Artist Statement

Samantha Keely Smith's paintings explore the landscape of the psyche – the place where the conscious and unconscious meet. They convey a sense of place, or landscape, that can only exist on the periphery of dreams, continually coming into and out of focus. In the paintings, the existential and the personal—the exterior and the interior—are intertwined, stepping back and forth between the timelessness of dreams and the relentless cycle of change in our daily lives. The paintings hover between abstraction and figuration, with figures and organic shapes emerging partially formed and then dissipating back into the ether. Her paintings also explore the idea that this space between the conscious and unconscious is unrestrained by the concept of time.

Smith’s painting process reflects a constant push and pull between order and chaos. By using solvents and scraping to break up the still wet paint, she opens up the possibility of accidental forms and marks. She then responds to those results, letting them guide what comes next in the painting. This process continues over several layers, resulting in images that have both a feeling of motion and areas of complete stillness.

Bio

Brooklyn-based artist Samantha Keely Smith was born in England. After moving to the US as a child, Smith went on to study Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and received a BFA with Honors from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (Painting, 1991).

Smith’s paintings are included in private and public collections in the US, Europe and UK.

An avid music fan she has collaborated with musicians she greatly admires such as Richard Barbieri (of the renowned British new wave/art rock band Japan), Lloyd Cole, and experimental drone metal band SUNN O))) - whose albums have featured her paintings on their covers.

Social links