KNYSNA NEWS - A body of recent works by renowned artist Lionel Smit will be exhibited at Knysna Fine Art from 3 May.
The exhibition, titled Shift, will run at the gallery for about a month.
This collection of paintings, sculptures and hand-finished silkscreens embodies the diversity in Smit's work - the fine tension between classical painting and a contemporary, sometimes fragmented depiction of subjects.
Palette changes
His palette changes from warm classical reds and umbers to soft pastels. In the bronzes, Smit revisits the reclining and sitting figure in a series of smaller sculptures.
The artist emphasises the modelling process, the way shapes are formed in the hand of the artist through markings in the clay and movement in the figures.
Classical, contemporary
The collection reflects the oeuvre of the artist and the ever-present shift between classical and contemporary expression. Smit, born in Pretoria, is one of South Africa's most prolific and exalted artists.
His artistic diversity is pursued through a variety of mediums, and he is best known for his contemporary portraiture.
Today, each of Smit's works offers an entry point into the variety and richness that lies beneath every face we encounter in life, applied in bronze or paint.
'Quiet transformations'
The blending of techniques across genres is a display of Smit's work in multiple media, all bearing a visible and tangible overlap.
“Shift captures my journey as an artist navigating the quiet transformations that redefine how I create. This exhibition marks a departure from the bold, sweeping gestures of my past work, embracing smaller brushstrokes,” Smit says.
“Intimate, small figurative sculptures embody this idea of focusing on larger, bold, fragmented pieces into more subtle and delicate work that demands precision and introspection.
"Each mark and form reflects a personal evolution - a move toward subtlety, where the smallest detail carries the weight of change."
New York
Smit's pieces are held in prestigious collections and institutions worldwide, including notable achievements such as the public display of his monumental bronze sculpture Morphous in Union Square, New York.
Smit has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) in Miami and the Didrichsen Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland. Hours of Knysna Fine Art, at Thesen House, 6 Long Street, Knysna: Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 17:00; Saturdays: 09:00 to 13:00.
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