LESLIE SMITH III: LOCUS OF CONTROL

March 17 - April 21, 2017

Abstract painting by Leslie Smith III with geometric shapes and brushstrokes in blue, green, and magenta on a white background.

Maus Contemporary is excited to announce Leslie Smith III: Locus Of Control, the artist’s second one-person exhibition with the gallery.

Locus of Control investigates the degree to which people believe they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to exterior forces outside their control. Formally, this project explores unique and individual viewing experiences that challenge how we understand ourselves in relationship to those around us. Referencing the history of Black abstraction the subjects of these inquiries reflect intentions to politicize abstraction in the interest of suggesting perception as a defining factor in our cultural affair with otherness. I have produced a series of works where shaped oil paintings redefine the space of the wall with conflicting tangential parings. The pursuit being, to generate works that exhibits the social agency of abstraction while simultaneously contributing to the contemporary discourse within the broader art world.

American painter Leslie Smith III during the installation of his one-person exhibition "Locus of Control" at Maus Contemporary

Comprised of a series of paintings and works on paper, Locus of Control exhibits distinct spaces not dependent upon traditional three-dimensional perspectives. I’ve begun to fracture singular shaped canvases into multiple shapes that relate to each other tangentially. Connected to each other at points, they shift, lean and pull away from each other, at times creating voids and linear creases, forged when two adjacent panels are bolted together. The viewing experience abets the prospect of uncoupling previous histories from identifying unfamiliar forms.

Abstract geometric painting by Leslie Smith III with black and red triangles on a white background with yellow lines.

Locus of Control reconsiders the causal-relationship between my philosophical and social concerns, namely, the resulting image and viewing experience.
I have delved deeper into creating image-objects that provoke perceived experiences and collectively share a consciousness of one’s willingness to alter personal perception in order to correct how difference is seen.
I intend to create viewing experiences, which represent the possibility of empowering viewers to change perspective.

- Leslie Smith III

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Not one human face or figure appears in the latest works by American painter Leslie Smith III. And yet his practice, by his own admission, is an investigation of the human experience. “Representation is cumbersome when dealing with human form,” says Smith III, whose new paintings are characterized by geometric forms, bold lines, and a vibrant color palette. “My studio practice is concentrated around visual abstraction as a method for communicating anguish.”

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click on ARTSY logo to read the full article and interview with Leslie.