I drive a hard bargain when it comes to the art that I like, but when there's someone with a unique combination of style, using and exploring countless medium and obviously drawing from certain inspirations, It definitely deserves a look.
Shinique Smith combines the most flowing and elegant graffiti-esque writing with a Jasper Johns and Rauschenberg type collage all wrapped up in a beautiful O'Keefe bloom of color and shape. The inspirations are many, the media are every day objects, and the message is one of dependence on the objects around us. Yes, its a tired and drawn-out subject done time and time again, but something here that is a bit different is that the objects do not take center stage. Instead of individual objects being the subject, displayed in all its ordinary glory, they are details which are part of a larger composition. She doesn't remake Warhol's coke bottles, but builds a monument out of them. In this, she takes the power away from the singular object and points out the overall dependency that dominates our life. Its uplifting in the sense that an Ipod or a coffee mug aren't the master's of our life, but wholly depressing in that, instead of shrugging off the influence of one prized possession, we face a knick-knack mountain which affects every aspect of our lives.
Smith's work is both beautiful and foreboding, showing her deep exploration into the subject over the past ten years. The show is at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art through May 8th and is bound to interest anyone who loves riding the line between old inspiration and new technique.
Check out the Sentinel's review below. Photo taken from jsonline.com
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/116676184.html
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