The work addresses that which is at the core of human experience, and always has been. Rather than speaking of specific social issues, this work explores the idea that there are universal experiences, needs, and desires that have existed throughout the history of human beings, and therefore bind us together – something we share that stands outside of time, culture and place.
This work also investigates our continual struggle to integrate the dual worlds in which we exist: the external world which is the sum of our sensory experiences, and the inner world of our mind and emotions, and our physical and visceral existence. It looks at the interdependence of contrasting and often contradictory realities or viewpoints; the idea that in order to truly appreciate beauty and light, one must allow for the necessity of the dark truths that are as much a part of our lives as the innate pull towards hope. Order and chaos, the cerebral and the instinctive, sacred and profane– each requires the other.
Formally, there is a push and pull between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional that is achieved through organic abstraction. Visually this presents what can be seen as a sense of place. However, this is not any identifiable place, but rather a space where there is the opportunity to begin to accept chance and accident. A place where one can surrender, if only for a moment, to loss of control and the freedom that this can bring, and where the boundaries of place and time are not relevant.
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WEBSITE OF MY PAINTINGS (press/bio, paintings from 1998 -present, etc):
http://www.samanthakeelysmith.com
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*All images Copyright of Artist Samantha Keely Smith. Images cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Artist.
above: SEGUE, 48" x 64", oil and varnish on canvas, 2008.
above: ENTWINED, 44" x 56", oil and varnish on canvas, 2008.(SOLD)
above: UNDERTOW, 36" x 36", oil and varnish on canvas, 2008. (SOLD)
above: WANDERLUST, 36" x 36", oil and varnish on canvas, 2008.(SOLD)
above: SIREN, 64" x 66", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.
above: WAKE, 64" x 72", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.
above: VELOCITY, 60" X 68", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.
above: SURRENDER, 60" X 68", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.
above: EMBRACE, 64" x 84", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.
above: VOLITION, 56" x 64", oil and varnish on canvas, 2007.(SOLD)
above: ASUNDER, 56" x 64", oil and varnish on canvas, 2006.
above: CRADLE, 56" x 64", oil and varnish on canvas, 2006.
above: REMEMBRANCE, 48" X 66", oil and varnish on canvas, 2006.
above: TANGLED, 56" x 72", oil and varnish on canvas, 2006.
above: SMOLDER, 78" x 84", oil and varnish on canvas, 2005.
above: ENTREATIES, 60" x 84", oil and varnish on canvas, 2005.
above: GLIMMERING, 60" x 84", oil and varnish on canvas, 2005.(SOLD)
above: BRIGHTNESS FALLS, 64" x 84", oil and varnish on canvas, 2005.(SOLD)
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ABOUT THE PAINTINGS:
"Her paintings convey the permanent evolution of natural space into a dream space, more beautiful than its counterpart... Smith's artwork represents a bridge of reconciliation between the outer world, the sum of our sensory experiences, and the inner world, that of our mind and emotions."
- Westwood Gallery, 2007
"The paintings of Samantha Keely Smith draw heavily on this lineage...of the safe place of the supernatural, where dreams and visions are made concrete and whole...exuding otherworldly power and emotion. It's strong stuff, heady and exhausting, as Smith is the first to admit...The result is a sort of fantastical abstract genre that looks and feels ageless, simultaneously very old and new."
-Benjamin Tischer, FINE Magazine, 2003.
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