Paper Landscape Photography

Stefanie Schneider's Minis Salt'n Sea (California Badlands) - 2010 Signed and signature brand on verso. Lambda digital Color Photographs based on the Polaroid. Sandwiched in between...

Summer Interlude I (Deconstructivism) - 2020 - about the narrative potential of images. 40x40cm, Edition of 10, digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid, Artist Inventory 5901. Signa...

'Jimi Hendrix Palm Trees' (Stranger than Paradise) - 2016 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label, Not mounted. Stefan...

Gasoline II (Stranger than Paradise) 1999 - 3 pieces, each 50x50cm, installed 50x170cm including gaps. sold out Edition of 150, Artist Proof 4/5. Archival C-Prints, based on the ...

By the Sea (Zuma Beach) - 1997 43x59cm, Edition of 3/5. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on the Polaroid. Signature Label and Certificate. Artist Inventory # 119.03...

Woman in Malibu II (Stranger than Paradise) - 1999 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid Certificate and Signature label, artist Inventory No. 315_2.26 No...

Ancient Bridge Views IV (Stay) - 2006, 20x20cm, sold out Edition of 5, Artist Proof 2/2. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. artist Invent...

Gas station at Night I (Stranger than Paradise) - 2006 Edition 1/5, 48x46 each, 93x91cm installed with gaps. 4 analog C-Prints, hand-printed by the artist, based on the 4 Polaroid...

Untitled (Paradise) - 1999, 20x20cm. Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 20452. ...

Enchanted (Dream Scene on Salt Lake), triptych - from the 29 Palms, CA Project - 2009 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dream" signed. 192 pages, hardco...

Magic Hour (Musica Poetica) - 1999 Edition 3/10, 44x59cm. Analog C-Print, hand-printed and enlarged by the artist, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist...

Desert Living (California Dreaming) - 2017 40x48cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Invento...

Sunscreen I (Beachshoot) - 2008 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventory #1390 Not mounted. Stefanie...

Earthquake (Deconstructivism) - 2015 - about the narrative potential of images. 20x20cm, Edition of 10, digital C-Print, based on the Polaroid, Artist Inventory 4599 Signature l...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 23477. ...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 1329. N...

'The Empire', (Strange Love), 2018, 80x50cm, Edition 1/10, digital C-Print, based on a 35mm analog Negative, signature label and certificate, artist Inventory No. 30000.01, not m...

For What I’ve Lost (The Girl Behind the White Picket Fence) - 2013 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dream" signed. 192 pages, hardcover, published by S...

Planes II - 2008 40x50cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory #4651. Not mounted. ...

Wonder Valley (29 Palms, CA) - 2008 125x154cm, Edition of 5, analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, based on the Polaroid, artist inventory nu...

Under Water (The Girl Behind the White Picket Fence) - 2013 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dream" signed. 192 pages, hardcover, published by Snap Col...

Henry watching Athena Dance (Stay) III - with Ryan Gosling, 2006, 50x50cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inve...

Renée's Dream - The Boys (Days of Heaven) - 2007 40x48cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the original Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. ...

Dreamscape, diptych (29 Palms, CA) - 2005 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dream" signed. 192 pages, hardcover, published by Snap Collective, 2024. 2...

Wonder Valley (Sidewinder) - 2005 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dream" signed. 192 pages, hardcover, published by Snap Collective, 2024. 20x30cm, ...

The Existence Is Disintegrating into the Heat of the Desert Sirocco (The Girl Behind the White Picket Fence) - 2015 Including Stefanie Schneider's new monograph "A Half Forgotten Dr...

My own private Travel Diary - Bishop, CA - Walking Lulu - 2001, 20x83cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid Slide. Signature label and...

Palm Springs E-Type (Californication) - 2021 20x20cm. Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Invento...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 1302. N...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 1326. N...

Stefanie Schneider's Minis Gasoline I (Stranger than Paradise), 1999 Signed and signature brand on verso. Lambda digital Color Photographs based on a Polaroid. Sandwiched in between...

