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Working with sterling silver, Smith creates complex tableaus, functional teapots and narrative jewelry that are evocative of seemingly banal moments in time. Influenced by the rich cinematic imagery of the California landscape—of which she is a fourth generation descendant— the pieces freeze the dramatic and the ordinary movements of people’s lives into highly textured silver silhouettes. The flat cutouts of people caught in mid-act are often framed by silver rectangles and borders that give a comic book-like outline and add a voyeuristic element to the captured event. Like actors in a miniature performance piece, these figures are placed into dynamic compositions along with expertly crafted three-dimensional objects, such as cutting shears, chairs and houses, that beg the viewer for close investigation. Removed from their ordinary environment and recontextualized, the objects that Smith represents in her work suggest ties to our cultural past, present and future. While each piece she makes refers to an individual moment in her own life, the gestural contours of the faceless figures are highly relatable, like the snapshots that can be found in the family photo albums of every American home. In addition to drawing on her own personal history, Smith also looks to politics, television news and public scandal for sources of inspiration. The dramas that unfold in glowing silver are redolent of the American Hollywood milieu that Smith has grown up with and that many of us have come to be familiar with through movies and TV.
More than solely conceptual, Smith has a great respect and concern for function. Every hinge moves unencumbered, lids fit snugly and her jewelry is perfectly wearable. Each chain link is a tribute to her craft. When she makes a teapot there can be no doubt that it pours beautifully - even if no one will ever use it. Smith demands a certain degree of authenticity in her work. She does not plate or work with thin metal but prefers 16 and 14-gauge silver, giving her pieces substantial physical weight.
Christina Y. Smith
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2100 Smallman St. Pittsburgh, PA 15222 | 412.261.7003 | www.contemporarycraft.org
