Booth A28
moniquemeloche is pleased to present new work by Arvie Smith at the ADAA Art Show. This presentation will be Smith’s first time exhibiting in New York in over thirty years: he previously exhibited at 55 Mercer in 1992, with an exhibition curated by Grace Hartigan, Smith’s mentor while a graduate student at MICA in Baltimore, MD.
Smith’s practice contends with the complex history of social and racial injustice in the United States. Heavily touching on the American experience, the 84 year-old artist’s wildly colorful paintings combine masterful and intuitive harmonies of color and dynamic symmetries reminiscent of Renaissance compositions to bring to the fore the embedded truths of American cultural history and the artist’s own lived experience as a Black man. Through identifiable symbols and figures, Smith portrays political events and racial stereotypes through a humorous lens, dealing with historically taboo subjects such as interracial relationships, slavery, white supremacy, segregation and police violence. The artist’s riotous color palette underscores the severity of these topics and elevates the Black experience to one of perseverance and celebration, resulting in lyrical two dimensional masterpieces.
Smith’s practice contends with the complex history of social and racial injustice in the United States. Heavily touching on the American experience, the 84 year-old artist’s wildly colorful paintings combine masterful and intuitive harmonies of color and dynamic symmetries reminiscent of Renaissance compositions to bring to the fore the embedded truths of American cultural history and the artist’s own lived experience as a Black man. Through identifiable symbols and figures, Smith portrays political events and racial stereotypes through a humorous lens, dealing with historically taboo subjects such as interracial relationships, slavery, white supremacy, segregation and police violence. The artist’s riotous color palette underscores the severity of these topics and elevates the Black experience to one of perseverance and celebration, resulting in lyrical two dimensional masterpieces.
