Rachel Wolfson Smith: The Future Is Behind Us

August 13 - September 29,2022

From Women & Their Work: "In The Future Is Behind Us, Rachel Wolfson Smith focuses our attention on the essential and grounding effect of beauty in nature. In portraying constructed, intricate, and imagined landscapes, Smith creates an antidote to the imbalance many of us experience as we lurch from impulse to impulse in our tech-laden, consumer-driven, modern existence. The scope of The Future Is Behind Us includes a series of floral cyanotypes that could be at home in the Victorian era, large scale graphite drawings alluding to the complexities of the modern self, and an imagined future where landscapes arrive in sci-fi-esque pre-packaged boxes. It is in these historical and cultural influences that we observe history repeating itself, and better understand our relationship to natural beauty and the role it will undoubtedly play in the digital future. Smith invites us to pass through time, searching landscapes for beauty and finding guidance in eras past, present, and imagined. About the artist: Rachel Wolfson Smith is an American artist based in Austin, Texas and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Smith is known for large graphite drawings that use the landscape to interpret personal changes experienced over time. Interests in literature and psychology influence her work. She is an alumni of The Contemporary Austin’s Crit Group and several artist residencies including the 100W Corsicana Artist and Writer Residency and the Babyan Culture House. Her drawings are held in public and private collections, from Google to artist Kiki Smith. She has exhibited extensively, at institutions that include The Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, The Contemporary Austin, and Liliana Bloch Gallery. Her work has been discussed in publications including Design Milk, Sightlines, Art Maze Mag, Manifest’s International Drawing Annual, Drawing Discourse, Glasstire, and Iron & Air Magazine among others. Smith has been awarded support from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, The Awesome Foundation, and the City of Austin. She received a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and an MFA in painting from Indiana University. About Women & Their Work: Women & Their Work fosters the artistic growth of women artists by encouraging them to make new, adventurous work and develops audiences for whom contemporary art is meaningful. Our mission is to ensure that diverse women artists are equitably represented in all forms of art. For 44 years, Women & Their Work has been a cornerstone of the Austin arts community and has actively developed the careers of more than 1,900 women artists, presenting hundreds of visual art exhibitions, music, dance and theater events, film festivals and education programs. Nationally recognized for the quality of its work, Women & Their Work has played an important role in the development of the visual and performing arts in Texas."

Reception: August 13, 2022 | 7-9 pm

Women & Their Work (Cesar Chavez) 1311 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, Texas 78702
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