I’ve always had a thing with art, my father is a sculptor and I was dragged into every museum starting from the moment I was born. Still, I sometimes find it difficult to have a proper opinion about everything called ‘contemporary’. Maybe it’s because of the historical, sometimes revolutionary, background of the old master’s work that I tend to find Renaissance, Baroque and Impressionism more interesting than what’s happening right now. But I’m not a historian nor an art critic and I don’t care about names or prices. For me it’s all about the first sight feeling.
It has been a while since I truly appreciated a young artist’s oeuvre untill I discovered the work of Antwerp-based painter Frederik Schnieders. His drawing talent in combination with the use of colour and material immediately caught my attention. It’s fresh, created with passion and keeps you inspired day after day.
Starting from a young age Frederik became obsessed with drawing. No pencil remained untouched, no paper left empty. Choices were there to be made and so he changed his maths course for a sketchbook and went to study art. His passionate teachers encouraged his creativity and gave him the advise to develop his talent at the Academy of Royal Arts in Antwerp at the age of 18.
In his second bachelor year of painting at the academy Frederik started to focus on model drawing with the underlying idea that you can never become a true artist if you don’t know the base. Not all of his professors were pleased with this evolution but he still graduated after four years and sold three of his paintings at the Campo&Campo gallery in Antwerp. His portfolio was appreciated and many expositions followed culminating in a solo exhibition in 2005.
It’s generally known that a lot of young artist struggle with surviving financially. Also Frederik was hardly able to make ends meet. When a job opportunity at Ralph Lauren crossed his path he said yes and started a career in retail. Being an operations manager helped him seeing things in a different perspective. Fashion became a source of inspiration, a way to reinvent yourself every day just by wearing a different outfit. And in a way trends in fashion aren’t that different from the artistic ones.
But when you’re a true artist the creativity is in your blood, running through your veins like an unstoppable power. After six years of managing store operations he felt the need to return to his roots. Drawing and painting became his main occupation again, even though he still works in wholesale sometimes. The influence of fashion is also visible in his current creations. He got inspired by the coquettish bad girls with a high rock&roll caliber. The past years they have been the main subjects of his paintings.
Another obsession from Frederik is vinyl. While painting he’s always listening to influential albums from Sonic Youth, Chromatics, Glass Candy, Monolake and many others. The words and sentences he writes on his work are mainly based on the lyrics from his favorite records.
In 2013 there will be a lot going on for Frederik. He’s planning a group show in London and there’s also a trip to Japan on the schedule. At the moment you can admire his work at Coffee&Vinyl, a cosy coffee bar in the Volkstraat in Antwerp and behind the window of Huis Happaert’s bookshop in the Kammenstraat. For regular updates you can always consult his WordPress or Tumblr.
To celebrate this blogpost Frederik was so kind to create his own vision of four pictures that appeared on TheMerrymakers. We can’t even express how happy we are with these beautiful pieces of art. We will cherish them for ever and ever!
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