November 12 – December 12, 2015
A thin line on the wall barely allows a ray of light to pierce through the other side. It is not wide enough to allow us to see clearly what lies beyond, but just enough to make us realize that there is something we have been ignoring and that the space in which we exist is not the only one. That small hole makes the solid wall that confined us in an apparent uniformity collapse. What is real?
Fisuras de la Materia, Smithe’s first solo show at Celaya Brothers Gallery, is about questioning our own perception and everything we believe to be true. The artist, following his distinguishable interest in the human condition, confronts us with madness. Each of the pieces that compose this exhibition is a graphic representation of a psychotic illness, where the patient suffers a breakdown and loses the sense of reality. The inner and outer worlds dilute, forming a distorted or a completely estranged one. We can experience delusions where the space duplicates (Reduplicative Paramnesia), faces became unrecognizable (Prosopagnosia) or the own body feels putrid (Cotard Syndrome). These disorders create small cracks in the mind that lead to planes that would otherwise remain latent; gaps through which the unknown materializes to be explored.
It is not a clinical analysis or a generalization; but more a possibility of other realities is taken as inspiration. Fisuras de la Materiais an artistic and unique interpretation oriented towards the other, empathic with ways of being where another body, another space and another time can be reached. With this, and through a radical alienation, Smithe challenges us to adequate our representations and to reconsider our interpretation of what is “normal”.
Text by Jimena López
SMITHE
Mexico City, Mexico, 1987.
The inspiration that led Smithe to the art world were the graffiti in his surroundings, it was through these that curiosity turned into satisfaction.
For Smithe, Art is a form of communication, a way of abstracting feelings. His work varies from colorful and cheerful subjects to acid themes rendered through a rather gore tone. His self-taught training has led him to experiment with different techniques such as spray and acrylic paint, as well as digital media.
Smithe considers streets the largest and most accessible gallery in the world. He is a Mexican street artist and illustrator who has spent over a decade working on perfecting his style and the narrative of his pictures. Influenced by Japanese anime, 1950’s graphic style and science fiction films; he began painting graffiti as a hobby when he was 13 years old.
As a self-taught artist who is concerned with his own evolution and interested in fine arts; Smithe has constantly reinvented his style. In recent years he has dealt with many themes in his work, ranging from existentialism and the individuality of human beings, to the machine inside us. He is mostly though of within the urban art scene, but also works in other disciplines such as music, illustration and graphic design. The defragmentation, recurrent in his work, is a symbol used to show the elements within the power of his characters, who are shown as surreal machines.
Smithe has exhibited in galleries in Mexico, United States, Germany and England. His murals can be seen in those countries as well as in Spain and Belgium.
