Krista-Louise Smith is a Canadian born artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. After many years studying in Toronto, Europe, and New York, she recently abandoned hyper figuration (due to an injury to her right arm) to create work spreading across three core mediums: paper, paint and clay. Themes of desires and fears are the root of her practice. Smith explores femininity, humor, objects, loss, and personal story through semi abstract language and figurative forms. Smith is a three time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Montreal, Canada, demonstrating her determination. In addition, she was an artist in residence at LIA in Germany, Byrdcliffe in New York and the (former) VYT with the Art Students League of New York. Smith has exhibited internationally and has an upcoming exhibition in February 2020 featuring her large scale cloud paintings and an army of ceramic teeth.
As I enter Krista-Louise Smith’s studio, I am dropped into a place of serenity. Her studio exhibits a collection of paintings tinted with blues, whites, and pinks. Smith’s lipstick notably coordinates with her paintings and mimics the tranquil yet reserved compositions. Each opus echoes the distant yet calming effect of a daylit sky. Nearby, a ceramic skeleton lays arranged on a fold out table. The skeleton echoes Smith’s feminine energy with touches of gold jewelry and an IUD melded to the pelvic bone. I sense the duality of Smith as a living being and her installation Sky Burial, a self portrait which combines the skeleton with one of her paintings. Smith tucks her hand in her studio jumpsuit and crosses one leg, alone yet powerful, reminding me of her painting Pisces Moon.
