Rhonda Smith

Lives and works in Boston, MA, USA

Artist statement

Some scientists now agree that many systems in nature function by cooperation. The mighty “survival of the fittest” is not the single lens through which we must view our planet. Yet we humans continue this “battle” with nature as if it is a call to arms. The unrelenting disruption of place, so disorienting to our sense of well-being, is the great irony of our existence. Underlying all my work is an apocalyptic sentience. In the process of fabrication, the influence of iconic works from art history slips in unexpectedly, in themes extant then and now; martial, religious, or funereal. And within these repeats of thematic content, I try to find an organic, unsophisticated approach that honors natural formations, glory in a different coat. Yet in the act of the making the pieces I also experience a lightness of spirit. The materials are natural, with those resonant qualities that were the material’s unique life - tree-wood, silk cocoon, feather, or clay. This contact is deeply satisfying. That these materials might find new, unconventional form, is a counter response to the daily ruination of our planet. Both directions are present in my interior life, the grief and the hope, and are reflected in my work. I encounter a great sense of relief that current science is uncovering the vast extent of co-operation in nature, and that evolutionary adaptations often proceed quickly, hinting at an "intelligence" we cannot still fathom. So while I mourn the destruction and look to make...

Artwork