MY TERRITORY IS THE ONE YOU STOLE FROM ME
Patricia Smith
October 15 - November 14, 2010
Opening: Friday, October 15, 7 - 9 PM
We are pleased to present a solo exhibition of new works by Patricia Smith entitled, My Territory Is The One You Stole From Me. In her persona as a cartographer of the psyche, Smith delves deep into the subconscious to return to the surface with a planar view of unedited impulses and allegiances, exposing unmitigated and raw internal motivations. Her delicate ink and watercolor paintings and drawings act as organic architectural plans developed from emotional inner-workings, these highly detailed works expose the confused density of the mind, clarifying the often incongruous and oppositional standpoints of decision making and alliances.
There is a dark humor to Smith’s work as she turn a critical eye to the self, the atmosphere she builds through layers of stippling and washes of color complements her decisive pen-work used in defining the walls of these imagined plot plans. With these new works, the artist characterizes the physical space within the mind, mapping ideas and thoughts, giving a logical designation on paper to the intangible. Smith takes a position of authority as she uncovers the absurdity that can be found in complex reasoning and emotions, listing and verifying their structural whereabouts with certainty.
In her “Structural Containment for Reactive Clandestinism” organic chambers and enclosures form this proposed system for containment and capture. Smith daringly exposes the relevant placement and wall density necessary to secure secret thoughts and issues from escape; in these schemes areas are labeled as holding fields for “Mitigated truth”, “Clouded issues” “Negotiated risk”, “Trust issues” and “Stored resentment”. Smith emboldens her standpoint of authority for the commission of these plans with marked plot plan numbers and stamps such as used to approve building plans, but in an act of misdirection, Smith alters the terms stamped to such statements as “‘recalcitrant’ or “no fame, no shame”.
This is Patricia Smith’s third solo exhibition at the Front Room gallery. She has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the United States. In October her work will be featured in “Zweierlei” at Ausstellungsraum Klingental in Basel, Switzerland.
