BIOGRAPHY
Ben Schonzeit is widely recognized for his strong, photorealistic images of opulent flowers set against dramatic backgrounds. While being highly photorealistic, Schonzeit’s paintings also bend our perception by combining real and surreal imagery. Sometimes painting the conversions from his own photographs, Schonzeit transports a viewer into his own “inversed” reality. His flower paintings are symbolic of the old with the new, and a general theme of passing time. Schonzeit’s works are settings for dreamscapes, full of melancholy, romantic irony, and intense color. The artist’s methodical approach to painting combined with a complete control of his medium connects him with one of the greatest genres in American art.
EDUCATION:
1964
BFA Cooper Union, New York, New York
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2011
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2007
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2006
Plus One Gallery, London
2005
“In Full Bloom”, Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2004
Watercolors, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2003
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2002
“Secret Schonzeit”, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2002
Michael Berger Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2002
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2002
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002
Bernaducci Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2001
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
1999
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1998
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1997
Jaffe Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida
1995
J.J. Brookings, San Francisco, California
1993
Ann Jaffe Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1992
"The Seven Ages of Man" Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
J.J. Brookings, San Jose, California
1991
"Comedia" Tomatissimo, Cologne, Germany
1990
J.J. Brookings, San Jose, California
1989
Modernism, San Francisco, California
1988
Galerie Ninety-nine, Miami, Florida
1984
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
1983
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, New York
1981
DeGeslo Gallery, Cologne, Germany
1980
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, New York
1979
DeGeslo Gallery, Cologne, Germany
Michael Berger Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1978
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, New York
1976
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, New York
1975
Galerie DeGestlo, Hamburg, Germany
1974
Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
1972
Galerie Mikro, Berlin, Germany
Neue Galerie, Aachen, Germany
1971
Galerie DeGestlo, Hamburg, Germany
Galerie Mikro, Berlin, Germany
French & Co., New York, New York
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010
Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
Scott Richards Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
2001
“Hypermental,Rampant Reality 1950-2000 From Salvador Dali to Jeff Koons” Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
1999
"Into The 21st Century: Selections from the Permanent Collection", San Jose Museum of Art
1998
"Gotham Group", Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, New York
"Opening Exhibition", Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1997
"Positions" Weserburg Museum, Bremen, Germany
1994
"Synesthesia, Sound & Vision in Contemporary Art" San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
1993
"A Moment Becomes Eternity: Flowers as Image", Bergen County Museum of Art, Paramus, New Jersey
"Contemporary American Realism" Isetan, Tokyo, Japan
"Still Life 1963-1993" Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Photo-Realism Since 1980" Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, New York
1992
"An Ode to Gardens and Flowers" Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, New York
"Contemporary American Art Landscapes", The Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima, Japan
"The 1992 Collector's Show" Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
"The Midtown Flower Show", Portland Museum Museum of Art, Portland, Maine
1991
"In Sharp Focus", Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, New York
"American Realism & Figurative Art: 1952-1990, The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
"Inheritance and Transformation", The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
1985
"American Realism: The Precise Image", Isetan Museum, Tokyo, Japan
"American Realism: Twentieth-Century Drawings and Watercolors"
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
1983
"New Art from New York City: Contemporary Artists' Paintings", Delaware Museum of Art, Wilmington, Delaware
1981
"Contemporary American Realism Since 1960", Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
"Real, Really Real and Super Real", San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
"Views Over America", Museum of Modern Art, San Antonio, Texas
1980
"ROSC/The Poetry of Vision" Dublin, Ireland
1977
"Documenta VI", Kassel, West Germany
1975
"25 Stills", Whitney Museum, New York, New York
1974
"Biennial Exhibition", Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
1973
"Amerikanischer Fotorealismus", Frankfurter Kunstverein, Wuppertal, Germany
"Prospect 1973", Düsseldorf, West Germany
1972
"Documenta V", Kassel, West Germany
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Isetan Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Kunsthalle, Basel, Switzerland
Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi
Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogota, Colombia
Museo de Prado, Madrid, Spain
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Neue Galerie, Aachen, Germany
Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas
The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, Canada
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
VanAbben Museum, Eindhoven, Holland
PUBLICATIONS
Ben Schonzeit Paintings, 2002, Harry N. Abrams Inc., Booksigning – Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL