Ray Smith Studio at Nina Johnson, Miami

Mon 13 Mar, 2017 - Sat 29 Jul, 2017

Ray Smith’s work is as enigmatic as he is. Born in Texas and raised in Mexico, Ray is a Spanish-speaking New Yorker, with the air of a Texas cattle rancher. His work draws from Spanish Modernists and Surrealists, and materializes in a variety of media, often through a stream of consciousness approach. Smith is a painter, sculptor, installation artist and social experimenter. Critical to his process are the social gatherings that create the collaborative context for producing work. This dynamic was particularly relevant in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit New York and took the momentum and energy needed to fuel this multi-faceted practice with it.

Ray Smith Studio features a series of 29 ‘exquisite corpse’ paintings produced by Ray, Nik, Eamon and Keegan. This process was famously used by André Breton and the Surrealists, though it originally hails from a 19th century parlor game. The paintings depict fragmented and seamed figures, often shown in distorted poses, possessing caricature-like qualities. Also on view is a Table Drawing from the same period. The final work produced for the show, is a wood sculpture created in Miami by Ray and Emmett.

Nina Johnson
6315 NW 2nd Ave,
Miami, Florida 33150
www.ninajohnson.com

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