Sally Smith
Instagram: @sksmithart
Venmo: @Sally-Smith-111
Website: https://www.sksmithart.com
Bio: Sally K. Smith is a painter based in Berkeley, California. She studied music and biology at Stanford and earned a law degree at the University of Utah before refocusing on visual art and studying at Cambridge Center Studio School and City College San Francisco. Smith’s work has been exhibited at Icarus Gallery in Berkeley, Gallery 60Six in San Francisco, MarinMOCA, Sanchez Art Center, and Arc Gallery in San Francisco, among others.
Statement: I create oil paintings that are rooted in observation. Although my paintings originate in the real world, I take them to places beyond their origin. Sometimes I introduce people and objects from disparate places and times to create dreamlike collages that transcend the familiar. I also paint simple landscapes that are charged with an underlying tension or irony. For example, I depict California wildflowers battling invasive oat grass, or stained glass church windows with garbage bins looming in the foreground. As source material I sometimes use vintage or found photographs, honoring the magic of a single moment yet ruing the passage of time. Train stations and places of travel often appear in my paintings, as do strangers from different places. My intent is to create a feeling of interconnectedness and ambiguity so that we can experience the world a little differently.
I also create charcoal from unique materials such as money, food, documents and plants. These materials have meanings that I can integrate into a drawing or painting. I have developed methods for applying these unconventional charcoals to surfaces. Sometimes I use repurposed objects as templates. Often these relate to the meaning of a piece. Some of my charcoal pieces are conceptual whereas others revolve around pattern or gesture. The materials become a partner in my artistic process.
