Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami 770 NE 125th Street North Miami, FL 33161 www.mocanomi.org @mocanomi LIONEL SMIT OBSCURA Slave, 2017, Oil & Mixed Media on Linen, 170x230cm This program was made possible with the generous support of the North Miami Mayor and Council and the City of North Miami, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
OBSCURA, an exhibition of work by Lionel Smit, explores how we are shaped -- and placed -- by our identity. Specifically, the paintings and sculptures included in this exhibition are representative of a group of people who are multiethnic and multicultural, and whose identity is constantly evolving. In his native country of South Africa, Smit observes the fluidity of race through the Cape Malay people of Cape Town. As a result of colonialism, African, European and Malaysian bloodlines have been crossed over successive generations to create new identities, of which the Cape Malay people are a striking example. The physical attributes of Cape Malays challenge overly simplified and socially accepted race-based physical stereotypes. A richly diverse and wide-ranging group of people, the Cape Malays have affirmed attributes that have become uniquely their own. In this exhibition, Smit s paintings and sculptures become symbolic of a dynamic persona with whom each of us may identify.
Faces confront us: some small, some big, a few monumental. Whether gazing at us from painted surfaces, marked by abstract swathes of colour underneath the image or on top of it, or in three-dimensional sculptural form, these faces seem to be stoic and reveal few secrets. Like any immediate engagement with the face of another, however, to discover what lies beneath may take time and demand attention beyond that of the glance or passing look. The sense of unity conveyed through this accumulation of oftentimes fragmented or partial portraits is a recurring theme in this exhibition as is the tension between abstraction and representation. It is as if Lionel Smit is demanding from us that we create a holistic image in our mind s eye based on the multiplicity of partial representations that make up the greater body of Obscura. Andrew Lamprecht (Accumulation, 2013)
The massive installation Accumulation of Disorder comprises dozens of versions of the same head, each uniquely finished by the artist in automotive paint. Each part of the installation is a unique artwork, worthy of individual contemplation. Taken as a whole, the assemblage speaks of different shades of the same persona, the difference that lies in each individual depending on circumstances and time. Also, perhaps, this work hints at the different routes through life that a person may pass, hinting that one person may have differing trajectories dependent on the experiences he or she is exposed to at any given point. Andrew Lamprecht (Accumulation, 2013)
My painting has influenced my other work immensely. The process of painting has become an important and intricate part of how I approach other mediums. Lionel Smit, 2018 Tide #2, 2018, Oil on Linen, 170x140cm
Transfer, 2017, Oil on Linen, 170x230cm
My sculptures are constructed from various materials that I layer or add as if I am working with paint. Lumps of clay become brush marks and when working with wax I melt it and pour it over the piece to create the effect of drips. The texture of the sculptures becomes more complex as I start working on the patina of a bronze or resin piece, and color becomes important to the expression of the piece. Lionel Smit, 2018
O B S C U R A March 8 - May 6, 2018 770 NE 125th Street North Miami, FL 33161 www.mocanomi.org @mocanomi LIONEL SMIT STUDIO veronica@lionelsmit.co.za www.lionelsmit.co.za Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami