Desire Lines

In Desire Lines Stephen Smith presents a new body of work, consisting of works on paper and canvas alongside wooden and cardboard sculptures. In this series Smith has continued his studio practice investigating processes of deconstruction in painting such as collaging together with stitch large sections of canvas, but this new series also see’s the artist explore these formal elements together with a more concentrated bolder palette and set of organic motifs. Similar to ‘Desire Lines’ – the paths that represent the shortest route between two points and are made over time by the wishes of pedestrians – Stephen Smith has found his own ‘desire lines’. These are reduced, pure and free, while still embodying the processes in his work that he is known for the work is stripped right down to its core without loosing its complexity.