Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Smith.
Alexandria, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in the Bronx, NY and raised in Westchester. I’ve always wanted to be an artist since I was three years old. I pursued art throughout my formative years and went on to study illustration at Syracuse University where I received my BFA. After college, I worked in education and later pursued my MA in Art Education at NYU. During that time, I taught middle school art full time in East Harlem. After years of struggling to make time for my studio practice, I decided to return to academia to pursue my MFA in Fine Arts at Parsons the New School for Design. I continued teaching part-time during my matriculation and after graduating, had no choice but to return to the classroom. I continued to teach high school and middle school art in the South Bronx for a few years until I suffered an anxiety attack in 2012.
I believe that this anxiety attack, the first and only one I suffered, was a result of feeling dissatisfied with the education system that strips students of their creativity and doesn’t value the transformative power of the arts. I decided at that moment, with the support of my parents, that I would resign from the NYC Department of Education and pursue my art career full time. It was an immense risk because I didn’t have any savings nor did I know what pursuing my studio practice would look like. I simply stepped out on faith and took a leap into the unknown. During that first year of instability, I struggled to pay my rent and develop my studio practice in my Brooklyn apartment while teaching part-time at an after school art program, but I was joyful. My career-defining moment came when I received a phone call in 2013 that I was awarded the Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship. I cried tears of joy because I knew then that my art career would forever be changed.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
For me, creating consumes every part of me. It sustains me emotionally, spiritually and mentally. When I am not creating, I am filled with anxiety and discomfort. So, painting grounds me in ways that nothing else can. My studio practice is very much related to and investigates not only the spiritual or psychological aspects of being but the physical as well. This is directly a result of being an athlete my entire life. It’s important for me to create on a macro level, meaning making large immersive collage installations and micro level making paintings and small collages. These different mediums that I work across activate different parts of my body.
I’m literally jumping from sitting at a table and cutting to standing up and painting, to moving across the floor creating a massive piece that is significantly larger than my body. Utilizing my archive of completed work, I create new images through a regenerative collage process; symbols in my work are recreated through the use of various painting and printmaking methods. These works challenge the norms of representation and figuration by embracing the power and history of the brown body. I explore the concept of forced femininity, the troublesome expectation to wear dresses and other such attire to express being female and defiantly convey feelings of self-empowerment, self-love and, ultimately, freedom.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
I think it is essential to be and live your truth as an artist. As much as we seek validation from institutions, it is imperative that you continue to work hard and be authentic especially when no one is looking. I define success by my own internal barometer; I believe in myself, set goals, define my vision and work hard to achieve them.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My newest body of work will debut in a solo exhibit entitled, “A Litany for Survival” at Boston University’s Stone Gallery last November 10, 2018, through January 27, 2019. I will also be giving a lecture at Boston University on Tuesday, November 27th. For updates and images of my previous work, you can head to my website at www.alexandriasmith.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexandriasmith.com
- Instagram: asmithstudios
- Facebook: Alexandria Smith Studio
Image Credit:
Lachell Workman, Dana Damewood
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
