Derrick Schmidt

I am a self taught artist based in Kansas City. My work focuses on my search for freedom – freedom from previous hardships of abuse in past relationships and my own personal internal struggles. These areas of my life play a pivotal role in my work and the figures and abstract images shown within them. The people and narratives I create are deconstructed and “incomplete” by design. The holes and gaps I’ve been left with are key components to the works. These are the moments I want to forget, the ones I don’t want to define who I am as a person.

I tend to keep to a more raw or neutral color palette with bold marks of color. The bold marks represent the flashbacks that have left a lasting impact. The intention of my work is to create a type of love story within myself, one that can connect my true and authentic self with family, lovers, and friends.