Fred Schmidt (b. 1936 d. 2001)

Fred Schmidt came from a rural and industrial background. He learned to weld when he worked for the New York Central Railroad in the early 1960s. During lunch hours he began to fashion sculptures from scraps of steel. Over many years, he developed his own personal style that explored and exploited the strength and flexibility of the material. He created elegant pieces like this one that seem to twist in space usually painted black, red or an opalescent white. He also created rough looking sculptures of found objects. This piece is located at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation. It is passed daily by hundreds of children, their parents and caretakers and the staff. A wall plaque by the sculpture piece explains that artwork expresses the “spirit” of the institution. A small bookmark-size paper is available that explains who the artist was and his joy in this commission. Schmidt's works have been widely exhibited and are in private and corporate collections including the Cleveland Plain Dealer, University Hospitals , Penn Central.