Palm Trees on Wilcox (Stranger than Paradise) - 1999 20x20cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Arti...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 1329. N...

Untitled (Into the Sun) - 2001 48x47cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Inventory No. 1305. N...

Rosegarden #01 (Suburbia), diptych - 2004 20x24cm each, 20x52cm installed. Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, matte surface, based on the Polaroid, Signature Label and Certificate,...

29 Palms, CA - 1999 58x56cm, Edition of 10, analog C-Print, hand-printed by the Artist based on the Polaroid. artist inventory number: 636.04. Mounted on Aluminum with matte UV-...

Indian Summer (The Last Picture Show) - 2004 20x20cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Artist Inventory No. 459. Not mounted. Ste...

Thunderbird Motel (The Last Picture Show) Edition 8/10, 20x20cm, 2005, digital C-Print, based on an expired Polaroid Signature label and Certificate, Artist inventory 1110.16 not mou...

Leaving (Strange Love) - 2005 20x30cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on a 35mm film. Signature label and certificate. Not mounted. Stefanie Schneid...

Untitled (Cowboys and Angels), 2005 50x39cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. artist Inventory No. 91...

Indian Summer III (The Last Picture Show) - 2005 20x20cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print print, based on the Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label Artist Inventory No 892. Not mounted. Stefanie Schneider - Artist Statement Desolation and solitude are two words that come to mind when describing my Polaroid photographs. Another is the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi—the art of finding beauty in imperfection and transience. The simplicity of “flawed beauty” emerges from the expired film I use, reflecting themes of love and loneliness. My work is a meditation on impermanence, an acceptance of a worldview that has no return. The shiny, idealized lens through which we once saw the world is crumbling—and has been for some time. What was once labeled blurry, broken, or botched now stands as a testament to the beauty of imperfection. For some, this is a seismic shift: acknowledging that reality is cracked, fragmented, and imperfect. Yet, even in this age when the cracks are impossible to ignore, acceptance remains elusive. But isn’t that unsettling? To admit that the dream is decaying, transforming into something closer to a nightmare? Denial feels safer than facing the truth of ruin. It’s human nature to resist the notion of finitude, the idea that all things—ourselves, even God—have their time and fade away. Yet this acknowledgment of impermanence is at the core of my work. I began my journey in photography before the digital revolution, before the era of Instagram, in a time when analog film demanded a different kind of mindfulness. With Polaroid, every shot is a commitment—a single, unrepeatable moment. There is no endless editing, no post-production safety net. This analog process became my way of celebrating imperfection and reconnecting with the raw, unpolished world, where flaws are not hidden but embraced. Polaroid film, with its candy-like color palette and unpredictable blemishes, felt like an extension of my vision. The quirks and distortions of expired film brought me a sense of inner peace, mirroring the imperfections in life itself. It was liberating—a visual language that honored the “perfectly imperfect” and invited others to see their own scars as remarkable. There are two ways to view the world: through a lens that embraces imperfection or one that denies it. But let me warn you—once you open your eyes to the beauty of imperfection, there’s no turning back. You step into a twilight zone of understanding, where the polished, artificial perfection of the past loses its appeal. My creative process hinges on allowing space and time for magic to manifest—capturing moments of serendipity, often born from turbulence and imbalance. It’s the interplay of chaos and stillness that allows unknown forces to shape a moment. To me, this is the essence of art: a dialogue between the inner self and the external world, where rules dissolve, and emotions take precedence. Dreams are the foundation of my work. They connect us to our subconscious, bridging the space between personal vision and shared experience. My photographs invite you to step into these dreamscapes, to become part of the story. Nostalgia, emotion, and instinct—spiced with a hint of desire—are the ingredients of my art. Ultimately, my work is about liberation: freeing ourselves from the tyranny of perfection, honoring the beauty in the transient and the flawed, and finding a space where it’s not just permissible—but essential—to simply be. Stefanie Schneider received her MFA in Communication Design at the Folkwang Schule Essen, Germany. Her work has been shown at the Museum for Photography, Braunschweig, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, the Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt, the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Kunstverein Bielefeld, Museum für Moderne Kunst Passau, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Foto -Triennale Esslingen., Bombay Beach Biennale 2018 / 2019. “It was Stefanie Schneider, who inspired me to start the company THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT after seeing her work, which seems to achieve the possible from the impossible, creating the finest of art out of the most basic of mediums and materials. Indeed, after that one day, I was so impressed with her photography that I realized Polaroid film could not be allowed to disappear. Being at the precise moment in time where the world was about to lose Polaroid, I seized the moment and have put all my efforts and passion into saving Polaroid film. For that, I thank Stefanie Schneider almost exclusively, who played a bigger role than anyone in saving this American symbol of photography.” –Florian Kaps, March 8th 2010 (“Doc” Dr. Florian Kaps, founder of “The Impossible Project”) Exhibitions Selected (selected) 2018 Participation Bombay Beach Biennale, Bombay Beach, USA (G) March Available to All, Rough Play Projects - Site Specific, Joshou Tree, USA (G) curated by Deborah Martin with Adam Berg, Doron Gazit, Kellan Barnebey, Chris Sanchez, Aili Schmelzt 2017 BLICKFELD Analoge Fotografie, Kommunale Galerie Steglitz-Zehlendorf (G) (catalog), (upcoming)
 Rosegallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica (G) Magie des Moments, Kunstverein Bad Homburg Artlantis, Bad Homburg (G) 2016 
Instantdreams, Instantdreams Gallery, Berlin 

