LIVE FEED WITH GREG SMITH ON IGTV
Objet d' art
English Countryside, 1900 - 2020, English porcelain platter, with gold, 13 x 15 in. NFS
Through the years, the artist sharing photos of the plate collection
INTRODUCTION
Greg Smith lives and works in Los Angeles, California. In addition to working as an artist/designer, Smith is currently working on a book about the life of his Great Grandmother Leanora Prouse. She was born in Cornwall England, in 1887. Her childhood was spent in a small fishing village called Mousehole. At the age of nine, she left England for America with her mother’s siblings due to Financial hardship. In 1923, after her 3 children were grown, (youngest being Smith’s grandmother), she returned to Cornwall to see family and wrote a diary of her adventure. Later in life, she became a nurse and traveled the world collecting treasures at each stop, this diary, and many other personal items will help describe the fabric of her life, and create the thread of her story. A few of Lenora’s collected items are on display. Because they were broken years before, in areas of fracture, the artist carefully adds gold and silver to enhance the imperfection, borrowing from Eastern Philosophy.
The Japanese technique of Kintsugi or “Golden Joinery” is the method of repairing broken pottery. The idea of using gold to repair the damage, giving it respect, and making the item scarred for what is vulnerable and imperfect. Highlighting the cracks, addressing the parallels in life that nothing is perfect.
Additional objects in the exhibition by Greg Smith, click through the slide show below
