1914 war

Aurel Schmidt used to tell her mom she wanted her ashes scattered “in the planters at the mall in Vancouver” because the Canadian artist loved going into the city so much, she wanted to stay there forever. To the child of “hot parents” from Kamloops, British Columbia, the mall in the big city was the height of culture, a place to rest gleefully among the latest fads.

Schmidt’s love of cities has remained strong since moving to New York in 2005 and quickly making a name for herself after selling her first piece in a group art show curated by Tim Barber at Spencer Brownstone Gallery.

Aurel Schmidt - purple MAGAZINE

“You know those giant group shows?” she asks. I nod thinking about the several incohesive and haphazardly strung-together exhibits I’ve attended for artist friends. Cheap wine and pretending to like American Spirits come to mind.

Schmidt was 23 and folding jeans in the stockroom of the designer consignment store INA when she heard that three of her pieces, one of which spelled out BETTER LUCK NEXT TIM