Richard Smith
“The work I have been engaged with over the past five years consists of large portraits and multi-panel drawings in charcoal and mixed media on paper. The portraits are of people who are real and people imagined. Because of their size I invariably arrive at an image that has enormous power … The next step in the process is to “rob” them of their power. I interfere with them by placing objects, symbols, cartoon images or icons on a grid in front of them. This brings an added dimension to the work and sets up a tension between the subject and the icons placed in front of it.”
Richard Smith, 2009
Richard Smith was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947. He has had a varied career as a cartoonist, social commentator, illustrator and fine artist. Smith has exhibited widely both in South Africa and abroad.
