Meeting David Smith
By Claire Johnson
At the beginning of the month, RAW attended the opening of the ‘My Space’ exhibition at the Amelia Johnson Contemporary Gallery. Running until 1 March, the exhibition features two local artists, Wong Kai Kin and David Smith. RAW was lucky enough to catch up with David and learn more about his works.
Your pieces are predominantly landscape paintings. Why do you use this subject?
‘I have always been inspired by the environment I find myself in. Growing up on the west coast of Ireland, you can’t help but absorb the qualities of light, space and Atlantic air. Coming to compressed Hong Kong was quite a contrast, and this experience seems to have heightened my feeling for space and environment. Light, weather, pollution and distance are things I am always aware of.’
You have photography projects relating to your paintings, are these the starting point for each painting?
‘Sometimes. I work on a number of projects including photography and music, which tend to weave their way into my painting. I often use my photography as a basic starting point before taking the painting in a new direction. I’m currently enjoying shooting with old, film rangefinder cameras, helping me to slow down the viewing process and let the action seep in. In my work, the objects and places I paint aren’t important, it’s the spaces between these that are the focus, which is also reflected in the titles.’
Your paintings have many layers of detail and texture. How do you create these effects and what materials do you use?
‘I almost exclusively work with oil on solid, primed and sanded MDF panels. I like to pour thin, turpentine glazes onto the panels, as the rigid surface resists this, creating areas for the glaze to settle, pool or disrupt the surface. Some paintings are quite minimal and happen very quickly in just one layer with minimal glaze disruption, others are fought out over many layers and months.’
What do you think these effects and techniques bring to the paintings?
‘In one sense, the effects give the paintings a physical identity, with a unique matt or dried surface that you don’t often see in oil painting. However, it’s important not to work with particular effects for the sake of it, but that the effect is integrated into the image or object as a whole. The tension between a representational image such as a tree or a mountain, and the abstract, physical qualities of paint and material is at the core of my work.’
Do you have any plans to explore other subjects or varying techniques going forward?
‘I don’t tend to jump from subject to subject. I see these works as an evolving series that may continue, hopefully throughout my lifetime. I am interested in the idea that you can delve continuously deeper into a subject, technique or medium, eliminating the unnecessary and maturing the work. With landscapes, you need to retain an edge, without lapsing into ‘prettiness’.’
As a part-time professor at SCAD, how do you use your creative experience to train and inspire your students?
‘There is a cycle of ideas and energy that flow from art practice into teaching and vice versa. Many of the elements I teach come from experiences within my own practice. When a student makes a creative breakthrough, it is extremely exciting. It re-energizes me, some might call it a feedback loop.’
