Artist Sandra Schmidt’s sculptural works stem from her interest in recycling, texture, and micro- and macroscopic worlds. Using plastics and woods in new ways, Schmidt creates assemblage works of monochromatic interlocking planes and exaggerated tension that occupy both wall and floor space.

Membrane Dissected has been created from a popular children’s toy—tiny plastic beads placed on a spiked board and ironed together—creating jagged geometric forms of molten red and fleshy pink against stark grey tones. These detailed shards of pixelated static vibrate with a sense of powerful forces at play. Schmidt dramatically extends the scale of these simple materials, creating a terrain simultaneously microscopic and grand.

Sandra Schmidt (born 1976, Zwickau, East Germany) graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting, 2001, followed by a Master of Fine Arts, 2003, from the Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden, Germany. She received a German Art Foundation Scholarship to attend an artist residency at Wiepersdorf Castle, Brandenberg in 2001. Schmidt later moved to Wellington, exhibiting at Enjoy Gallery and City Gallery Wellington, with a solo show Hinterland II in 2007 and as part of group show The Un-Sited in 2011. Schmidt also works as an Arts Therapist.