Details:
① Artwork:
Untitled
In an exclusive for Platform, Josh Smith has created an artwork using one of his familiar motifs: his own name. He aims to empty the words of meaning, demythologizing the revered status of the artist in society through repetition. Though as this monotype is made by transferring an image from one smooth surface to another—a process that can only be done once—it is entirely unique. “I feel as if the monotypes are a type of painting,” the artist has said. “The process of creating a monotype allows for reaction and reflection as you [create].”
Monotypes are an extension of the printmaking that has been a fundamental part of Smith’s practice throughout his career—particularly because they further allow him to explore the nuances and possibility of his characteristic motifs and imagery. The refined process involves pressing a painted plate against cotton and “Plike” (or “plastic-like”) paper, making for variegated surfaces that are entirely one-of-a-kind.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Josh Smith is a New York- and Tennessee-based artist who works with painting, collage, sculpture, printmaking, and artist’s books. He first became known in the early 2000s for a series of canvases depicting his own name, a motif that allowed him to experiment freely with abstraction, figuration, and the expressive possibilities of painting. His work has since given way to varied imagery including grim reapers, leaves, fish, streetscapes, and palm trees that the artist has explored in series.
Smith was born in 1976 in Okinawa, Japan. His father was in the US Army, and his family moved frequently. They eventually settled in East Tennessee, where the artist mostly grew up. His work has been presented in numerous solo exhibitions at museums and arts institutions in the United States and abroad, including at the Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany (2016); Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Rome (2015); Zabludowicz Collection, London (2013); The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, Connecticut (2011); Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva (2009); De Hallen Haarlem, The Netherlands (2009–2010); Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna (2008); and SculptureCenter, New York (2004).
The artist has been represented by David Zwirner since 2017, and his first exhibition, Emo Jungle, took place at the gallery’s 519, 525, and 533 West 19th Street locations in New York in 2019. David Zwirner Online presented High As Fuck, the artist’s second solo show with the gallery, in 2020. Also in 2020, a solo exhibition of new paintings was presented concurrently at the gallery’s locations in London and 69th Street in New York. In September 2023, a solo presentation of the artist's work went on view at the gallery’s Paris location.
Smith’s work is held in numerous international public collections, including The Broad, Los Angeles; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Smith has lived and worked in New York since 1998.
In an exclusive for Platform, Josh Smith has created an artwork using one of most his familiar motifs: his own name. He aims to empty the words of meaning, demythologizing the revered status of the artist in society through repetition. Though as this monotype is made by transferring an image from one smooth surface to another—a process that can only be done once—it is entirely unique. “I feel as if the monotypes are a type of painting,” the artist has said. “The process of creating a monotype allows for reaction and reflection as you [create].”More
- Unframed
- Signed and dated recto; inscribed verso
1:00 PM, Dec 31, 2023.
