JESSE LEROY SMITH
Family is a central theme of my work, an ever-evolving set of relationships in which emotion, desire and identity are tangible, fluid and vivid.
I collate scrapbooks in which friends, family and heroes montage with film stills, costume and architecture alongside creatures and landscapes from my travels. They include contributions from my children and drawings form religious iconography and ancient art. These collections of collaged, dreamlike, juxtaposed memories most often form the basis of my drawings and paintings.
Painting for me can be both refined and raw, quiet and raucous. It connects personal experiences with the impact of art history. The spontaneous potential of paint, its sensuality and sense of touch are ideal ways to trick my consciousness. Collaboration, curating, travelling and pseudonym artists have all allowed film, installation, performance and print making to influence my paintings.