Martin Smith

Martin Smith

Martin Smith’s works have been exhibited both in Australia and internationally. In 2014, he was included in the Dong Gang International Photo Festival in Korea. His work has also been included in the major exhibition, Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (2007).

Smith's work is held in the collections of Artbank, the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, University of Queensland Art Museum, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) and Monash City Gallery, and in corporate and private collections in Australia, Hong Kong, France and the USA.

"I grew up in the bayside suburbs of Brisbane, Australia with a speech impediment. My teenage years were spent watching and observing, as I was too embarrassed to speak. My inability to express myself during this time left an indelible mark on my personal history and has provided the impetus for my artistic enquiries. Therefore it is no surprise that my art practice is primarily about language and the modes of representation used to express and interpret personal experience.

Among the studio methodologies that I employ are the combination of traditional story telling writing with vernacular photography. The text and the images have no literal relationship and I am very careful to avoid any obvious connection between the two. I write personal stories then hand-cut the text out of the image. The removed letters from the image are collected and captured by the picture frame, sitting at the bottom of each image like fallen leaves creating an Autumnal scene where visible change has occurred and the picture and the figure are going through a transition. The text punctures the surface of the image disrupting the way we view and read the work. We can’t fully view the image because of the text and we can’t read the text without the image creating a constant back and forth between the two. When viewing the visual and textual oscillation between the two narrative devices that have no literal connection we find balance outside the picture frame in a new discursive space. It is through this collision of narrative and languages that unique interpretations of personal experience are built. I am interested in exploring spaces of meaning that are created when two or more narrative devices are blended.

In other works the letters are also glued directly onto the wall of the gallery to form recognizable but featureless figures. These installations explore how meaning and identity are generated through language. The individual letters (the building blocks of language) combine together to form a representation of a life that exists only through the formulation of language."

- Martin Smith


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21/05/2019

MARTIN SMITH IN BRISBANE ART DESIGN

Martin Smith's You workin' darlin?, 2019, is currently installed on an external wall at Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley as part of the Museum of Brisbane's BRISBANE ART DESIGN (BAD) Festival. The text references Fortitude Valley’s historical association with prostitution.

Smith's work will be on display until 26 May 2019.⠀

Image: Martin Smith, You workin' darlin?, 2019


13/10/2017

MARTIN SMITH RESIDENCY AT NARS FOUNDATION

Martin Smith is currently undertaking a three-month residency at NARS Foundation in New York. Supported by the Australia Council and Arts Queensland, Smith will also exhibit in the residency exhibition at NARS in December 2017.⠀

