Chris D Smith: Interaction by Bruno David Gallery

CHRIS D SMITH Interaction

bruno david gallery

CHRIS D SMITH Interaction

May 9 - June 21, 2014 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David

Bruno David Projects 1245 S. Vandeventer Avenue Saint Louis, 63110 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidprojects.com www.brunodavidprojects.com Director: Keri Robertson

This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition “Chris D Smith: Interaction” at Bruno David Gallery Editor: Bruno L. David Catalogue Designer: Wenxi Lee Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Chris D Smith and Bruno David Gallery Photographs by Bruno David Gallery Cover image:

Untitled IM32, (detail) 2014 Acrylic, oil and charcoal on panel 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)

First Edition Copyright © 2014 Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery and Bruno David Projects

CONTENTS

INTERACTION BY ROBIN DLUZEN Afterword BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

INTERACTION BY ROBIN DLUZEN 2

It is certainly not unusual for an artist to look to his or her own personal experiences as a fountainhead of artistic inspiration. For many, tragedy and drama are obvious, undeniable sources, but it’s not every artist who can successfully mine the ordinary and everyday right along with the poignant and the sensational. In the abstract paintings of Chris D. Smith, a blend of harmony, tension and void parallels the ebbs and flows of a life, as rigid geometry and formal order are countered with organic gestures, moments of chance, and open fields of color. In many of Smith’s works in this exhibition, “Interaction,” the rectangular support of the panels functions like a container for his forms --a palpable boundary that encompasses and dictates the composition within. In BPOS2, a complex jumble of forms and marks appears as if it is pushed up into the top right corner of the panel, this dense assortment of shapes balancing on a single, solid black rod. Where in this work, chaos appears just barely held at bay by the lonely rectangle, in BPOS it seems as if a similar pile of forms has collapsed the rectangular prop, falling in disarray to the bottom of the picture plane. While in some paintings, all the activity seemingly occurs within the world of the painting’s rectangle, in others, the compositions feel more like snapshots, or slices of something larger than what is depicted within the edges. In Smith’s small scale works, like Untitled IM28, a handful of repeated forms prompts the viewer’s eye to continue off the panel, while in Untitled IM26, an orderly arrangement of blocks is one of very few instances in Smith’s oeuvre in which abstraction hints at representation. Here, monochromatic patterning calls to mind the design of tile flooring or a brick wall, the whole scheme oozing with pinkish paint dripping sideways across the picture. Illogical and disorienting, Untitled IM26 suggests a world turned on its side --a physical manifestation of a very familiar and ultimately relatable metaphor. However, the metaphor in Untitled IM26 is not the only component of the composition that will be recognizable to the viewer. A close inspection of several of Smith’s small works reveals a subtle addition of collage material, and a conversation with the artist informs us that these repeated, quadrilateral forms are indeed business cards embedded within the layers of built up and sanded down acrylic. There is a sense of wholeness to Smith’s painting practice in the way he is able to borrow from real life, physically, emotionally and metaphorically, his intensely personal experience and inspiration made universal through fresh, contemporary abstraction.

Robin Dluzen is an artist and Art Critic. She lives in Chicago. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends. 3

AFTERWORD BY BRUNO L. DAVID 4

I am pleased to present an exhibition titled “Interaction” by Chris D Smith. This show marks Smith’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. In contemporary art making, the languages of abstraction are almost inextricable from their academic and theoretical histories, but instead of simply reiterating any of these well-worn dialogues, he opts to only sample them. Chris D. Smith’s artwork focuses on attention to emotional detail. He uses his experiences to bind tension, experience [as in through time], and harmony as a result of contrasting organic and geometric forms to enlighten the viewer’s perceptions and enhance human cerebral capacities. Purposefully exposing the layered history of paintings, he instills the works with a complexity that mirrors that of a personal experience. His paintings reminiscence the pains, joys, failures, challenges, and accomplishments he has experienced throughout his life, therefore essentially creating never-ending opportunities to continue his practice. Chris D Smith received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a MA from Eastern Illinois University, and a BS in Information Systems from the College of Business at Northern Illinois University. Chris lives and works in Chicago. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core of the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Robin Dluzen for her thoughtful essay. I am deeply grateful to Wen Xi Lee, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Cleo Azariadis, Yoko Kiyoi, Keri Robertson, Jackie Jevorutsky, Yuwei Qiu, Ailing Zhang and Abigail Spratt.

