HAMILTON, NJ.- Grounds For Sculpture is presenting Ned Smyth, Moments of Matter, a retrospective of his monumental sculptures and photographs created in the past decade.
I like to believe that our attention to these stones adds to their energy and links us to a reverence that was once a part of our relationship to the Earth. - Ned Smyth
From a childhood spent in Italy exploring ancient Roman ruins, to his current home and studio on the rocky shore of Shelter Island, New York, Ned Smyth has invested his artistic practice into an exploration of man and nature and humanitys relationship to the passing of time, and channeling this investigation into sculptures and monumental photographs that straddle both classical and post-minimalist tradition.
This exhibition focuses on Smyths large-scale sculptural works that appear as large rock formations milled in dense foam, hard-coated in resin, and painted in a stone-colored palette. These eight sculptures are accompanied by large format black and white photographssome as large as 6 x 8that explore the texture of stones Smyth has collected for 35 years. He approaches these photographs as portraits, considering the surfaces of these stones to be records of the earths ancient history. The exhibition includes installations of the small stones he collects, including some later cast in bronze. A rarely-seen series of pigment and concrete paintings is on view as well.
An accomplished sculptor, Ned Smyth has exhibited throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Venice Biennale of Art, the Hirshorn Museum, and PS1. His work is held in numerous collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Carnegie Museum, Prudential Life Insurance, and Iowa State University. He lives and works on Shelter Island, New York. PO BOX 1580, Shelter Island, NY 11964