"Once fully opened, her eyes overwhelmed your vision until you couldn't see anything else but this cerulean blue field. The rest of the world ceased to exist. I often found myself stopping in mid-conversation, completely hypnotized by her eyes." - an excerpt from Philip Smith's "Walking Through Walls."
Primary is proud to present Night Sky, an exhibition of new paintings by Philip Smith. This collection of work marks the artist's first solo with Primary. It affirms his dedication to an ongoing exploration of the seen and unseen, the passage between our everyday reality and the extraordinary.
A Philip Smith painting exists in a mysteriously familiar space. His color of choice first reaches out to capture you. Then the balance in his composition embraces you to comfort. This combination delivers an immediate sense of serenity, allowing the viewer to begin their journey into Smith's narrative, a selection of symbols that inform both the physical and the metaphysical.
Philip Smith grew up in a home where speaking to spirits and participating in seances were standard. His father, an artist/designer, discovered in the 1960s his ability to talk with the dead and heal the living.
"As a child, I learned that the unseen is often more important than the seen." Art became a doorway for Smith, a portal into a mysterious world as real and tangible as anything we all consider reality. Two worlds, that of the miraculous and that of the mundane.
In his twenties, Smith expanded his scope by traveling through the ancient world and studying the advanced cultures of Burma, Peru, Nepal, India, Egypt, and Mexico. The Himalayas exposed him to Thankas, or holy paintings to guide one's spiritual evolution. Here we find Smith's first encounter with art that "went beyond a visual experience, art used as a tool to transport a specific type of healing energy."
Artwork with connections to the metaphysical continues to garner attention from the beau monde of contemporary art, celebrating artists such as Hilma af Klimt, Agnes Pelton, and Emma Kunz.
Smith incorporates some of the energetic work he has learned from his father into his paintings. Through a detailed process of mark-making and erasure, Smith brings vibration to the physical aesthetics of the artwork. A reverberation almost portal-like; an acting entryway to something beyond.
"When I started this new body of work, I was looking to map out energy patterns that I often see and feel. I want to share a sense of these invisible energy streams with the viewer to provide them with both a visual and an energetic benefit."
In this growing world of overconsumption, instant gratification, and miscommunication, doesn't it make perfect sense that some would seek out new paths?
"Late at night, I take a break from the studio and head out back to look at the night sky. So many mysterious points of light and entire planets magically suspended weightless in space. I never miss the opportunity to visit with the night; it's a good place to find direction."
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Opens
Saturday, January 29, 2022
5 - 8 PM
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More about the Artist:
Philip Smith (b. 1952, Miami, FL) Smith’s work first appeared in the prescient PICTURES exhibition curated by Douglas Crimp and has gone on to be included in the Whitney and Beijing Biennials as well as the following permanent collections; the Whitney Museum of Art, Boston MFA, MOCA, San Diego, Dallas Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Art, Allen Museum, Oberlin Ohio, Detroit Institute of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Art,
Perez Art Museum, Miami, Fl, Museum of Contemporary Art, Milwaukee, Harn Museum of Art,
Bard College Center, Norton Gallery of Art, Bass Art Museum, Miami, Fl, Morgan Stanley, New York Public Library.
His memoir, Walking Through Walls has been optioned for television.
More about Primary:
Primary. (Est. in 2007) is a context & research-driven curatorial collective with a focus on public arts. Located in Little River, Miami, our private residence explores modern ideas on the subject of live/work, connecting new voices in contemporary art with growing audiences & collections.
For more information, please contact info@thisisprimary.com
