Eleanor Schimmel is an artist based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who specializes in encaustic painting. Schimmel combines abstract painting gestures while drawing upon poured surfaces of molten wax, eliciting the impression of random spontaneity with vibrant colors fused into permeable surfaces. Within a square format, the artist responds to evolving changes in the environment, while suggesting the fluidity of water and the brightness of sunlight. Schimmel’s most recent series, however, is more sculptural and consists of scrapings that are then transferred into physical layers unfurling and extending out into the viewer’s space.

Ingenious Kingdom (2012) measures 40-inches square and features a combustion of green, blue, and yellow peels in an array of shades that roll evenly together while the illusion of depth blends and ripples across the picture plane. A slightly smaller piece titled Without Calm (2012) bears similar visual elements, with red highlighting the composition of subdued green and blue . A Greater Involvement (2012) emerges from a 10-inch square base and looks like a combustion of green hues that are filled with references to forests and foliage within this bursting form. Schimmel focuses on what lies beneath the surface through the repetition of engraving and excavation. The artist dissects paint as a metaphor for what lies beneath the surface of human interaction.

For over 25 years, Eleanor Schimmel’s captivating work has appeared in an array exhibitions at galleries and museums throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at venues which include Henry Gregg Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Laurel Tracey Gallery (Redbank, NJ), Peyton Wright Gallery (Santa Fe, NM), The Susquehanna Art Museum and the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art. Schimmel’s group show credits are extensive, but include exhibitions at Henry Gregg, Laurel Tracey, Rosenfeld Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Morpeth Gallery (Hopewell, NJ), Widener University, Moore College of Art + Design, the Delaware Museum of Art, Rutgers University, the Islip Museum, Muhlenberg College and the State Museum of Pennsylvania, which has included Schimmel’s work in their permanent collection. In addition, Schimmel’s work is held in numerous private and public collections throughout the country. Between 1993 and 1999 she received three awards in painting from the State Museum of Pennsylvania. In 2005, Schimmel received the award of Distinguished Alumnae from the Moore College of Art & Design.