Biography
2011
René Romero Schuler has been working professionally as an artist in the Chicago area since 1987. She began by painting commissioned art pieces for corporate clients and interior designers, as well as doing scenic work, props and backdrops for companies such as Chicago Scenic, Scenic View, and Kozan Studios. Soon thereafter, Schuler began expanding her own business into a full-time operation.
Romero Design, Inc. formed in 1991, and over the course of ten years employed over twenty- five artists and artisans to assist on numerous commercial and residential applications. With the original intention of opening a “showroom” for Romero Design, Schuler consulted and networked with friends and family (many of whom are artists), and eventually opened Romero Gallery and Showroom in Chicago’ s Bucktown neighborhood, where she proudly represented several of the finest artists from Chicago, such as Renee McGinnis, David Abed and Hilary Hing, as well as artists from other US cities. The openings at Romero Gallery were widely attended and reviewed, and quickly gained in popularity with art collectors and artists alike.Now working solely as a fine artist, Schuler has created an explosive new body of work, appropriately called “Transcendessense”.
Touted as being expressionistic, her work has been compared to that of Jean Dubufet and Willem DeKooning, though Schuler is also influenced by modern “expressionists” as well, such as: Susan Rothenberg, Michel Nedjar, Maryann Kolb and many others. Her work is executed exclusively in oil, with deep and rich tones, and her textures express the depths of human emotion in a style that welcomes the viewer far into each individual piece.
Ms. Schuler has taught credited courses in Decorative Painting at Ray College of Design (now Illinois Institute of Art), and Chicago City Colleges. Her work has been shown at the Renaissance Society in Chicago, and she has participated in several major shows of her work throughout the country, with current representation in Florida, Chicago and Michigan. She has also been featured in numerous publications, and has had media interviews on TV and radio.
Artist Statement
2011
My work reflects my childhood feelings of isolation, and has become an outward expression of some of my deepest emotions. The minimal and contemplative paintings of lone figures in a vast emptiness express these complex and intense emotions. These works have become my way of making peace with myself, and the world around me.
The human figure is the vehicle with which I can most relate. I am overwhelmed with fascination and curiosity about the solitude and mystery of human beings, but also their resilience and strength. I try to express this through my technique. I don’t approach the canvas with a particular image in my mind. Rather, I begin with color. I apply layer after layer of paint, focusing on the forces beneath the surface—the dread, the frenzy, isolation, fear, separation, love, intimacy, hope, humor, and whimsy. Through this, an image begins to form (albeit in my mind, perhaps). I then build and embellish this form and allow it do develop into being. I use the palette knife as my primary tool, because it allows for a greater sense of freedom in the overall sense of the figure. There are no fine characteristics, or clearly defined attributes. These figures are “everyone” and “no one”. They are stripped to their most essential elements…their most basic form.
I have always loved to draw and color and create, and was very enthusiastically praised by many teachers and peers as I grew up. My plan to become an artist was a foregone conclusion. It’s all I have ever planned to do, and it’s all I have done.
I sold my first paintings while I was in high school. Right out of high school, I started my first business. I called local companies from the Yellow Pages, and asked if they needed any paintings for their offices or lobbies. I certainly got more no’s than yes’s, but I got my start. The commissions I received became more and more varied, and soon my business turned into a bit more of a decorative painting and mural company. I began hiring assistants, and doing bigger and bigger jobs, and incorporating sculpture and mosaics and general design into my repertoire. I assisted scenic companies throughout Chicago, and worked with top restaurant and nightclub design firms.
My work has been featured in numerous publications, including Chicago Social Magazine, Sheridan Road Magazine, Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, Nightclub & Bar Magazine, Forest & Bluff Magazine, The Artists’ Magazine and Pioneer Press.
