Schinkel Fine Art

Works By Theodore M. Schinkel and Linda K. Schinkel 

PRESS RELEASE: SCHINKEL FINE ART TO HOST INAUGURAL EXHIBITION AT NEWLY

RENOVATED GALLERY AND EVENT SPACE

Threads of Connection offers a comprehensive survey of the mother-son duo’s practice, which sits at the intersection of hands-on artistry and new media.

DETROIT, MI – Schinkel Fine Art—an internationally acclaimed art and design firm led by mother-son artist duo Linda K. Schinkel (Rodney) and Theodore M. Schinkel—is announcing the grand opening of its newly renovated studio, gallery and event space at 1460 E. Jefferson. The Schinkel’s will hold the space’s inaugural exhibition, Threads of Connection, featuring a comprehensive survey of their own collaborative work, on view from October 3 to December 15, 2024 with a public reception on Thursday, October 3, 2024, from 5 to 9 p.m. The exhibition will take place across the house’s interior as well as outdoors in the “Detroit Secret Garden,” with both spaces available for future event rentals. Twenty-five percent of proceeds from sales of a special limited edition print debuting at the exhibition will benefit Conceptions Connect, the Schinkel’s charity arm founded in 2019. Its mission is to empower, energize and enlighten through collaborative art projects.

The Moross House is the oldest brick dwelling in the city, and was operated as the Moross House Museum by the Detroit Historical Society and Detroit Garden Center from the 1970s to 2005 and is a National Historic Registered property. The University of Michigan certified the garden’s wisteria as one of the oldest–if not the oldest–wisteria in the Midwest. Schinkel Fine Art gallery and Detroit Secret Garden rekindle the space back to the city of Detroit as a renewed historic vessel for art viewing and engagement.

“We are honored to inaugurate our newly renovated studio, gallery and event space at the Moross House with Threads of Connection,” said Linda K Schinkel. “The renovation of this space has been a labor of love for the last eight years. We envision this exhibition at Schinkel Fine Art as the first in a series of events and installations that serve as alchemy—a portal to self-reflection, empowerment and deeper connections to each other, the environment and the universe.”

“Our practice is rooted in explorations of the sublime to catalyze curiosity, empathy and personal growth,” said Theodore M. Schinkel. “A defining element of our practice is how the viewer becomes a collaborator with the work. We are endlessly inspired by the connections formed by making art that deeply resonates with others.”

Since 2010, the Schinkels have shared a practice with various combinations of hands on metalwork, mirror-making, drawing, photography, painting, printing and digital technology. Working generativity, the artists explore both figuration through investigations of the natural and built environment and frenetic, abstracted color fields, all grounded in the painterly quality of the hand-made aluminum that defines their work. Linda brings to the practice a background in painting, drawing, craft and photography. Teddy offers state-of-the-art integration of physical and technical prowess using a wide range of hand-on tools and new media, such as digital painting, animation and AI in various layered combinations.

Together, Linda and Teddy developed the Metallaverse, a trinity of innovative artmaking and craft techniques, comprised of Metalagram, Metalamirror and Metalamix, all portmanteaus speaking to the processes and materials involved. Metalagram is the technique that catalyzed the trinity; the sculptural, 2D works feature carefully hand-crafted aluminum layers and etching to appear 3D, inspiring close study by the viewer to reveal hidden messages. Metalamirror, a composite of a Metalagram layer and an aligned handmade silver mirror, was developed next to incorporate the viewer’s reflection and one’s environment into the artwork to expand perspective. The Schinkels then created Metalamix, combining the multilayer process of the two previous art forms with various new media, including digital painting, photography, video, animation and AI—engendering multifaceted layers of investigation and comprehension. Dynamic lighting and music amplifies interaction with the work, promoting a deeply memorable experience. Across the trio of techniques, the artists explore themes of unification, existence and hidden potential.

Taking on metaphorical as well as material importance, the artwork in Threads of Connection provides a comprehensive survey of the duo’s outsider arts & craft practice. The wide range of works from the Metallaverse will be featured, including a sculptural Metalagram mobile, Metalamirror works, limited edition Metalamix works, digital Metalamix projections and a collaborative nine-panel work, Cultivation in the Garden, created with Detroit Public High students at Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound.

Many of the works are influenced by the city of Detroit, from famous landmarks to documentation of the city’s rich culture. This creates a parallel with the exhibition’s location at a historic Detroit landmark and recalls the city’s legacy of innovation and the artist-led craft movement. Les Nabis, the late 19th-century movement of artists who believed that art is a synthesis of metaphors and symbols deeply rooted in the artist’s soul, also influences the Schinkels. Aiming to deliver a metaphysical experience, the duo’s body of work encourages awareness of connections with self, community and the cosmos.

Linda and Teddy have long embraced art collaborations with youth, peer artists and their community writ large. This is the impetus of their charity, Conceptions Connect, having partnered with Kids Kicking Cancer, Beyond Basics, Detroit Public Schools, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Detroit Country Day School, Carr Center and Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound. These partnerships deeply inspire their practice and speak to creating the sublime to further self-reflection and empowerment embedded in the work. 

CURATORIAL STATEMENT: THREADS OF CONNECTION

The threads of influence that weave this exhibition together are works that explore and promote deep connections among viewers, their subconscious and existence. Schinkel Fine Art Gallery at the Moross House presents an exhibition in the newly renovated gallery, garden and studio space. Threads of Connection is the first time the artists are presenting a comprehensive survey of their outsider art aiming to involve viewers in the conversation generated by their works speaking to each other. Threads of Connection is an exhibition chronicling the collaborative and generative work created by mother-son artist duo Linda K. Schinkel (Rodney) and Theodore (Teddy) Michael Schinkel.

At the intersection of metalwork, mirror-making, drawing, photography, painting, printing and digital technology, the exhibition presents both figuration through investigations of the natural and built environment as well as frenetic, abstracted color fields, all grounded in the painterly quality of the hand-made aluminum that defines the Schinkel’s work. The show’s curation spotlights the duo’s innovative artmaking process, dubbed the Metallaverse—a trinity of artmaking techniques, comprised of Metalagram, Metalamirror and Metalamix, all portmanteaus speaking to the processes and materials involved. A wide range of works from the Metallaverse will be featured, including a sculptural Metalagram mobile, Metalamirror works, limited edition Metalamix works including one specially created for the exhibition, digital Metalamix projections and a collaborative nine-panel work, Cultivation in the Garden, created with Detroit Public High students at Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound. When working collaboratively their work imbues the themes of communal interdependence and shared grounding.

Inspired by the Schinkel's extensive travel, the Les Nabis movement and exposure to art around the world, their shared yet divergent memories explore the capacity of art to influence hidden potential. Similar to Les Nabis—a movement comprised of young Parisian artists from 1888 until 1900 who were instrumental in the transition from Impressionism to abstract art, symbolism and modernism—the Schinkels believe that art is not a depiction of nature, but rather a synthesis of metaphors and symbols, deeply rooted in the soul of the artist. The artists are particularly influenced by Andy Warhol, who inextricably merged artist process with subject matter. Similarly, the Schinkels know their medium and process defines their message. Taking on metaphorical as well as material importance, the duos’ work plants seeds of purposeful connections with all sentient beings.

Thread of Connection is on view at the oldest brick dwelling in the city, formerly operated as the Moross House Museum by the Detroit Historical Society and Detroit Garden Center from the 1970s to 2005 and is a National Historic Registered property. Schinkel Fine Art gallery at the Moross House and Detroit Secret Garden rekindles the space back to the city of Detroit as a renewed historic vessel for art viewing and engagement.