2 Nette Gaya: Some art influences of Tremain Smith

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Some art influences of Tremain Smith

Watching this video will tell you what Tremain's work is all about!!

Currently, you can find her work at the Rosenfeld Gallery
in Philadelphia and at the Somerhill Gallery in Durham, North Carolina.

The Search for Reason, 2009 Oil, wax & collage on panel 30" x 44"

Primal Matter, 2009 Acrylic & collage on paper 15" x 20.5"

Finding Home, 2008 Oil, wax & collage on panel 24" x 27"

Statement

Tremain Smith uses a mixed-media technique composed of layers of oil glazes, collaged elements and transparent beeswax fused by an open flame or an iron. She seals wood panels with wax and applies color by adhering cloth and paper with the transparent wax and alternating this with layers of oil paint.

Smith uses the grid as her departure point. From this basis she moves freely. This structure is a metaphor: her core stands intact as she moves and evolves. The lines and planes are bridges or passageways; doors, walls and floor plans to inner realities. They become mappings of the unseen as she seeks to visually manifest access to the spiritual.

Historical influences on Smith's work come from the Abstract Expressionists. She finds inspiration from artists whose work express emotion and freedom in mark-making such as Joan Snyder, and in work reflecting inner purity and restraint such as that of Agnes Martin. Both these influences convey a concern for expressing the spiritual through painting.