David Brian Smith

David Brian Smith works focuses on the genre of landscape painting within his practice as a way of
connecting to his family history. The artists choice of motifs and painting style are reminiscent of theʼBrotherhood of Ruralists (founded in 1975 in Somerset, England), a group of painters who
concentrated on the depiction of nature and rural places. In his practice, Smith not only uses various
found objects such as illustrations, postcards or photographs as a source of inspiration for his
subject matter, he also draws increasingly on his own personal memories and history.

Smiths family were Christian missionaries to British India. He was brought up in a rural context, andʼ
his eventual move to London triggered a longing for his past and a need to reconstruct the notion of
his former home, and address the issues of cultural as well as social belonging. Smith uses his
practice to both re-imagine his lived past and to envision his position in the future. David Brian Smith
studied at the University of Wolverhampton and the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London.