David Schmitt Almost Normal For Sale

About this work

David Schmitt's "Almost Normal" presents a compelling study in contemporary figuration, where the human form emerges through layers of gestural mark-making and chromatic tension. The canvas captures a figure suspended between presence and dissolution, rendered with Schmitt's characteristic approach of building and obscuring the image simultaneously. Passages of exposed underpainting interact with more resolved areas of flesh and form, creating a visual push and pull that keeps the eye moving across the substantial surface. The work operates in an emotional register of quiet unease, suggesting the psychological weight carried in everyday existence. There is something deeply relatable in the title's implication—the perpetual performance of normalcy, the exhausting proximity to but never quite achieving an equilibrium. Schmitt translates this modern condition into paint with remarkable sensitivity, allowing certain features to sharpen into focus while others retreat into abstract fields of color and texture. The figure neither confronts nor avoids the viewer but exists in a liminal state of self-containment. Within Schmitt's broader practice, "Almost Normal" exemplifies his ongoing investigation into identity and interiority through the painted figure. His work consistently interrogates how we construct and present selfhood, using the material properties of paint itself as both subject and metaphor. The mixed media approach adds dimensionality and unpredictability, reinforcing themes of layered identity and the impossibility of complete self-knowledge. This work would resonate powerfully with collectors drawn to psychologically charged figurative painting that bridges emotional accessibility with formal sophistication.