Artist Simon Smith

I am not trying to say something with my work; the work is in search of itself. It is a response to things both felt and seen, informed by my reading across a range of disciplines: art history, archaeology, philosophy of language, poetry and literature. I am on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and piece of knowledge gained is sifted through my value system to see if it has any potential to help define or redefine my path in life. This search finds expression in my work. When making work I trust my intuition, and encourage chance. I set out deliberately to disrupt established patterns, to take myself by surprise. I listen attentively, and try to recognise and respond to what is given. Much of my work has its origins in simple line drawings that I make on either tissue paper, the pages of receipt books, or on paper from old books that I have prepared with white emulsion. I photocopy and collage with the results, and these develop into paintings. I build up the fragments that I use in blocks, exploring the connection with language, syntax and grammar. I am interested in ‘the word’ and all its connotations, and conversely with all those things that cannot be said. I am fascinated by the fundamental problems of picture-making, and am conscious that that is what I do. I literally make my pictures: out of fragments of drawings, of layers of paint, tissue and pen. The process of making work is important to me, but I do not think of myself as a process painter. It is during the process of making that meaning emerges. I am interested in making art which discovers or expresses its own meaning, but this meaning is something I then have to respond to. I don’t make the work for its own sake: I want it to teach me how to live.


east – west artists culture club Group exhibition, Light Gallery, London 5 – 10 December 2006

liberte d’expression Barclays Global Headquarters, Canary Wharf, London 2 – 8 November 2006

Candid Arts Trust, Islington 9 – 12 November 2006

suffolk showcase Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery 8 July – 5 August 2006

FAB ART 05 Stanley Picker Gallery Kingston University 25 Nov - 2 December 2005

'the scent of magnolia’ The Wall Gallery Ely Cambridgeshire 30 October – 24 November 2005

solo show

a fine line Euroart Gallery, Tottenham, London 9 - 20 November 2004

on the wall Olympia Grand Hall, London 29 September - 3 October 2004

'approaching silence' The Wall Gallery Ely Cambridgeshire 1 - 27 February 2004
solo show

FAB ART 03 Stanley Picker Gallery Kingston University 28 Nov - 5 December 2003
silver prize winner

Eastern Open 2003 King's Lynn March - May 2003

Eastern Open 2002 King's Lynn March - May 2002

Visual Haiku Peterborough Art House 8 June - 7 July 2001

Eastern Open 2001 King's Lynn March - May 2001

Kettle's Yard Open Cambridge 1 - 30 July 2000

Eastern Open 2000 King's Lynn March - May 2000

Cheltenham Open Drawing 1999

Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education
Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussels
Karl Hofer Gallery, Berlin
European Illustration Collection, Humberside University

Eastern Open 1999 King's Lynn March - May 1999

Drawings for All '96 Gainsborough's House, Sudbury
Stamford Arts Centre; Chelmsford Art Gallery; King of Hearts, Norwich; De Montfort University, Lincoln

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