Piquing the imagination, Anke Schofield’s whimsical imagery of animate and inanimate objects integrated in unexpected ways as a sophisticated combination of photography, collage, oil paint, acrylic paint, wax, and sometimes even tar. The surreal juxtaposition of imagery is reinforced by the eclectic use of media, melding the real with the imaginary. Schofield uses mixed media and finishes her works with a smooth, shiny veneer of epoxy resins, creating the dreamlike “trance,” by further separating image from reality and distancing the viewer from the textural physicality of the imagery. This intentional use of the resin finish creates a deliberate “through the looking glass” effect. The artist was born in Ithaca, New York in 1972 and was apprenticed as a professional photographer assistant when she was still in the 8th grade. Her father introduced her to the wonders of the camera early in life. During high school Anke apprenticed with a number of artists in the New York area and eventually won a scholarship to the Savannah College of Art and Design where she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art. Throughout this period she pursued her studies of color theory and painting, continuing to find in these endeavors greater creative stimulus and inspiration than she had known in her photographic work. “My work is inspired photographically,” says Anke, “but I take it beyond the ordinary representation to create a harmonious blend of texture with composition.” The depth of Schofield’s work continues to evolve as the imagery dives ever more daringly into the complexities of freedom, perception, balance, arrangement, release and control. Her large-scale works have been attracting national attention from galleries, collectors and curators. She exhibited at Art Basel in 2010 and the Jackson Museum of Art in 2013. Corporate collections include: mural in the Sheraton Hotel in Shangai, the Savannah College of Art, Sheraton and Loews Hotels in Atlanta and the Hotel Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.