Ali Smith (b. 1976, Newport Beach, CA) uses the canvas as an open space of exploration; an empty landscape that serves as the starting point for investigation into abstract terrains. Her work illustrates the existential plight the artist has in finding new, personal meaning and direction within the field of abstract painting. The recurring visual trope of Rococo-like excess and abundance performs a celebratory re-assertion of the endless possibilities available to the painter. Smith weaves together fleeting thoughts, moments of time, the fine lines between fact and fiction and subjective desires within her canvases, which in turn present the hopeful attitude of the artist, in the face of the realities of life and experience.
Smith received her MFA from California State University, Long Beach (CA), and has since had solo exhibitions in New York, Houston and Los Angeles. She has been included in numerous group shows, including those at the Laguna Art Museum (CA), Irvine Fine Arts Center (CA), Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock (CA), and Riverside Museum (CA). Her work is included in the collections of the Laguna Art Museum (CA), Frederick R. Weisman Foundation (CA), Progressive (OH). The artist lives and works in Long Beach, CA.
For a full biography and curriculum vitae, please click the PDF download link below.