Sally Smith

Sally Smith creates quietly eloquent mixed media works that explore the flying creatures of her New Zealand homeland. With realistic precision, her art portrays the native insects, butterflies, but mostly birds as dark silhouettes against softly toned, nearly white backgrounds. Smith presents each of her subjects as separate entities, with no overlap between them; we are offered a view of the various phases of flight from numerous perspectives.

In some works, the silhouettes appear in random clusters while in other works they’re arranged in horizontal or vertical linear compositions suggestive of a more scientific presentation. In both cases, the contrast between the realism of the individual silhouettes and the openness of the abstract ground on which they appear creates a rich visual experience that is tied to its New Zealand origins yet universal in its appeal.

New Zealand’s Maori people believe that all things of this world partake of a singular spirit that is itself universal. This vision is the origin and spirit of Sally Smith’s art.