Kristen Smith- unearthed

“Unearthed” runs from December 1st to December 29th.
Opening reception: Thursday, December 2nd , 7PM-10PM.

gallerywest
1332 Queen Street West
Toronto ON  M6K 1L4
info@1332queenwest.com | 416-913-7116 |

 The presence of earthly connections seemingly exists in our conscious. Whether it is in the literal sense or a metaphoric image—our awareness draws upon individual narratives that seek to create value in our everyday.

This is Kristen Smith’s narrative.

As her first exhibit in Toronto, the Saskatchewan artist presents “Unearthed,” which focuses on the dissemination between her rural understandings of the Saskatchewan landscape with that of Toronto’s burgeoning metropolis.

Fascinated with the process of growth, impermanence and renewal—Smith recreates her environment through poetic prose and artistic overlays, cohesively shaping a visionary exhibit that stretches far beyond just an illustration.

The isolation of the prairies meshed with the epicentre of Toronto’s arts and culture scene evokes a challenging and thought-provoking mantra that is cognitively worked into Smith’s overall exhibition. With the inclusion of large scale drawings revealing the finite and poetic nature of rhizome roots, “Unearthed” attempts to mirror crafted symbolism with the realism of varying landscapes.

Drawing on organic and figurative ideals, Smith builds a body of work that portrays her own relationship to each “root” as well as a correlation between that intrinsic vision as it relates in the context of modernity.  Through graphite illustration the exhibit seeks to demonstrate a process of natural and industrial evolution with personal contentions absorbed intermittently.

As the first Saskatchewan artist to show at gallerywest, Kristen Smith’s “Unearthed” provides an opening catalyst for artist narratives to come.

"Here they lay underfoot: Knarred crowns, mounded and overgrown. One toppled over the next struggling to breathe. Each rhizome is gently divided from its mass; their roots thick and spindled are carefully washed and untangled. These once plumped roots begin to whither and dry as they are staged and attended to: prepared and pinned. The specimen lays dormant. A perfect skeleton of what was once underfoot."
-Kristen Smith 


About the Artist
Kristen Smith is an Interdisciplinary artist who studied at the University of Regina, graduating with a BFA in Intermedia. Her work includes textile, performance, video, sculpture, installation and drawing pieces. Currently, her work considers memory, the notion of culture and the denotation of ancestor, drawing upon the fable, inanimate and otherworldly.  Kristen presently works and lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.

About gallerywest
Evan Tyler is a facilitator of contemporary art and the programmer for all showings at gallerywest.  The gallery houses all types of work such as photography, painting, video, sculpture, performance, prints and mixed media. gallerywest is currently casting a “Call for Submissions” and more information can be found directly at http://1332queenwest.com/callforsubmissions.html.

For inquiries:
Kathryn Kyte
PR & Media Coordinator | gallerywest
T: 416.909.2577
E: kathryn@1332queenwest.com
www.1332queenwest.com