Wednesday, December 1, 1993 - Norih Shore News Gordon Smith’s work i a remarkable synthesis of natural forms and painterly. skills ORDON SMITH: stands in his West ty Vancouver studio with a piece of paper in his hands. Christopher Brayshaw SPOTLIGHT FEATURE Glued to it, seemingly at ran- dom, are cut-up photographs and _ bits of colored paper. “It’'s.a small creek 1 found on Hollyburn,”’ says Smith, pointing out the shape of a tiny waterfall, flashes of sunlight, and the deep, dark green of moss and nearby trees. The collage is a cartoon, a study ‘fora larger painting. ‘Of course, when I'm finished, all this will be unrecognizable,”’ Smith adds, and - smiles. Gordon Smith is one of They are a remarkable synthesis of natural forms and painterly skill. They do not reward passive view- ing. In fact, they virtually demand repeated viewings, which constantly evoke new associations between their fragmentary images. tle shows me his brushes, which are thick with crusted paint. “4 love to use techniques | can never fully control. ... Accidents help keep the painting fresh." Smith’s huge canvases, with their blocks of solid color, their splatterings and drips, do not look like landscapes. Yet, stand in front of them and you find yourself transported: no longer a passive spectator, but deeply involved in the scenes they describe. To make a collage, Smith photocopies bits of his paintings on a color copier, then splices in photographs, found images, and random strokes of paint. : 44 The closer you get to the canvas, you realize it’s just paint, all illusion. 99 7 ‘Canada’ s most respected senior ar- tists.: ‘ -. His subjects are drawn from the “local coastal landscape, his most recent works evoking Queen .. Charlotte forest interiors and Shannon Falls near Squamish. And yet, Smith has little interest in sim- ply representing pre-existing _ forms. _ “Kh painting’ S paint on canvas long before it’s an image,’”’ he says. nthe early’ ‘50s, Smith studied at the California School of Fine “Arts under abstract expressionist . Elmer Bischoff, and was exposed “to the work of other abstract painters such as Clyfford Still; Willem de Kooning, and Richard _.Diebenkorn, who believed the act of painting was more important than a painter's faithful repre- sentation of a subject. Most of Smith’s canvases can be said to lack a single subject. They are huge paintings — some as large-'as 10° by 12’ ~ built around a palette of earth colors: the browns and greens of cool dark . earth, split by blues as cold and hard as a January sky. iM Pat Girling & Pat Gillingham (formerly of Jeanne Dorse) invite you to their New Store Thick Terry Robes, Nighties Plus Men’s Robes & Nightshirts , Children’s Robes & much more December Special Bonus Free Draw by Triumph . Bra & Brief Set Value $78.00 Some collages, with titles like Caulfeild and The Byway, evoke the view from Smith’s front-room window. Another, Soho, alludes to New. York's arts district through quota- tion of gallery names, subway grafitti, and Andy Warhol’s anemic portrait. To my mind, these recent col lages are more exciting than many of Smith’s earlier, highly structured paintings. As we talk, Smith makes fre- quent allusions to the work of other artists. His enthusiasm for innovative, “tough’’ painting is infectious. “lfeel both young and older artists today are more concerned with social commentary and do not pander with easy images,”’ he says. He points te locals Doug Biden, Carel Moiseiwitsch and Gathie Falk as artists whose work takes a tough approach to social commen- tary and goes on to cite historical! precedents for abstract work such as his own, “Look at (Franz) Hals or later Monet — the closer you get to the canvas, you realize it’s just paint, all illusion.” He names Francis Bacon and Anselm Kiefer as im- portant influences on his recent work, Along with his former students Ken James and Bill Macdonald, Smith recently founded the Antists for Kids Trust, which offers original prints by critically acclaimed Ca- nadian artists, with the proceeds going to benefit art education in North Shore schools. “We made a deliberate deci- sion to get work that was tough, not easy, Jack (Shadbolt) has done a piece, I've done one, so have Gathie (Falk) and Molly (Lamb Bobak)."’ Smith’s print, Sea Edge After. Goya, couples the strong horizon- tal thrust of his Sea Wall and Howe Sound series of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the painterly texture of his more recent works. Smith's prints and collages are on display at the Bau-Xi Gallery; a suite of larger landscape paintings will be shown early next year. Brand New 1993 _ Sealy Posturepedic CSAS ay CO i By OPEN DAILY: Fri. 9-9; Sun. 12-4 LONY HOME FURNISHINGS 11075 Roosevelt Crescent North Vancouver (2 blocks behind the ‘Avalon Hotel) AAECANTS A revtor) NEWS photo Cindy Goodman - ALONG WITH his former students Ken dames and Bill Macdonald, Gordon Smith recently founded the Artists for Kids Trust.: Every Saturday and Sunday from ll: 30 - 3: 00 Beginning December 4th. Ap oie ms Complimentary California Roll on any entree Sundays evenings! Happy Hours — Mon. & Tues. — 8-10pm 1/2 Price on all Sushi! 180 East 2nd, North Vancouver 980-1510