Grids and threads

More about the book

In her latest project, the multiple award-winning artist Bastienne Schmidt offers a minimalist meditation on white space and its perception, inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s “Three Standard Stoppages.” This work utilizes conceptual photography in installations where scale becomes a riddle, featuring objects and colorful markers photographed from a bird’s eye view against a snowy backdrop, transforming the white environment into a blank canvas. The installations are crafted from recycled fabrics and colored threads, continuing Schmidt’s exploration of concepts of space and the systems that define them. The second part comprises mixed media works on Arches paper, featuring a punched grid of 8 x 8 inches divided into one-inch squares that interact with light and shadow. This series reflects a reductive process akin to the artistic pursuits of Agnes Martin and Robert Ryman, presenting a quiet reflection on minimal space. The variations within the squares evoke thoughts of absolute freedom versus absolute constraint. Schmidt’s work is part of esteemed collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the International Center of Photography, the Brooklyn Museum, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.