FRANS SMIT
South AfricaBased in Cape Town, Smit has exhibited in over forty exhibitions all over the world and has a string of dedicated devotees and collectors of his distinctive portraits and still lives. Working predominantly in oils, his deeply layered pieces are indicative of techniques and inspiration that take their leave from 13th-17th century traditional European portraiture and still lives, but with Smit, the classics are given a definitively contemporary somewhat absurd, and undeniably compelling twist. The effect of his hybrid artworks ensures the viewer is compelled to step in, to discard their previous experiences of portraiture and oil painting, and to appreciate that Smit has indeed created his own visual language.
Originally trained as a photographer, the artist embraces composition with an intensity that is palpable and with a deeply visceral result. Bold brushwork, multiple layered oils, unpredictable colour palettes, and seemingly crude, even destructive (but most certainly intended) adjustments to classic refinements such as facial features leave no doubt that this is work intended to rethink the narratives of historical portraiture and figurative expressions. While Smit himself refers to Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent, and Van Eyck as his historical mentors – there is no doubt his work is in a class and a category of its own. He describes his work as disruptive – and it is his dismantling and rethinking of classic mores and expectations that ensures his continued relevance in the collectible contemporary art landscape.
Text courtesy Christopher Moller Gallery.
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