Laurel Gitlen, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Interview with Maurizio Cattelan, Purple Magazine, 2016
Speaking about her signature motifs (teeth, mustaches, backsides) that appear throughout many of her paintings the artist responds to fellow artist Maurzion Cattelan who asks her pointedly:
Maurizion Cattelan: Who is this ass?
Emily Mae Smith: It's a slippery signifier. The ass is sometimes a tragic figure, the butt of the paintings joke. In certain paintings that emphasize dynamics of power and control. it means the corpreal body. In some of the newer paintings, the ass is a sassy aggressor, like a comedian, blowing smoke in the face of adversity.