b. 1948
A pioneer of kitsch and often considered as a precursor to Jeff Koons, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt began creating mixed-media collages and sculptures in the 1960s, incorporating reflective materials such as tinsel, colored foils, Mylar, staples, and cellophane to flamboyant effect. Drawings on religious iconography, gilded and bejeweled rodents, and brightly adorned lasagna pans are but a few examples of work that placed him in the coterie of the 1970s Pattern and Decoration artists. His best-known work reflects the vibrancy and rawness the East Village scene—in the context of the AIDS crisis, survival and remembrance are recurring themes in Lanigan-Schmidt’s art (and life), and in 2009, the White House honored his commitment to gay rights.
Lanigan-Schmidt has been an instructor in the M.F.A. Program of The School of Visual Arts in New York City since the mid-1980s. The artist has also served on the Governing Board of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine since 1992. In 2011 he was awarded a prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Grant.
Lanigan-Schmidt has been an instructor in the M.F.A. Program of The School of Visual Arts in New York City since the mid-1980s. The artist has also served on the Governing Board of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan, Maine since 1992. In 2011 he was awarded a prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Grant.
