art + objets d'arts + photography

Andrew Smith (Ottawa, Canada), Untitled 1999, Mixed Media & Collage. Artwork is in two panels measuring in total 32 inches height x 60 inches width (length).

One panel is 32 x 40 inches and the other is 32 x 20 inches. Handwritten on vlower verso in black marker “NO TITLE 1999 ANDREW SMITH” along with artwork placement info ( see photos). Acquired directly from the artist when I arrived in Ottawa from New York in the year 2000.

SOLD.

  Andrew Smith’s paintings are the result of an attempt to physically embody a line of communication that could be given by the language of movement. The parameters of this movement are oriented by the question of how to make a painting that can have an open dialogue with the representation of its subject matter. Central to this concern is the way in which a viewer could be involved in an active manner in the experience. In his work, Mr. Smith potentially constructs a metaphorical interface between the emotive and sensorial experience of mark making, and the manifold of significations that can be made by a viewer.

  The paintings are the result of trying to repeat a similar set of approaches in each work—to establish a scenario where the formal components can work together to push out on their own structure. They can be seen as metaphorical mechanisms of passage, propulsion, or capture, where the resultant stasis of movement can operate spatially as a total form that is at once turning into something and disintegrating.

  The artist’s reasoning for attempting to make what he imagines as possible “warning signs” stems from his desire to make images that somehow “look like” some kind of naturally occurring interface. If a painting is the presentation of a potential forum for activation or involvement, Mr. Smith then reasons he is interested in the extent to which something can be felt and interpreted in the manner by which an individual experiences their own sense of space in relation to an image that gives the impression of being formed—so as to suggest directions from the act of looking. To the extent that this work shows itself as being made up of kinds of marks, these paintings attempt to organize themselves in such a way that speaks to the fragility of the attempt itself.

Andrew Smith has a BFA and MFA from the University of Ottawa. He has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Ottawa City Hall Art Gallery. His work can be found in private and public collections including RBC-DEXIA, Foreign Affairs, Canada, and the City of Ottawa public art collection.