Samantha Keely Smith

The 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. They are inner worlds in flux, continually coming into and out of focus. The paintings hover between figuration and abstraction.

The existential and the personal—the exterior and the interior—are intertwined in these paintings. They show the journey between our inner life and the reality around us - stepping back and forth between the timelessness of dreams and the relentless cycle of change in our daily lives. A place, a time, where things are forming and also disassembling. 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.

I endeavor to create work that speaks to our shared human experience, on its most basic, and important level. 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. By delving into deeply personal experiences, I explore ideas and emotions that I believe many of us share, regardless of the boundaries of language and culture.

My painting process reflects the 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.  –Samantha Keely Smith, 2024