Emily Mae Smith
Emily Mae Smith (born 1979) is a visual artist from Austin, Texas.[1]
Biography
Smith attended the University of Texas from 1999-2001, receiving a Bachelor in Fine Arts in studio art. Upon graduating in 2002, she was presented with the Roy Crane Award by the University of Texas. In 2005, Smith received the Edward Mazzella Jr. Scholarship from Columbia University.[2] Her visual art often takes from the tradition of Pop-styles, and is interested in commenting on sex and gender through a satirical lens. Smith’s work contains references to Art Nouveau, Disney, and the Chicago Imagists. She typically works in poster-format and singular narrative oil paintings.[3]
Career
Smith has been featured in several art galleries around the world. Smith currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her work can be seen currently in a group exhibition at Temnikova & Kasela, a gallery in Tallinn, Estonia. Smith also has upcoming solo exhibitions at Contemporary Fine Arts, a gallery in Berlin, Germany, and also in Le Consortium, a gallery in Dijon, France.[4]
Works
Pulling from Surrealism and Art-Nouveau, Smith's Tesla Girls series explores the female body, the male gaze, and corporeality. The name of the exhibition comes from the 1995 novel The Prestige by Christopher Priest. Drawing her inspiration for the series from the machine in the novel, the works in Tesla Girls mirror the theme of conformity vs. originality. In order to show this theme, Smith uses flatness in her construction. Additionally, she uses forms representative of genitalia to make commentary on gender and sexuality.[6]
Smith's series The Studio is named for the early 20th century Art-Nouveau publication of the same name. This series draws from traditionally feminine Disney characters, but excludes the use of the Disney princess in its construction. Instead, Smith chose to represent traditional femininity and domesticity through the Fantasia broomsticks. In addition to this commentary, the broomsticks also simultaneously represent male genitalia and traditional female sex appeal.[8]
The Sphinx or The Caress opened in September 2017 at the Simone Subal Gallery.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Emily Mae Smith's 'The Sphinx or The Caress' Opens Tomorrow". Broadway World. September 9, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "Emily Mae Smith Biography – Emily Mae Smith on artnet". www.artnet.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ "Engender Exhibit Goes Beyond the Binary - AMERICAN DIVERSITY REPORT". AMERICAN DIVERSITY REPORT. October 20, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ "CV - Emily Mae Smith". www.emilymaesmith.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ "Rodolphe Janssen | Emily Mae Smith - October 13, 2016".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Salah, Myriam (Fall 2016). "Rodolphe Janssen | Emily Mae Smith - October 13, 2016". Rodolphe Janssen.
- ^ The Editors of ARTnews (September 10, 2015). "'Emily Mae Smith: Medusa' at Laurel Gitlen". ARTnews. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Art, Performativity, & Gender as a Tool of Capitalism in Emily Mae Smith's "The Studio"". The Chart. July 6, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018.