This is latest in my on-going series of artist profiles. Shinique Smith is an artist whose work is extremely beautiful and thought provoking to me. I am looking forward to doing a more in-depth profile and interview in the near future. For now take a look at this brief profile based upon information from her gallery's website. If you enjoy her work google her and keep an eye open for upcoming shows of her work in your city.

Shinique Smith’s work begins with the collection and accumulation of discarded objects, spiritual philosophies, and words. Interested in the cosmic meeting the common, Smith creates vibrant two and three-dimensional compositions using salvaged materials and calligraphic strokes, redolent of graffiti and abstract expressionism. The poetic flux of marks creates visual mantras – that are at once loose and wild but prove to be harmonious and meditative in their finality. Smith is constantly balancing impulse with refrain, finding accord in the multitude of found objects and recycled words.

Many of the works are partly autobiographical, made up of personal items from past and present. Generations reveal themselves through the use of her grandmother’s old sheets and pillowcases, while her own recent pajama shirt was appropriated for Breakfast Face.

For Smith, binding and assembling is a ritualistic process that unifies displaced parts. She is interested in the cross-section of materials with spirit, culture, and identity, and in the traverse between painting and sculpture.

Shinique Smith was born and raised in Baltimore and received her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been exhibited throughout the world, including exhibitions at PS1/MOMA, New York, the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Scuola dell’Arte dei Tiraoro e Battioro in Venice, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the 9th Istanbul Biennial, and the Ludwig Museum for Contemporary Art in Budapest.