Christopher Brescia, owner of CB Gallery in Katonah, hopes viewers will “Engage” with Vanessa H. Smith’s paintings April 3 through May 11.
Her work is the result of numerous influences, from her education at Stanford and Columbia universities to her time in India, Nepal, London and North Carolina.
“It all comes down to people, words, nature, time, pictures, efforts, ideas and chaos,” Smith says. “The idea behind the show is that engaging fully in your/our collective life matters. I hope people come together and don’t just talk at each other but listen. We need to be engaged.”
“Smith’s work is so ethereal and magical to me,” Brescia adds. “For me, it evokes a traveling, dreamlike sensation of nature and spirituality, which comes together in a (Joan) Miró meets (Frida) Kahlo kind of way.”
Smith’s paintings are complemented by 30 years of documentary filmmaking, mainly on social, cultural and environmental issues. Most recently, Smith’s works were merged in a 2017 multimedia installation, “The Art of Impermanence,’ exhibited at a satellite event to the Venice Biennale. The installation included 94 short films and paintings dealing with the changing nature of all things.
Smith is most proud of a BBC piece she produced – winner of the 2000 Amnesty International Media Award – that was ultimately instrumental in helping free a 14-year-old girl from prison and changing Nepalese public health laws.
There’s an opening reception on Saturday, April 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. Otherwise hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays or by appointment.
For more information, visit CB Gallery on Facebook or Instagram @cbartgallery or contact Christopher Brescia at artgallerycb@gmail.com or call 917-520-3234.
–By Georgette Gouveia
