Anthony Smith

Lives and works in Allentown, PA, USA

Artist statement

I make artwork that’s filled with rich dense spaces. These spaces coalesce into vibrant worlds where I often play out moral, political, or philosophical fantasies using calligraphic gestures. I often layer and then erase work I’ve spent hours producing simply to capture the ghost of what came before. I tell stories. I tell stories within stories. I tell stories that are not always meant to be perceived by the viewer. These are my secret work. I always leave a morsel that viewers can grab hold of, be it a friendly gesture, appealing color, or familiar image that, like breadcrumbs, I hope leads the viewer on a journey of discovery. I make overwhelming work because the world for me is overwhelming. Then from time to time, and as a respite from the noise, I paint over it all with a happy landscape that thinly masks the cacophony just beneath the surface.

Artwork