Los Angeles artist, Rachel Schmeidler, has been painting and creating artwork since she was a small child living in Germany. Using a variety of mixed mediums, Rachel has created a body of work that reflects contemporary pop culture as well as abstract themes. She developed her techniques at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Art on full scholarship where she was also awarded a lithography assistantship, and earned University and College of Fine Arts honors in addition to several awards for excellence in art including prestigious nominations to Yale University and the Art Institute of Chicago summer fellowship programs.

The “Hollywood Most Wanted” series evolved from her technology work with journalists on the Michael Jackson criminal trial of 2005. Rachel saw firsthand the juxtaposition of Hollywood celebrities, the media, consumers and the law converged in one place at the courthouse. Previously in 2004, Rachel traveled with Senator John Kerry and the press corp. throughout the nation during his presidential campaign, which also influenced her thinking on how the media sets the agenda for what citizens see and hear on a daily basis. The idea came to her to create this series to demonstrate how much importance our society places on the cult of celebrity and how we are all a part of the machine that feeds the illusion.

The techniques used in the creation of the “Hollywood Most Wanted” series involve both traditional silk screening printmaking techniques and new imaging technology which produces high quality fine art mono-prints. The combination of the two techniques is groundbreaking and experimental in nature due to the combination of the new and old printing processes which result in a new form of abstract representation.

An avid student of pop culture, government, and technology, Rachel chose to weave the convergence of these themes into her artwork. Rachel’s education also includes two Masters degrees from prestigious graduate programs at Carnegie Mellon University. Rachel worked in the software industry for a few years after the completion of her studies. Upon moving to Los Angeles, she apprenticed with a Los Angeles-based master printmaker where she was exposed to projects by artists Banksy and Sheppard Fairy which influenced her craft.

Additionally, Rachel opened and managed an art gallery located in the heart of the Avenues of Design in West Hollywood during 2003-2005 where she curated and organized several shows including “In America Now” with Los Angeles art critic Peter Frank. She currently is busy at work in Los Angeles on upcoming projects.