Anj Smith

Anj Smith was born in 1978 in Kent and currently lives and works in London. Her small paintings emerge from an artistic practice characterized by meticulousness and a strong attention to detail in relation to indecipherable spaces drawn from her mind. Small, unsettling worlds arise from the intricate oil brushstrokes, influenced by a multitude of references, as Smith herself states: “My works are influenced by Persian miniatures, Bosch, Botticelli, Dutch still lifes, the sets designed for the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris where the Russian Ballet performed, Blake, Dadd and Darger, Bataille, the streets, certain subcultures, nightlife, high fashion, Currin, Cook and Peyton, Butler, Yuskavage, Sasnal, Bujinowski, lepidoptera, botany, society.” Among the many details that recur in her figurative compositions, such as in We (2006), there are insects, reptiles, monkeys, enormous flowers, as well as skulls, allowing the viewer to reflect on the symbolism of such elements.

However, Smith cautions the viewer regarding the interpretation of these figures, emphasizing that nowadays, the symbolic meaning of elements like the skull does not necessarily evoke a call to death. The skull, traditionally understood as a symbol of mortality, becomes synonymous in our society with “consumerism and luxury, blurring the boundary between its traditional use in painting and its current value as a fashion icon,” as exemplified by the use of skulls by designer Alexander McQueen, who frequently incorporated them into his luxury creations. This symbol is visible in the work On the Mountain (2008), part of Giuseppe Iannaccone’s collection. The small oil on linen presents a dreamlike imagery, where the absence of the human figure is compensated by the presence of the skull positioned in the lower left corner, invoking a reference to contemporary culture, where one can find light silk garments finely crafted from high fashion, serving in the scene—drawn from a fantastic imagery—as precious and transparent drapery covering what appears to be a monument devoid of meaning. The remnants of popular culture and contemporary fashion.