Artist Statement

My 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 my 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. Through the paintings I look at the delusions of order and control that we human beings cling to as we navigate the fundamental unpredictability of reality, and sense our own finiteness in the immensity of time and nature.

Throughout all of my work there is an appreciation for the fragility of life, and at the same time, our boundless capacity to feel hope. Starting from deeply personal experiences, I explore ideas and emotions that I believe many of us share, regardless of language or culture. Things like loss and grief, love and hope and joy. How sometimes it is the darkness of difficult times that shine a light on the delicate and fleeting moments of happiness and beauty in our lives.

My painting process reflects this constant push and pull between order and chaos. By using solvents and scraping to break up the still wet paint, I open up the possibility of accidental forms and marks. I respond 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).

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

An avid music fan, Samantha has recently 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 Samantha’s paintings on their covers.

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