Artists Statement/Bio
Faith is what connects all of humanity. My personal quest for a feeling of connection to what lies around me has been a very spiritual mission and has guided my work.
In each work I create, I attempt to show the imperfection, stress, and underlying beauty of the beings I portray. There are no overly-discernible characteristics or clearly defined attributes in these figures. They are are “everyone” and “no one”. They are stripped to their most essential elements…their most basic form. The meaning is in the “representation” of the image, not the image itself.
I work two-dimensionally with oils, acrylics, India inks, sand, pumice, gold leaf, handmade papers, wax, charcoal, glass glitter and pen. Three-dimensionally, I work with clay, bronze, iron, copper, steel, and stone. I do not limit myself to any particular medium. I am only limited to one message: my work is deeply connected to my soul, and I attempt to convey that in everything that I do.
René Romero Schuler is a contemporary artist from the Midwest. Working out of Chicago, this artist is creating powerful images of strength and vulnerability that are captivating the gallerists, collectors, corporations, museums, and the media worldwide. Her work has graced magazine covers and garnered much media attention, and her solo exhibition in Chicago nearly sold out. René’s exhibitions in Rome and Paris were hugely successful, and her work has been exhibited during Art Basel since 2011 and Spring 2014 will mark her first university show at St. Thomas University in Miami.
The content and execution of René’s work sets her apart from all others. René’s work tackles emotions that speak to the heart of the human condition. Through these depictions of difficult subjects, she inspires her viewers with hope and strength. The female figures René depicts are equal parts self-portraiture and portraits of the range of human emotions that she has experienced. Of late, René has expanded her intimate human approach to include work that speaks to feminist and societal issues that she feels strongly about.
René’s execution in creating these exquisite paintings has its foundation in her interior design background. A self-taught artist, René applies layers and layers of oil paint using a palette knife. Her technique involves harnessing textural strata of paint, palette scratches, and bold colors, to create the psychic tension and stress between surface and depth. René’s current style can be described as a more edited and controlled abstract expressionism, wedded with a pop culture sensibility that is uniquely her own.
Whether on canvas, paper, or three-dimensional sculpture, René studies the relationship between what is immediately apparent at the surface and what exists beneath. She creates visually powerful images that haunt us with their beauty and truth. They challenge us to examine what lies within us all and to accept ourselves as both tragic and flawed while at the same time inspiring our internal hero who somehow triumphantly endures.
René has shared her artistic talent and passion by teaching at the Illinois Institute of Art and Chicago City Colleges and lecturing at Northwestern University. Her work is on display in public collections inside the Prudential Building, the Chanel boutique at Neiman Marcus, Hyatt Hotels, and in the permanent archives at the Art Institute of Chicago. René’s work has been exhibited internationally and continues to be permanently represented in the United States and in Paris, France.
A book, René Romero Schuler: Life and Works, showcasing images of the artist’s thick impastos and striking figural canvases in addition to providing readers a look into her artistic process, was released in 2013.
Notable patrons, Silicon Valley CEOs, and television personalities are among René’s collectors. She extends her passion for art as a board member of the Loyola University Museum of Art, by curating exhibits and avidly procuring a personal collection of fine art.
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