User talk:Fredsaleopold

Born on August 4, 1943 in Vienna, Austria Leopold Peter Schimanszky is a sculptor, painter and an artist.

The artist has expounded a traditional art which may have evolved significantly over the centuries but which retained as its basis a great intimacy with the representation of man and nature. The ultimate aim of his work is to take possession of a space and to excite emotion in the soul by imposing its presence on them

After his studies and his military service, he discovers the world of visual arts while traveling through Europe. In 1966 he moves to Montreal, Quebec (Canada) to learn the techniques of casting, molding and polishing in reputable founderies.

Early Life
Leo Schimanszky (Ninon Gauthier, Art Critic Schimanszky 1981) From the naive fountain built from the rock in the garden of the family dwelling in Berndorf, in the suburban area of Vienna, to the colossal sculpture of the Galeries d'Anjou in suburban Montreal, one has travelled a long way! And yet, in this primitive sculpture which its author barely describes as one belonging to the early phase of his career, are already displayed the craftsman's concern for a work well done - a fascination for twirls and curves coupled with mindful curiosity for nature as well as a complicity with the elements and a search for harmony - all of which characterize his later works.

From his early childhood, he discovers, along with his father who makes up toys for him, the joys of manual work and the pleasure of creating things with his hands. As an adolescent, he carves small animal in wooden pieces, simple characters with curved figures to the amusement of people around him. Yet, it is but a few years later, when he has already established himself as a musician that as whims of fate would have it, he runs into a friend painter with whom he discovers drawing then sculpture to which soon after, he will devote himself. He enrols in drawing courses and undertakes a tour of European museums which brings him to Rome where he gets acquainted with the masterpieces of traditional sculpture. Later, he goes to Rotterdam and Frankfurt where he finds two masters: Jean Arp and Henry Moore. Eager to understand the secret of these masterly works, he takes notes, draws and learns. His first works are largely inspired by lessons from these masters. However, young Schimanszky is a realist who is wary of endless adventures. Thus, a few years later, after having migrated to Canada and provided for his material well-being, he will start his career as a sculptor.

The sculptures of tenzalloy and aluminum that he exhibits at the Beaver Gallery in Montreal in 1971 somewhat crude both in terms of drawing and coarse finish still showing the tool mark are reminiscent of the first adolescent experiences. However, like Moore and Arp, the craftsman already seeks to purify the form with a view to retaining only the attitude and the essential of the model in motion. The finished work is tidier, the first holes appear, still hesitant. It is an eye, humorously cut from one end to the other into the head of the animal. It is the bent crotch of a tiger.

Soon after, the sculpture only retains a round and fluid form almost abstract, from the animal or human model. Gradually the artist tries to remove his style and personality from the influence of the masters he admires. Schimanszky has found a way to utter his personal expressions because of the materials used, bronze and stone, and the techniques involved which respect and enhance them, as well as by their dominant curved forms and their expressions which do not fear to reveal their sources of inspiration drawn from live and organic movements,.