Kevin Schmidt’s series of photographs 1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon, 94000 kms, Good Condition, Engine Needs Minor Work, 1200$ OBO 604 888 3243 uses advertising stratagems to uncover the stereotypes undergirding our visual culture. The car for sale is set against a natural vista that recalls the romantic landscapes so often reproduced on postcards or tourism advertisements for British Columbia. The location also mimics the picturesque backdrops typically employed by automotive advertisers, who sing the praises of their cars by reproducing the durable poetic expressions characteristic of the Romantic aesthetic… except that the car Schmidt depicts reveals judicious marks of the passage of time. Where advertisers seek a surreal effect in their imagery to enhance its persuasive function, Schmidt here uses the methods of adspeak to lay bare its contrivances.

Born in 1972, Kevin Schmidt lives and works in Toronto, having completed studies in fine arts at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1997. He has since had solo exhibitions at Mercer Union, Toronto (2005), the Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver (2005), Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver (2004), the Access Artist-Run Centre, Vancouver (2003) and False Creek Community Centre, Vancouver (2003), as well as in Scotland, at Forest Arts, Edinburgh (2003). His work has also been shown as part of group shows at Ziehersmith, New York (2004), Club Transmediale, Berlin (2004), Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (2004), the Norwich Gallery, Norwich (2004), Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2004), the Mackenzie Gallery de Saskatchewan (2004), the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2002), the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montreal (2002) and at Helen Pitt Gallery, Vancouver (1997). Kevin Schmidt is represented by the Catriona Jeffries Gallery in Vancouver.