The complex contradictions at the core of the human psyche, heightened by our rapidly changing world are the central concerns of Angela Smith’s abstracted figurative paintings.
The complex contradictions at the core of the human psyche, heightened by our rapidly changing world are the central concerns of Angela Smith’s abstracted figurative paintings.
Smith disrupts the surface of her canvas, pouring and restricting paint over and over. Paint floods, oozes, trickles and pools, allowing space for unpredictability and the unexpected, seeking a precarious balance between control and chance. This process-based work starts with no set outcome; building up materiality before harnessing it.
Angela paints with gloss and enamel, and texture in places is dense. Bulges and wrinkles create their own topography, echoing the many psychological layers we construct to conceal and protect our innermost selves. Elsewhere, the finish is a mirror-like veneer inviting space for introspective reflection.
The intensely energised subjects are set against a flat, solid, impenetrable ground, enabling scrutiny of these expressive figures with no distractions. Yet although isolated with nowhere to hide they remain resolute and as complex as their surface.
Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2018 Solo Show Award, Cass Art Space, Islington, London
2016 Surface Tension, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
2015 The Labyrinth Inside, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
2014 Cafe Projects, Towner, Eastbourne
2012 Angela Smith and Mark Hall, Modern Artists Gallery, Berkshire
2009 The Unsaid, The Gallery, New Greenham Arts, Newbury
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Winter, Thrown Contemporary, London (online due to Covid 19)
Endangered Species, Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berks
2019 Re-Assemble, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London
MyArtistsTelescope, online jerwoodgallery.org
Winter, Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
2018 In Suspense, Thrown Contemporary, London
Mainly Abstract, Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
2017 National Open Art Winners' Show, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
National Open Art Exhibition, Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, London
The London Group Open, The Cello Factory, London
The Group Show, Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
Winter Warmer, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
2016 Signed and Numbered, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
Discerning Eye Prizewinners, Triforium, Temple Church, London
Collaboration, Studio 53, Salisbury
The New Immortals, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton
2015 The London Group Open, The Cello Factory, Waterloo, London
Heads, Studio One Gallery, Wandsworth, London
Summer Show, Modern Artists Gallery, Berkshire
The London Group Draw II, The Cello Factory, London
2014 Reality Departure, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London
Chinese Whispers, Karin Janssen Project Space, London
Chinese Whispers, Galerie Nasty Alice, Eindhoven
Seams, Hoxton Arches, Shoreditch, London
The Tribe Prize, Edgar Modern, Bath
inside/out, Studio 53, Salisbury
Paint Like You Mean It, Interview Room 11, Edinburgh
East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne
20 Painters, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton
2013 Growth, Karin Janssen Project Space, 213 Well Street, London
the open west, Newark Park touring to Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum
The London Group Centenary Open, The Cello Factory, Waterloo, London
Cork Street Open, 28 Cork Street, London
2012 Bite, Mall Galleries, London
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Ludlow Open, Ludlow College, Ludlow
Bodies, Cultivate, Vyner Street, London
Oriel Davies Open, Oriel Davies Gallery, Powys, Wales
Miniatures, Cupola Gallery, Sheffield
2011 Cork Street Open, 27-28 Cork Street, London
The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London
Print, The Exchange Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall
East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne
Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
2010 The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London
Penang International Print, Penang State Museum & Art Gallery, Malaysia
artWorks Open, Blackhorse Lane Studios, London
East Sussex Open, Towner, Eastbourne
Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
2009 Postcards from Dystopia, Nolias Gallery, London
The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
Modern Artists Gallery, Whitchurch on Thames, Berkshire
Cork Street Open, 28 Cork Street, London
Summer Salon, Islington Arts Factory, London
2008 In Common, Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts, Newbury
Twelfth Annual Graduate Festival, Stroud House Gallery, Stroud
Sefton Open, The Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport
Fine Art Painting Degree Show, University of Brighton, Brighton
Prizes and Awards
2018 Awarded Highly Commended in the Rise Art prize
2017 Winner of Cass Art Solo Show Award at NOA17
2016 Awarded an a-n Professional development bursary
2014 Shortlisted for The Tribe Prize, Edgar Modern, Bath
Shared Space Residency, Blue Monkey Network
Shortlisted for the IR11 Painting Prize, Edinburgh
2012 Shortlisted for stage 2 of John Moores Painting Prize
2009 The Parker Harris Prize, The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London
2008 Winner, In Common, Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts, Newbury
Publications
2017 Discerning Eye, National Open Art, The London Group Open
2016 Surface Tension solo
2015 The London Group Open
2014 Paint Like You Mean It, Angela Smith @ Lacey Contemporary
2013 The Open West, The London Group Open
2012 Front cover a-n magazine, May issue; Oriel Davies Open
2011 Cork Street Open
2010 Penang International, Malaysia; fringeMK Annual Painting Prize
Education
2005-2008 BA (Hons) Fine Art Painting, University of Brighton
2003-2005 BTEC Diploma Art Foundation, City College Brighton & Hove
