Anyone who thinks that landscapes are just a simple matter of trees, a horizon line and a blue sky should go over to the Galerie Bellefeuille and have a look at Michael Smith's latest show, Broken Ground. "It's essentially about the ambiguity of spaces and locations," he explains. "I've been looking at landscape from a historical perspective--how other artists have looked at landscape--and as something experiential, as an actual, physical thing."
Smith's style reflects the physicality of his subject; his surfaces are a frenzy of colour and frenetic motion, executed in thick impastos. Although the vast majority of work on display are oil paintings, there are a few starkly beautiful watercolours. Smith's artistic range is in full bloom here, as he moves seamlessly between large and small, oil and watercolour. All in all, Broken Ground showcases Smith's wit, talent and versatility. At 1367 Greene Avenue in Westmount, until April 5.
Anyone who thinks that landscapes are just a simple matter of trees, a horizon line and a blue sky should go over to the Galerie Bellefeuille and have a look at Michael Smith's latest show, Broken Ground. "It's essentially about the ambiguity of spaces and locations," he explains. "I've been looking at landscape from a historical perspective--how other artists have looked at landscape--and as something experiential, as an actual, physical thing."