(S) 2015
 Desert Voices, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) with Pamela Littky The Ballery in Heat, The Ballery, Berlin (G) 
Blue Nudes, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) 

 2014

 Summer Show, Galerie Catherine et André Hug, Paris, France (G) 6 Finalists, Saatchi Gallery London (G) 
Instantdreams, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (S)
Grand Opening, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles (G) with Banksy, Andy Warhol, Alison Bignon, Sophie Dickens, Victor Gingembre and others
 2013 
Heather's Dream, Short, nominated for the German Short Film Award 2013 (Deutscher Kurzfilmpreis)
Images For Images (Artists fir Tichy), GASK - Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region,  Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, (G) with Richard Prince, Nan Golding, Shirana Shahbazi, Sophie Calle, Martin Kippenberger, Arnulf Rainer, Thomas Ruff, Katharina Grosse, Jonathan Meese & others (catalog) 
The Girl behind the White Picket Fence, Galerie Catherine et André Hug, Paris, France (S)
 Heather's Dream, Short, German Competition Short Film Festival Oberhausen 
Multimedia Presentation with Artist Stefanie Schneider, Palms Springs Art Museum, Annenberg Theater
 The Polaroid Years: Instant Photography and Experimentation, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, (G) with Ansel Adams, Bruce Charlesworth...

The Girl V (The Girl behind the White Picket Fence) 2013, 125x125cm, Edition 2/5. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Archive Crystal Paper, matte surface, based on a Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventory # 115704.02. Not Mounted. Schneider harnesses the unpredictable chemical mutations of expired Polaroid film, where bursts of color erupt across the surface, destabilizing the photograph's traditional allegiance to reality. These vivid distortions draw her characters into ethereal, trance-like dreamscapes. Like fleeting sequences from a vintage road movie, Schneider’s images shimmer with a transitory quality, dissolving before any definitive conclusions can be drawn. Their ephemeral essence is conveyed through subtle gestures and enigmatic motives. Refusing to yield to the constraints of reality, Schneider’s work keeps alive a delicate interplay of dream, desire, fact, and fiction, blurring the boundaries between them with poetic ambiguity. Stefanie Schneider’s work echoes the heart of American art, channeling the cinematic nostalgia of Ed Ruscha’s roadscapes, the stark sensuality of Georgia O’Keeffe’s deserts, and the haunting solitude of Edward Hopper’s paintings...

'Burning II' (Gestures) 38 x 37cm, Edition 3/5, analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, based on a Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label arti...

Reflection of my Mind (Stage of Consciousness) - 2007 Including Stefanie Schneider's signed monograph 'Instantdreams'. 64 pages, hardcover, published by Avenso, 2014. ISBN 978-3-93...

