ARTIST STATEMENT
My work walks the line between playfulness and sorrowfulness. Its whimsy appears through my use of a vibrant color palette, lively mark making, and the utilization of zany creatures, cartoon characters, symbols, and text. However, there is a weight my work carries simultaneously. Its melancholier aspects appear the longer you look beneath the surface. Some creatures converse in murky, abstracted spaces. They appear lost. Others question their worth, and what it means to be accepted authentically in a world that is eager to assess your value based upon patriarchal and heteronormative standards. My work serves as a vessel to express the struggles I face within my own identity and from my own perspective, which still maintains a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor about it all at the same time.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Alli Smith (b. 1996) is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in painting, drawing, and sculpture. She is currently based in Racine, WI, and grew up facilitating between the Lake County, IL suburbs and Milwaukee, WI. She received her BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2018. Alli has exhibited across the country; at galleries and artist-run spaces including Yours Truly (Milwaukee, WI), Gormley Gallery (Baltimore, MD), and Field Projects (New York, NY). Recently, she ventured internationally to participate in the “Silence Awareness Existence” residency at Arteles Creative Center (Hämeenkyrö, Finland). There, she discovered an affinity for bringing her creatures to life through costume.
© Alli Smith