Brett Smith

Born in Durban, South Africa in 1972. Moved to US from South Africa on a tennis scholarship and stayed.

I have been painting and drawing for the past ten years, focucsing on the exploration of line and finding inspiration in the classical themes of seasonal change and cycles of life. Instinctively I have always been drawn to the world of gestural abstraction, finding great joy in the work of Cy Twombly, Brice Marden and Franz Kline.

As a child I remember being fascinated by the forms and shapes of trees, flowers and leaves that we find around us, being amazed at the endless combinations of form, texture and color. Therefore it is not a surprise that these are the same images and themes that move through my paintings and drawings now. I always enjoyed recreating the diagrams from my biology textbook; I have just developed a more gestural and less precise hand. By observing the constant change as things grow, flourish and finally decay, I find that I am able to examine that fine line between beauty and destruction.

Education
Georgia State University, Atlanta, BBA 91-95

Self taught artist

Exhibitions
2003 Group show at Momus Gallery Atlanta with photographer Mona Kuhn
2004 Group show at Momus Gallery Atlanta, work on paper, Waterworks
2006 Work was represented by the Bill Lowe Gallery Atlanta
2007 First solo show at Vaknin Gallery Atlanta, The Nature of Things, Oct 22 Dec 22
Press
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007, The Nature of Things is reviewed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
2009 Museum Of Contemporary Art, Georgia, "Movers & Shakers," Jan 31st - Mar 21st



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