Opening Reception: Leslie Smith

Thursday, October 28, 2021 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Preview Gallery

SECCA's Southern Idiom exhibition series continues with Upright and Asymmetrical, featuring new works by Leslie Smith. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 5–8pm on Thursday, October 28. Admission is free, with a suggested $10 donation.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I use writing, drawing, printing, and papermaking to ask and answer questions. For me, imagery leads to writing and writing leads to imagery. For the last few years, I have been interested in the body and the mind. Curiosity has pushed me toward speculative questions. For example, what if emotions had a physical form? What would they look like? What if melancholy had a size, a shape, a color? I think melancholy would be harmless looking. It would be a pale blue seed that appears in the mind and then drifts softly down into the body, collecting on the surfaces. Through text, drawings and diagrams I create an answer. Currently, I am looking at how we respond to peculiar times. What do you make when the world is upside down?

ARTIST BIO

Leslie Smith makes drawings, prints, and books based on her interest in mind, body, and the way we think about the self. She holds an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Iowa Center for the Book and has exhibited nationally and internationally. She is currently the Director of Graphics and Textiles at Sawtooth School for Visual Art.

About Southern Idiom

SECCA's Southern Idiom exhibition series launched in 2017 as a platform for elevating and celebrating the work of Winston-Salem artists. In contrast to many exhibitions at SECCA, works on view in Southern Idiom are available for purchase. Leslie Smith's exhibition marks the 24th installment of the series, whose alumni artists include Sharon Hardin, Terri Dowell-Dennis, Ashley Johnson, Frank Campion, Mona Wu, Owens Daniels, Jessica Singerman, Leo Rucker, Kevin Calhoun, Paul Travis Phillips, Laura Lashley, Sam "The Dot Man" McMillan, and others.