Short Bio

Linda Friedman Schmidt is a self-taught artist best known for her emotional narrative portraits created from discarded clothing. She was born stateless in a German displaced persons camp, the first child of Holocaust survivors. Her history of trauma and survival is woven into every piece reflecting an ongoing struggle against forces that seek to silence, dehumanize, and control. Her artwork challenges us to reassess our understanding of power, autonomy, and human dignity while addressing the urgent issues facing humanity.

Schmidt’s work has been widely exhibited in respected museums across the United States and internationally cementing her place as an influential voice in contemporary art. Her art has been shown at the American Folk Art Museum, Allentown Art Museum, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Coral Springs Museum of Art, Morris Museum, New Jersey State Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Monmouth Museum, Noyes Museum of Art, Attleboro Art Museum, Alexandria Museum of Art, Koehnline Museum of Art, Loveland Museum, Cahoon Museum of American Art, Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art, Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, Fuller Craft Museum, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, among others. Internationally her work has been featured in the Contextile Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art in Portugal, the Retazos Testimoniales de Chile y Otras Latitudes in Argentina, the Every Woman Biennial in the UK, and Stripes at Mikimoto Gallery, Japan. Prestigious curators who have selected her work for exhibitions include artists Faith Ringgold, Judy Chicago, MoMA curator Anne Umland, renowned art critic Donald Kuspit, Renwick Gallery founder Lloyd Herman, among others. Linda’s artwork is held in the permanent collection of the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum, Israel, and in multiple esteemed private collections.

Her publications include Hyperallergic and notable international textile magazines Textiel Plus and Mr X Stitch; she has been interviewed and profiled by Interlocutor Magazine, Maake Magazine, The Untitled Magazine, and others. Some of the many books that include her work are Threads of Tomorrow, Natural Impressions, Dress [with] Sense, The Art of Mothering: Our Lives in Colour and Shadow, Fiberarts Design Book 7, Contemporary Hooked Art: Themes and Memories, Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump, Hooking Skies: The Sky’s the Limit. 

Linda is the subject of a 2017 documentary film Under Her Skin: Linda Friedman Schmidt directed by Kelsey and Rémy Bennett. She is also featured in the documentary Art and Healing directed by award-winning filmmaker Patrick Flanigan to be released in 2026. Linda is a recipient of 2023 and 2025 artist grants awarded through the the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship program.