here ask the question: “In my shoes, what would YOU choose?”