Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
It is the processes that present Josh Smith’s Untitled (JSC09265) in its best light. The work consists of four panels made from posters from the artist’s 2009 Currents exhibition at Augustine Luhring Gallery in New York, where the artist was previously represented. The posters are intentionally defaced and obliterated by the artist’s hand. Not only are they covered in broad streaks of colour, Smith also had the exhibition’s title and the gallery’s name screen printed multiple times on each panel. The result is casual and graffiti-like - the rebellious streak of the artist present in its bright acidic colours and energetic brushstrokes.
Though frenetic strokes and brush work makes the piece seemingly incomplete, the placement and alignment for each layer and poster are deliberate. The Okinawa born American artist is methodical in his approach towards both printed matter and his physical presence on the boards, allowing both traces of man and technology to co-exist on the same plane. The work is personal and specific to the Brooklyn based artist, the repetitive printing of “currents” bringing to mind the exact time and location of a particular event in his career. There seem to be no relatable meaning that can be derived through the completion of the work, yet it radiates a sense of nonchalant confidence in its ability to provoke its audience as a vehicle of Smith’s ideas and psychological processes.
2009 signed and dated 'JOSH SMITH 2009' on the reverse of each panel mixed media on panel, in four parts 244 x 182 cm. (96 x 71 5/8 in.) Executed in 2009.