"Born in 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa. Smith completed his BA in Fine Art at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2007, with a body of work for which he was awarded the Michealis Prize for top graduate. He has appeared in a number of group exhibitions, most recently Objects of the Revolution presented by Dominique Fiat Galerie in Paris. In 2008, Smith presented his debut solo show, Future Shock Lost at Whatiftheworld to both critical and public acclaim; with the artist being hailed as one of the country’s ‘Bright Young Things’ in the continent’s leading art publication Art South Africa Magazine. The artist’s work is also included in the prestigious Hollard Collection in Johannesburg."
"For, like the idea of outer space, the notion of The Future is in itself filled with nostalgic yearnings and anxieties. Why do we long for the future of the 1950s, buying toy tin robots with alarming zest? Why is it that when we think of the future, we still imagine a place of flying cars and household robots, fantasies we have been holding onto for over a century? How do we posit any individual identity when we know ourselves to be merely a speck of dust in the cosmos?
All of these are the questions that Smith posits in his work. Using the language of outdated retro-cool technology and handcrafted sculptures, Smith presents a series of works that subtly, sadly investigate a nostalgia for the future and an insatiable and unanswerable lust for something outside of our everyday experience."
All of these are the questions that Smith posits in his work. Using the language of outdated retro-cool technology and handcrafted sculptures, Smith presents a series of works that subtly, sadly investigate a nostalgia for the future and an insatiable and unanswerable lust for something outside of our everyday experience."
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| Rowan Smith Dot Matrix Loop 2007 mixed media |
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| Rowan Smith Extensions of the Universe 2007 acrylic on board, cane, imbuia, maple, African rosewood and iroko |
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| Rowan Smith Detail of ‘1/2000th-of-a-supernova 2008 camera flashes, timer circuitry |
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