Erik Schmidt
Schmidt’s videos, which are made parallel to his painting, are character studies on the verge of the abyss. In Suitwatchers’ Anonymous, Schmidt overtaxes his role, either playing a businessman or dandy wearing various suits, and loses control over his appearance: he falls into a rooftop pool in the winter or whips a chair with his belt. The decay of roles seems like an act of liberation from a forced posture, a rejection of social paradigms of masculinity.