October 2011

Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, Features Works by Kirkland Smith

Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, will present the exhibit, Re-Created, featuring 3-D paintings created almost entirely from post consumer waste items collected from friends and family members of Columbia artist Kirkland Smith, on view in Gallery 80808 from Oct. 6 -18, 2011. A reception will be held on Oct. 6, from 5-9pm.

The 3-Dimensional items have been assembled into large representational “paintings” including portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Bob Marley, and Audrey Hepburn.

At close range, the image is unrecognizable but the individual items are not. Viewers will recognize items that consumers discard daily: plastic bottle caps, make-up containers, cell phones, and fast food toys. Viewed from a distance, the Assemblages come into focus to reveal representational images- primarily portraits. “The challenge in getting a likeness is getting the values right. Working with objects instead of paint is like putting a puzzle together. The challenge is getting each piece in the right place.”

Smith, a classical painter, began creating the Assemblages when she entered an environmental art contest and decided to use post-consumer waste as her “paint”. She was looking for a powerful way to drive home the message of the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Giving new life to discarded objects, she made something new. She created a haunting portrait of a child. By giving a face to the problem of litter and pollution, she points out that is people that are the problem as well as the solution.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the Studios at 803/252-6134 or visit (www.VistaStudios80808.com).

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