Dierk Schmidt

Dierk Schmidt was born in Unna, Germany, in 1965. In 1993 he completed his studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy as a master pupil under Alfonso Hüppi, and in 1996/1997 he transferred to the Rijksakademie van beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. Since the mid-1990s Schmidt has been experimenting with the possibility of a modern version of the history painting: he turns pictures from the media into paintings and installations relating current political issues to historical events. His works are based on thorough research and have a conceptual quality. Schmidt regularly teaches – from 2013 to 2014, for example, as a professor at the Royal Danish Art Academy in Copenhagen. He was represented at documenta 12 in 2007. He has had solo shows in Berlin, in Pretoria, South Africa, and in London. Dierk Schmidt lives and works in Berlin.