Harbor Building, LA - 1999 20x20cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. artist Inventory No. 18361. No...

Palm Springs Wabi-Sabi (Californication) - 2021 20x20cm. Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist In...

A Vision you can't Capture #03 (29 Palms, CA) - 2007 A piece from the project: 29 Palms, CA 50x61cm, Edition 2/5. Analog C-Print printed on Fuji Archive Paper, hand-printed by th...

Daisy in front of Trailer (Till Death do us Part) - 2005 Including Stefanie Schneider's signed monograph "Instantdreams". 64 pages, hardcover, published by Avenso, 2014. ISBN 978-3...

Riviera (Malibu) - 2004 50x50cm. Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Artist inventory Number 668. Not mounted. Stefanie Schneider’s w...

Stefanie Schneider's work was used for Marc Forster's movie 'Stay'. Featuring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling. Naomi and Ryan were both portraying artists and Stefanie's ...

A Vision you can't Capture, no 03 (29 Palms, CA) - 2007 125x172cm, Edition 1/5. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on the Polaroid. Mounted on Aluminum with matte...

Into the Sun (Stranger than Paradise) - 2008 20x20cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Signature label and Certificate. Artist Invent...

Snow Silence (Stranger than Paradise) diptych - 2000 - Edition 3/5, 57x56cm each, 57x120 installed, 2 analog C-Prints, hand-printed by the artist on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, ba...

'Ewan McGregor' (Stay) - 2006 20x20cm, Edition of 10, Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid Certificate and Signature label artist Inventory No. 5007.01 Not mounted Stefanie Schneider: Torsten Scheid, “Fotografie, Kunst, Kino. Revisited.”, FilmDienst 3/2006, page 11-13

 Photography Art Cinema. Revisited Stay expands a traditional connection through new facets Interwoven between the media of photography and film is a veritable mesh-work of technical, motific, metaphorical and personal interrelationships. Extending from photo-film which, as in La Jetée by Chris Marker (France, 1962) is a montage of single, unmoving photographs all the way to the portrayal of photographic motifs in Hollywood cinema―most recently in Memento (USA, 2000) and One hour photo (USA, 2002)―is the range of filmic-photographic interactions on the one hand, and from the adaption of modes of cinematic production to the imitation of film stills on the other. For instance, with the legendary Untitled Film Stills (1978) of the American artist Cindy Sherman, who later made her debut as a film director with Office Killer (USA, 1997) and thereby, like many others, changed sides: Wim Wenders, Robert Frank and Larry Clark are doubtlessly the most successful of these photographic-filmic border crossers. This brief survey provides only a vague indication of the dimensions of this intermedial field, which in fact extends much further and is constantly being cultivated. Also as a motif in film, photography has experienced a historical transformation: Photographers were once considered to be technicians who mastered a craft but never achieved the status of artists. Photographer-figures were caught in the allure of beautiful appearance, incapable of penetrating to the actual essence of things. Such depth was reserved for literature or painting. When photography in film touched upon the sphere of art, then most often as its contrasting model, as the metaphor for a superficial access to the world. Coming to mind are Fred Astaire as a singing fashion photographer in Stanley Donen’s musical film Funny Face (USA, 1957), or the restless lifestyle-photographer in Michelangelo Antonioni’s genre-classic Blow up (GB, 1966). For the doubting Thomas...

Riviera (Malibu) - 2004 Edition 4/5, 39x37cm. Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on a Polaroid. Artist inventory Number 668.04. Mounted on Aluminum with matte U...

Drive-In (American Depression) - 2017 20x20cm, Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventory No. 20...

Desert Roses (California Dreaming) - 2017 20x24cm, Edition of 10, plus 2 Artist Proofs. Archival C-Print, based on the Polaroid. Certificate and Signature label. Artist Inventor...

Wonder Valley (29 Palms, CA) Installation by Stefanie Schneider. Dimensions: 250x400cm Video by Camille Waldorf. Song written & performed by Camille Waldorf. Text, song and video i...