Painter Sam Smyth

Sierra 100 x 80 cm | acrylic on linen | 2018 This painting explores simple colour and shape interaction in a minimalistic composition based within a 3 x 2 grid structure.

Sam Smyth is a UK based artist best known for his hard-edged geometric paintings and collages. Drawing on the ideas of minimalist and post-painterly abstract painting from the 60s and 70s, Sam’s work tends towards being formally reductive but with a strong focus on colour interaction.

Multilinear relief No. 2 40 x 40 cm | acrylic & pumice on cotton | 2018 This painting explores hard edge geometry with the addition of a relief layer created by mixing pumice stone with acrylic paints which creates a raised layer to the painting. It is made up of two simple overlapping compositions which are interlaced with one another. It is one of a series of paintings created while the artist was living in Vietnam.

Sam is drawn to abstraction as a free vehicle for aesthetic exploration, and as an opportunity to consider the physical properties of light and the act of looking. Working in series, Sam employs formal organising principles to his work; often pursuing a geometric framework across several works. This can be seen in his square compositions and also in various works in 2 x 3 and 3 x 4 format.

Ashlar 40 x 40 cm | acrylic and pumice on cotton| 2018 This acrylic painting was made using ground pumice stone mixed with pigment which is what gives it its stony texture. It is part of a continued exploration into colour interaction and geometric composition and was painted while the artist was living in Vietnam.

Sam has a graphic and methodical approach to painting, often incorporating digital processes into his workflow but nonetheless placing a high value on the technique and craft of art making, employing vivid treatment of colour by using highly pigmented paints and carefully masking areas of the painting to create hard edges.

More info:

Website: http://www.sam-smyth.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SamSmythArt