8 Clarendon Cross | W11 4AP laceycontemporarygallery.co.uk
COVER IMAGE: Red Eye Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 44x44cm, 2012
ANGELA SMITH
‘s work often contains figurative elements, however the aim is not to illustrate reality. feelings wrapped up in the form of strange creatures. These creatures reside in a disguised and emotions of mix a it’s Rather world where colour and surface dance with each other. Layers bubble like molten lava, drops of paint expand and retract in pools of gloss. The high gloss finish of lusty colours varies from an impenetrable flat sheen to soft sags, wrinkles and furrows that in an instant relay notions of a confident veneer, but disrupt that surface. However, beneath this polished skin, just brimming out of sight, are the veiled, obscured thoughts of vulnerability. Pierce this protective cloak and innermost secrets would be exposed to the world. It is this development of imagery and surface that allows Angela to evoke these well known thoughts within ourselves. They allow glimpses to the unsaid, the hidden and the awkward. But do not feel pity for these creatures, with their distorted bodies and obscure faces - they are in fact joyously adorned in a riot of colour.
WOMEN Angela’s process involves working on several paintings at the same time. Currently she explores two particular themes of ‘Women’ and ‘Creatures’, experimenting with different levels of control and constraint. A product of these two themes is ‘Almost Human’, which has emerged as another strand, part person and part creature. The ‘Women’ paintings usually start with a drawing, to work out both composition and scale. Angela describes these paintings as a reflection of life and the challenges that she and those close to her face. Each of the women depicted have different dilemmas and decisions that are suggested, but not explained. Faces are masked or hidden to mirror the veiled feelings they confront, and to offer protection and distance. The women are strong yet fragile, maintaining their balance yet precariously placed.
Sidestep Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 98x78cm, 2014, £1500
Torn Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 122x91cm, 2011 ÂŁ1800
Featherweight Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 135x90cm, 2012 ÂŁ1900
Expectant, Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 91x70cm, 2014 ÂŁ1400
Jeopardy Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 153x91cm, 2011 £2000
Braced Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 151x101cm, 2011 £2000
Suspect Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 80x65cm, 2014 ÂŁ1300
ALMOST  HUMAN These paintings always begin with the head, enlarged, out of proportion and distorted. Cast in odd environments their subjects struggle to make sense of their world. The unsaid. The hidden. The awkward. The exposure and concealment of vulnerability is central to my practice. I am particularly interested in suppressed emotions and the anxiety and tension this evokes. - Angela Smith
Circumspect Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 91x78cm, 2014 £1400
Captive Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 90x81cm, 2014 £1400
Minder Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 101x67cm, 2012 £1100
Stalemate Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 91x81cm, 2012 £1400
CREATURES Angela describes the Creature series as an antidote to the ‘Women’ paintings. Moving away from introspection and towards assertion, each square canvas is a clear window to a bold and confident creature. Unlike the controlled thought-out drawings that help form her ‘Women’ paintings, the Creatures series are formed by pouring paint into pools with no preconceived starting point. Forms emerge and are contrasted with bold solid areas of colour. Angela uses lots of layers to create a lustrous shine and intensity of colour. Surface is important varying from an impenetrable flat sheen to sags, wrinkles and furrows. I work into the most interesting areas and bring the forms to life. Unlike the women, the creatures do show their faces; feisty, challenging and wilful, their attitude is key. - Angela Smith As in all her work, the Creatures series is about vulnerability - what we choose to hide, and what we chose to show. In essence the ‘Women’ conceal and the ‘Creatures’ reveal.
Devilish Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas, 44x44cm, 2012, £500
Tight-Lipped Gloss Enamel & Oil on canvas 44x44cm, 2011 £500
Dogmatic Gloss, Enamel & Oil on Canvas, 44x44cm, 2014 £500
Steely Gloss, Enamel & Oil on Canvas, 44x44cm, 2014 £500
Assured Gloss, Enamel & Oil on Canvas, 44x44cm, 2014 £500
ANGELA SMITH | CV EDUCATION:
2014 Seams, Hoxton Arches, Shoreditch, London
2005-2008 BA (Hons) Fine Art Painting, University of Brighton
2014 The Tribe Prize, Edgar Modern, Bath
2003-2005 BTEC Diploma Art Foundation, City College Brighton & Hove
2014 Paint Like You Mean It, Interview Room 11, Edinburgh 2014 East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
2014 inside/out, Studio 53, Salisbury
2014 Shortlisted for The Tribe Prize, Edgar Modern, Bath
2014 20 Painters, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton
2014 Shared Space Residency, Blue Monkey Network
2013 Growth, Karin Janssen Project Space, London
2014 Shortlisted for the IR11 Painting Prize, Edinburgh
2013 the open west, Newark Park touring to Cheltenham Art Gallery
2012 Shortlisted for stage 2 of John Moores Painting Prize
2013 The London Group Centenary Open, The Cello Factory,
2012 Front cover of a-n magazine, May issue
Waterloo
2009 The Parker Harris Prize, The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London
2013 Cork Street Open, 28 Cork Street, London
2008 Winner, In Common, Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts, New-
2012 Bite, The Mall Galleries, London
bury
2012 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
SOLO & TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS:
2012 Bodies, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
2012 Ludlow Open, Ludlow College, Ludlow 2014 Café Projects, Towner, Eastbourne
2012 Oriel Davies Open, Oriel Davies Gallery, Powys, Wales
2012 Angela Smith and Mark Hall, Modern Artists Gallery, Berkshire
2011 Cork Street Open, 27-28 Cork Street, London
2009 The Unsaid, The Gallery, New Greenham Arts, Newbury
2011 The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London 2011 Print, The Exchange Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2011 East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne
2014 Reality Departure, Lacey Contemporary London
2011 Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
2014 Chinese Whispers, Karin Janssen Project Space, London touring to Ga-
2010 The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London
lerie Nasty Alice, Eindhoven
2010 Penang International Print, Penang State Museum and Art Gallery
2010 artWorks Open, Blackhorse Lane Studios, London 2010 East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne 2009 Postcards from Dystopia, Nolias Gallery, London 2009 The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London 2009 Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire 2009 Cork Street Open, 28 Cork Street, London 2008 In Common, Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts, Newbury 2008 Fine Art Painting Degree Show, University of Brighton, Brighton
BACK IMAGE: Hideaway (detail) Gloss, Enamel & Oil on Canvas, 91x81cm, 2012, £1400