r e s i d u e

l i o n e l s m i t
2 0 0 9
Artworks exhibit residues of their
otlqloouoq spotks. 1be tbtlll, ot tettot, ot
oouclpouoo, ot eoqetoess tbot occompooles
tbe wellloq op of ombluoo ooJ tbe ftst suttloqs
of otusuc ocuoo coo ofeo be JlscetoeJ lo tbe
wotks pbyslcol eooctmeots ooJ lts cooceptool
ttoosceoJeoce. lospltouoo ofeo sopplles tbe
compellloq powet tbot mokes ott copuvouoq.
i
Lionel Smit is a painter in the truest sense.
lor hlm, Lhe palnL lLself and Lhe very acL of palnung
consuLuLe hls ne arL Lo Lhe fullesL degree. urawlng
on Lhe Amerlcan acuon palnLers of Lhe laLe 1940s,
SmlL clLes Lhe palnung process as hls rsL and lasung
concern: 'alnung Lo me ls llke an energy release.
wlLh Lhe nlshed palnung belng only Lhe physlcal
manlfesLauon, a klnd of resldue, of Lhe acLual work
of arL, whlch ls Lhe acL.of Lhe palnung's creauon
lLself.'
ii
SmlL's sub[ecL mauer ls conslsLenL -
portraiture is his preferred mode and his models are
hand-plcked ouL of Lhe LapesLry of hls dally llfe. 1hese
are noL famous people, or people wlLh exLraordlnary
power wlLhln Lhelr communlues. 1he people SmlL
chooses Lo palnL possess a parucular aesLheuc LhaL
appeals Lo hls vlsual sensluvlLy, buL noLhlng more ln
Lhe way of soclal lnuence. Powever, up-scaled Lo
many umes Lhelr llfe slze and absLracLed accordlng Lo
SmlL's parucular Lechnlque, Lhese faces are lmbued
wlLh an lmmense auLhorlLy LhaL ls lmposslble Lo
overlook.
1he palnungs - or, more accuraLely, Lhe
resldues of Lhe arLwork - are monumenLal ln scale,
sLandlng hlgher Lhan Lhe average man and wlder
Lhan Lhe same man wlLh arms ouLsLreLched. lrom
a dlsLance, Lhe vlewer ls sLruck by Lhe palnung as
apparluon - a larger-Lhan-llfe rendluon of someone
LhaL ls almosL famlllar. lnLrlgued by Lhls lmage, Lhe
vlewer ls drawn forward, closer Lo Lhe palnung lLself,
ln order Lo examlne Lhe ne deLalls of Lhe memorable
face. It is from this point that the conceptual
Lranscendence' of Lhe work develops.
Close up lL becomes clear LhaL ne deLall, ln
Lhe sense of falLhful reallsm, ls noL SmlL's lnLeresL by
any means. 1he plcLure plane beglns Lo dlslnLegraLe.
1he face ls lnLerrupLed by bands of solld colour and
gesLural swaLhes of palnL. 1he eye ls drawn Lo drlps
and splauers produced by Lhe enLerprlse of worklng
on such a large scale. Sllces of llghL and shadow
reveal segmenLs of Lhe canvas almosL unLouched,
oLher areas are overworked ln layers LhaL run ouL Lhe
edges of Lhe form.
urawn by degrees lnLo Lhe mulufarlous
dimensions of the portrait, the painted surface
becomes more slgnlcanL Lhan Lhe form Lhe arusL
has chosen Lo represenL. Llke Lhe arusL, Lhe vlewer
does noL operaLe compleLely auLomaucally. unllke,
for lnsLance, Lhe vasL colour elds of 8oLhko, ln whlch
Lhe vlewer can become losL enurely ln subconsclous
wanderlng, SmlL's palnungs reLaln ues Lo gurauon.
Pence, Lhe vlewer ls confronLed wlLh random
analyucal challenges as s/he ls absorbed lnLo Lhe
surface of Lhe work.
SmlL descrlbes Lhe creauon of each palnung
as 'a bursL of energy LhaL feels unconLrollable aL
rsL'. Cnce Lhe lnlual surge ls spenL, SmlL enLers lnLo
an acuvlLy LhaL requlres 'a balance of sponLaneous
acuons'
iii
. WlLhln Lhls, lL ls 'Lhe process, Lhe walung,
Lhe conLrolled accldenLs'
iv
LhaL are mosL slgnlcanL.
Pls refusal Lo refuLe gurauve palnung
alLogeLher, opung raLher for a compromlse beLween
hls dellghL ln Lhe acL of palnung and dlllgenL
represenLauon, SmlL aurlbuLes Lo hls bellef ln Lhe
'porLralL as a vehlcle Lo communlcaLe a broader
sub[ecL'
v
. uesplLe SmlL's vlew of Lhe palnung as
secondary Lo Lhe acL of palnung lLself, Lhls energy ls
noL losL Lo Lhe vlewer. 8esldues of Lhe acuon remaln.
1hrough Lhe access polnL of Lhe represenLed face Lhe
audlence, alLhough prevenLed from vlewlng whaL
SmlL vlews as Lhe arLwork lLself, ls able noneLheless Lo
'paruclpaLe ln Lhe beauLy of Lhe body as a landscape
of all human experlence.'
vi
!acquellne nurse, SepLember 2009
i
Llnda WelnLraub, 'lnLroducuon Lo Sourclng lnsplrauon' ln
Maklng ConLemporary ArL: Pow 1oday's ArusLs 1hlnk and Work.
London: 1hames & Pudson, 2003. p.124
ii
Llonel SmlL, arusL's sLaLemenL, 2009.
iii
lbld.
iv
lbld.
v
lbld.
vi
Mlchelle Lopez, 'Sensual Success: ueecung Medla Auenuon'
ln Maklng ConLemporary ArL: Pow 1oday's ArusLs 1hlnk and
Work. London: 1hames & Pudson, 2003. p.384
c l o s e - u p , r e s l d u e s e r l e s # 1
o l l o n c a n v a s , 1 6 3 x 2 3 0 c m
c l o s e - u p , r e s l d u e s e r l e s # 3
o l l o n c a n v a s , 1 6 3 x 2 3 0 c m
c l o s e - u p , r e s l d u e s e r l e s # 3
o l l o n c a n v a s , 1 6 3 x 2 3 0 c m
' a l n L l n g L o me l s l l k e
a n e n e r g y r e l e a s e . wl L h
L h e f l n l s h e d p a l n L l n g
b e l n g o n l y L h e p h y s l c a l
ma n l f e s L a L l o n , a k l n d o f
r e s i d u e , o f t h e a c t u a l
wo r k o f a r L , wh l c h l s L h e
a c L . o f L h e p a l n L l n g ' s
c r e a L l o n l L s e l f . '
2 0 0 9
1e x L b y ! a c q u e l l n e nu r s e
u e s l g n b y L a u r y n a s 8 a k a s
A l l wo r k s L l o n e l S ml L