Jack Smith
(1928 - 2011)
Painted Relief, 1962
£12,000
Jack Smith (1928 - 2011)
£12,000
Size:
Height – 51cm
Width – 51cm
1 in stock
Jack Smith studied at Sheffield College of Art (1944–1946), Saint Martin’s School of Art (1948–1950) and the Royal College of Art (1950–1953). At the RCA, Smith studied under John Minton, Ruskin Spear and Carel Weight. During the 1950s, Smith’s early work was in a neo-realist style known as ‘The Kitchen Sink School featuring domestic subjects.
In the 1960s, Smith abandoned realism and adopted a brightly coloured, abstract style comparable to those of Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian, incorporating Constructivism and Biomorphism with elements of hieroglyphic and musical notation. In an interview with the British Library, Smith speaks about his shift to non-figurative art, and the means in which he experiments with form in his abstract work of the 60’s. Smith states that: ‘Sometimes I like to confuse the spectator with different realities, so there’s flatness, lots of flatness and suddenly there’s something which maybe thought of as three-dimensional, so I may use shadow in that case, you know. But that’s again in order to create a visual, a visual diversion if you like, or what might be considered a sudden foreign body in the work.’
Painter, born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, he studied at Sheffield College of Art, 1944-46, St. Martin’s School of Art, 1948-50, and RCA, 1950-53. His first solo exhibition was held at the Beaux Arts Gallery, 1953 and he also exhibited with the Young Contemporaries around this time. With John Bratby, Derrick Greaves and Edward Middleditch, he became associated with Kitchen Sink painting which took its subject matter from the texture and feel of everyday life. Though Smith was the one who actually painted a kitchen sink (and the child being bathed in it), he later more or less renounced his realist work and instead developed a non-figurative style. His solo exhibitions were numerous and include shows at Flowers East, London, Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York, Whitechapel Gallery, London, Matthiesen Gallery, London, the Mayor Gallery, Grosvenor Gallery, Redfern Gallery, London, Fischer Fine Art, London and Marlborough Fine Art, London. As a group exhibitor, he showed at the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition, winning first prize in 1957 and exhibited five paintings in the British pavilion at the Venice Biennale during the previous year.
Smith taught at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, 1953-56 and his work is in major collections around the world including the ACGB, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Auckland City Art Gallery, New Zealand, Berlin National Gallery, Brighton & Hove Art Gallery, CAS, Ferens Art Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, GAC, Graves Art Gallery, Guggenheim Museum, New York, Leeds City Art Gallery, Manchester City Art Gallery, New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Plymouth Art Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Tate Gallery, Towner Art Gallery and the WAC.
With thanks to artbiogs.co.uk
