Conny Goelz Schmitt
Artist Statement
Through geometric collages and sculptures built from vintage book parts I
tell stories utilizing every part of the book except text.
I play with deconstruction, reconstruction and changing dimensionality,
treating the book as a time machine transporting me back to the past and
into the future.
Having been immersed in three very different cultures, elements of each of
them are present in my projects. I am influenced by the German attention
to detail, the retro color palette of Taiwan in the 1980’s and the
experimental, pioneering spirit of America. Although my work may seem
planned and calculated, it evolves organically within a rule-based system.
This process conveys a world of adventure and surprise, providing the
freedom to explore. A pursuit for balance and harmony becomes a
meditation and ritual.
Artist Bio
Conny Goelz Schmitt is a collage artist and sculptor who spent her youth in
Germany, moved to Taiwan in her twenties, and relocated to the US in 1996.
Having been immersed in three very different cultures, she is drawn to hard edge
painting influenced by the German “attention to detail”, the retro color palette
reminiscent of Taiwan in the 80s, and the very often experimental and creative
pioneering spirit of Americans. Her medium of choice is almost without exception
the vintage book.
In Germany she studied Sinology and German Literature at Eberhard Karls
University in Tuebingen. She was named Sculptor of the Year by Chief Curator of
Boston University, Kate McNamara in CAA’s 69th Members’ Prize Show. In 2016,
Paul C. Ha, Director of the List Visual Art Center at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, selected her work for the Best Multi Media Prize in CAA’s National
Prize Show. She was awarded a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center for 2020.
Besides exhibiting at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY, Zinc
Contemporary Gallery in Seattle, Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte, her work
has been featured at Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (Germany), the Cultural
Association of Rosa Venerini, Viterbo (Italy), The Painting Center, New York, Site:
Brooklyn, New York, The Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, among others.
Conny has a studio in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
Balance and Harmony, American Giant, San Francisco, CA 2020
Neverending Stories, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA 2019
Projective Planes, Coastal Contemporary Gallery, Newport, RI 2018
More Questions Than Answers, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA 2018
P(Art) of Us, Mingo Gallery, Beverly, MA 2017
Reconsidered, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA 2016
Time Matters, Rocky Neck Cultural Center, Gloucester, MA 2015
Out of Print, Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock College, Boston, MA 2014
Uncovered, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA 2014
Time Travelers, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA 2013
Bound for Extinction, Porter Mill Gallery, Beverly, MA 2013
Touchstone Gallery Mini Solo, Touchstone Gallery, Washington, DC 2013
Selected Group Exhibitions
Efflorescence, Zero Station Gallery, Portland, ME 2021
Intro, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC 2021
Mixing It Up, Bernay Fine Arts, Great Barrington, MA 2021
Color Cure, Zinc Contemporary, Seattle, WA 2021
Eccentric Color, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NYCity, NY 2021
Rock Wood Paper Scissors, Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY 2020
Intersect Chicago, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, Chicago, IL 2020
Art on Paper, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, NYCity, NY 2020
Form Height Width Depth, The Lockwood Gallery, Kingston NY 2020
Dear So-and-So, Penpals Art Show, Distillery Gallery, Boston MA 2019
Show Up, Rocky Neck Cultural Center, Gloucester, MA 2019
Small Sculptures – Big Impact, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua, NY 2019
Prismatic Redux with Gin Stone, Chandler Gallery, Cambridge, MA 2019
Art & Design: A Conversation, YJ Contemporary Fine Art Gallery,
East Greenwich, RI 2019
Boustrophedon, Flatrocks Gallery, Gloucester, MA 2018
10x10x10 Tieton, Tieton Arts and Humanities, Tieton, WA 2018
Rotational Remix, Coastal Contemporary Gallery, Newport, RI 2018
Artists Explore Series, Rocky Neck Cultural Center, Gloucester, MA 2018
JuxtaPositions, The Painting Center, New York, NY 2018
Juxtaposition, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany 2018
Primary to Tertiary, Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY 2017
Interaction of Colour, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY 2017
Cut and Paste, Contemporary Collage, Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY 2017
15th National Prize show, CAA, Juror: Paul C Ha, Cambridge, MA 2016
Printed, Painted, Folded, Torn, Rocky Neck Cultural Center, Gloucester, MA 2015
The Writing on the Wall, The Painting Center, New York, NY 2015
Off the Wall, Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA 2015
Platinum, CAA, Juror: Alice Upitis, Cambridge, MA 2014
Synchronicity, Cultural Association of Rosa Venerini, Viterbo, Italy 2014
Art of Astrophysics, MIT, Cambridge, MA 2014
Reliquary, Nave Gallery, Somerville, MA 2013
Awards and Fellowships
Residency at Vermont Studio Center, Clowes Fund Fellowship 2020
2018 National Prize Show, Juror’s choice award,
Jurors: Michelle Grabner,Jessica Hong, Jamillah James, CAA Cambridge, MA 2018
15th National Prize Show, Best in show for Multi Media,
Juror: Paul C Ha, CAA, Cambridge, MA 2016
Art of Astrophysics, Audience Appreciation Award, MIT, Cambridge, MA 2014
69th Members Prize Show, Artist of the Year for Sculpture,
Juror: Kate McNamara, CAA, Cambridge, MA 2014
RED Biennial, Honorable Mention, Juror: Amy Sadao, CAA, Cambridge, MA 2013
Education
Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Germany 1983-1986
