Imagine you're on a plane, looking out the window at the breathtaking scenery below. The landscape unfolds beneath you, blurring the lines between human-made structures and the beauty of nature. It's like entering a whole new world, where the noise and chaos of everyday life fades away. The Persistence of Geography features landscape paintings of the Delaware Water Gap by Charles Schmidt, which not only capture the beauty of the site, but also offer a profound reflection upon the intricate interplay between humanity, temporality, and the grandeur of the natural world.

Charles Schmidt is reknowned for his incredible figure paintings, but this series took him on a different path to new heights (literally). He had the opportunity see the world from a whole new perspective: the sky. The idea for this series came during a helicopter ride where he saw Mount Vesuvius and Mount St. Helens from inside of a plane. This inspired him to turn his attention to a place closer to home—the Delaware Water Gap. Schmidt discovered the contrast between the untouched wilderness of New Jersey and the bustling, patterned landscape of Pennsylvania, with Interstate 80 cutting through the center, creating a fascinating contrast with the natural beauty around it. Schmidt took seasonal flights over the same site, each offering a fresh perspective of new colors and textures.

These artworks remind us of our timeless desire to connect with nature, to escape the grind of everyday life, and to explore the beauty of our world from a different angle. The Persistence of Geography by Charles Schmidt invites you to join this extraordinary journey and discover the profound beauty that lies beyond the ordinary.

Charles Schmidt received his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has had 29 solo exhibitions, 5 of which were in Europe. His work is in 50 public collections and 21 corporate collections. He has had 8 painting commissions from NASA and a commission from the U.S. Senate to paint the memorial mural of the lost Challenger astronauts for the U.S. Capitol Building. Schmidt worked as the White House Calligrapher for the Kennedy Administration, and he taught painting and drawing at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, from 1967 to 2008.