Image: Martin Smith, I am fortunate and bored, 2015


Showing all 76 artworks

Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant III 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant II 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant I 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith The Naked People of Taigum #1 2023 cyanotype with cut out letters 110 x 80 cm Sold
Martin Smith Charlie 2022 cynotype with cut out letters made from photographs 211 x 133 cm
Martin Smith Response to fifth question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to fourth question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to third question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to second question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to first question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith The first time 2020 cyanotype print on watercolour paper 95 x 72 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Why You 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith The few 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Strange/Convenience 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Exit 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Admission/Directory 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Absence/Glacier 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Much like the Leopard 2020 pigment print with hand cut letters 150 x 100 cm Sold
Martin Smith Some Goddamn Attention 2020 pigment print with hand cut letters 150 x 100 cm Sold
Martin Smith A night of curries 2020 pigment print with hand cut letters 150 x 100 cm $9,500.00
Martin Smith In the American West 2 2020 cyanotype with resurrected letters on watercolour paper 95 x 72 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith In the American West 1 2020 cyanotype with resurrected letters on watercolour paper 95 x 72 cm Sold
Martin Smith Easy for me 2018 pigment print with cut out letters, EVA resin 42 x 29.7 cm Sold
Martin Smith I wish I could say 2018 pigment print with cut out letters, EVA resin 42 x 29.7 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Thankful every time I emerge 2018 pigment print with cut out letters, EVA resin 29.7 x 42 cm Sold
Martin Smith m, n, a, e 2018 pigment print with cut out letters, EVA resin 42 x 29.7 cm Sold
Martin Smith I get to emerge from it 2018 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith It's difficult to love 2018 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm Sold
Martin Smith The embrace of mediocre ideas 2018 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith You too need comfort 2017 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith Linked by absence 2017 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm
Martin Smith Jetlag 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 120 x 100 cm Sold
Martin Smith Greatest weakness 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 120 x 100 cm $8,800.00
Martin Smith Foamcore 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 100 x 80 cm Sold
Martin Smith Cynicism 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 120 x 100 cm $8,800.00
Martin Smith Untitled 2012 hand carved c type prints 30 x 17 x 17 cm Sold
Martin Smith No nonsense type 2015 pigment print with cut out letters 96 x 96 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith I want to be 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith I like it when 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith I believe in 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith Money laughed at my sausage 2015 pigment print with cut out letters 100 x 100 cm Sold
Martin Smith I regret 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith I have never 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith I am fortunate and bored [No. 4/12] 2015 pigment print with cut out letters 100 x 100 cm Sold
Martin Smith Eyewear 2015 pigment print with cut out letters 110 x 75 cm Sold
Martin Smith Experiment with verbs 2015 pigment print with cut out letters 100 x 100 cm $6,000.00
Martin Smith And also with you #5 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith And also with you #9 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith Exercise #5 2012 lead pencil on exercise paper with released letters and EVA resin 21 x 30 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Fix it up 2010 pigment print and collage, unique edition 90 x 180 cm $9,900.00
Martin Smith And also with you #6 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith This time tomorrow 2010 type c photos, EVA resin and granite 11 x 28 x 18 cm $6,000.00
Martin Smith Any day now 2010 type c photos, EVA resin and timber base 40 x 22 x 10 cm $5,200.00
Martin Smith Hot/humid/oppressive/stifling/still 2009 pigment print and collage 90 x 130 cm $4,400.00
Martin Smith My Frenetic, anxiety driven snuffing 2009 pigment print and collage 90 x 130 cm $4,400.00
Martin Smith And also with you #8 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith And also with you #7 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith And also with you #1 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm Sold
Martin Smith I lived with Jesus for a year and put on 10 kilos 2009 photographic carving on marble base 18 x 10 x 10 cm Sold
Martin Smith After 3 months on the road Mary finally loosened up 2009 photographic carving on marble base 18 x 10 x 10 cm Sold
Martin Smith I still hate that man 2009 pigment print and collage 130 x 180 cm Sold
Martin Smith Sydney 2010 pigment print and collage 90 x 270 cm Sold
Martin Smith The relationship blossomed 2009 pigment print and collage 115 x 115 cm Sold
Martin Smith The homily 2009 pigment print and collage 130 x 90 cm Sold
Martin Smith Untitled 4 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm Sold
Martin Smith Untitled 3 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm Sold
Martin Smith Untitled 7 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Untitled 6 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Untitled 5 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Untitled 2 2010 silver gelatin print on fibre based paper with selecitve toning 48 x 48 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Until you comfort your father 2010 pigment print and collage 90 x 180 cm $9,900.00
Martin Smith Regards Dad 2010 pigment print and collage 90 x 70 cm $4,500.00
Martin Smith Enough 2010 pigment print and collage 90 x 180 cm $9,900.00
Martin Smith And also with you #3 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Untitled 1 2010 pigment print 90 x 270 cm Sold
Martin Smith And also with you #2 2009 collage on paper, eva 42 x 30 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant III 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant II 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith The divine and the irrelevant I 2023 pigment print with hand cut text 120 x 80 cm $8,000.00
Martin Smith Response to fifth question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to fourth question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to third question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to second question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Response to first question 2022 silver gelatine print on fibre-based paper 110 x 80 cm $5,500.00
Martin Smith Why You 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith The few 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Strange/Convenience 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Exit 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Admission/Directory 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith Absence/Glacier 2021 silver gelatin print on fibre paper, ed 1/3 50 x 40 cm $2,000.00
Martin Smith A night of curries 2020 pigment print with hand cut letters 150 x 100 cm $9,500.00
Martin Smith I wish I could say 2018 pigment print with cut out letters, EVA resin 42 x 29.7 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith I get to emerge from it 2018 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith The embrace of mediocre ideas 2018 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith You too need comfort 2017 pigment print, edition 1 of 5 60 x 42 cm $2,200.00
Martin Smith Greatest weakness 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 120 x 100 cm $8,800.00
Martin Smith Cynicism 2018 pigment print with cut out letters 120 x 100 cm $8,800.00
Martin Smith I believe in 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith I have never 2015 pigment print with permanent pen 40 x 40 cm $1,800.00
Martin Smith Exercise #5 2012 lead pencil on exercise paper with released letters and EVA resin 21 x 30 cm $1,200.00
Martin Smith Any day now 2010 type c photos, EVA resin and timber base 40 x 22 x 10 cm $5,200.00