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

Untitled IM26, 2012 Acrylic, collage and oil on panel 9 x 11 inches (22.9 x 27.9 cm)

Untitled IM24, 2012 Acrylic, collage and oil on panel 9 x 11 inches (22.9 x 27.9 cm)

Untitled IM28, 2013 Acrylic and collage on panel 9 x 11 inches (22.9 x 27.9 cm)

Untitled IM30, 2013 Acrylic, collage and charcoal on panel 9 x 11 inches (22.9 x 27.9 cm)

Untitled IM29, 2013 Acrylic, oil, charcoal and collage on panel 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)

Untitled IM29 (Detail)

4X, 2013 Acrylic and charcoal on panel 24 x 18 inches (61.0 x 45.7 cm)

Untitled IM33, 2014 Acrylic, charcoal and oil on panel 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

BPOS, 2012 Acrylic, oil and charcoal on panel 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4cm)

BPOS (Detail),

BPOS2, 2013 Acrylic, oil and charcoal on panel 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)

BPOS2 (Detail)

Untitled IM32, 2014 Acrylic, oil and charcoal on panel 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)

Untitled IM32 (Detail)

Untitled IM31, 2014 Acrylic, collage and charcoal on panel 24 x 18 inches (61.0 x 45.7 cm)

Untitled IM23, 2012 Acrylic and oil on panel 24 x 18 inches (61.0 x 45.7 cm)

CHRIS D SMITH: Interaction, Bruno David Gallery, 2014 (Installation view)

CHRIS D SMITH Born in Aurora, Illinois Lives and works in Chicago, Illinois

EDUCATION M.A B.F.A B. Sc

2009, summa cum laude, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. 2006, Advanced Painting Program, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. 1998, Operations Management and Information Systems, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois

EXHIBITIONS 2014 2013 2012 2011 2009

Bruno David Gallery, Untitled, St. Louis, MO (Organized by Keri Robertson) Bruno David Gallery, Interaction, St. Louis, MO (catalogue) Packer Schopf Gallery, Group Exhibition, Chicago, IL Bruno David Gallery, OVERVIEW_2014, St. Louis, MO Gallery 175, Two Person Show (Robert Burnier), Chicago, IL Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Taking Chances, Curated by Sarah Krepp, Evanston, IL Monmouth College, Hewes Library, Gallery 204, Push, Solo Show, Monmouth, IL Illinois State Museum (Chicago), some DIALOGUE, Chicago, IL Governors State University – Visual Arts Gallery, National Juried Exhibition: Ways of Making, Jurors: Aaron Ott (Curator) and Jason Foumberg (editor, columnist, freelance writer and critic), University Park, IL Matthew Marks Gallery, WaterKeeper Alliance: ArtForWarer Benefit – Auction, Hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Jeff Koons, New York, NY Walnut Ink Gallery, Unspoken Language, Solo Show, Michigan City, IN The Sullivan Galleries, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BareWalls, Chicago, IL Tarble Arts Center, When I Grow Up…, Graduate Art Exhibition, Charleston, IL

2009 2008 2007 2005

The Paper Café, Brother Can You Spare a Dime?, Charleston, IL Art Fart, Group Show, Charleston, IL. estudiotres, Summer Group Show, Chicago, IL G2 Gallery, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Undergraduate Exhibition, Chicago, IL New Space Chicago (Lloyd Dobler Gallery), Chicago, IL Resolution Digital Studios, Avant Grande, Chicago, IL New Space Chicago (Lloyd Dobler Gallery), Chicago, IL

LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS, PUBLICATIONS 2014 2010-2013 2013 2012, 2013 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

Lecturer at Freeport High School, College and Career Center, Freeport, IL Davis, Katie. “5 Best Visual Art Exhibitits” Alive Magazine, May 6, 2014 Lecturer for Chris Cosnowski from the American Academy of Art, Chicago at Linda Warren Gallery Review: New City Art, Eye Exam: My Top Art Picks for Chicago and the Midwest 2013, Pedro Velez, http://art.newcity.com/2013/12/17/eye-exam-my-top-art-picks-for-chicago-and-the-midwest-2013/ Visiting Artist: student critiques, public lecture and solo exhibition, Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL Artist Chris Smith Talking Shop, by ChicagoArts - MartinJon Garcia, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEiUwCDkLJU Juror -Governors State University - 2012 Illinois Community College Juried Exhibition Chris D. Smith’s “Unspoken Language”, Review by Zachary Johnson on The Chicago Arts Archive Sixty Inches From Center, http://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/archive/?p=8445 Sitting Down With Chris Smith, Zachary Johnson, Sixty Inches From Center, http://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/archive/?p=6069 Lecturer for Paul Klein, KLEIN ARTIST WORKS (http://kleinartistworks.com/index.html), at Linda Warren Gallery Lecturer for Loretta Bourque from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at Linda Warren Gallery

ARTISTS Laura Beard Martin Brief Lisa K. Blatt Shawn Burkard Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Beverly Fishman Damon Freed Douglass Freed Joan Hall

Richard Hull Kim Humphries Ellen Jantzen Michael Jantzen Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Peter Marcus Patricia Olynyk Gary Passanise

Judy Pfaff Daniel Raedeke Tom Reed Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Chris D Smith Shane Simmons Buzz Spector Cindy Tower Mario Trejo Ken Worley

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