March 25 - May 3, 2024
From McLennan Community College:
“Examining the dynamics of social organisms has been a consistent preoccupation in my work over the past twenty plus years. After encountering vast plains of termite mounds in northern Australia, many exceeding 10 feet in height—and as far as the eye could see—I became fascinated with the metaphoric potential of these highly successful microcosms of insects in thinking about the potential prosperousness or failure of our aggregate human population. Using the termite’s domed architecture as a poetic reference, I’ve explored myriad themes of collective activity including the formation of utopian societies, virtual communities on the internet and transitory populations such refugees, cultures in migration also mass gatherings at rock concerts, sports events, and political demonstrations.
In The Lesser Cosmoses exhibition, the domed forms (constructed with fabric from repurposed clothing) are re-envisioned as spiritual architecture such as churches and meeting houses, which in turn, are visualized as part of the larger metaphysical architecture of the cosmos. In recent times, prodded by the isolating effects of covid and extreme political divide, individuals have increasingly turned to faith communities for solace and support. Social media has dramatically facilitated that coming together process using its algorithms to pinpoint like-minded souls, but paradoxically has also encouraged increased factionalization and further isolation. In part, this exhibition explores the notion of connectivity in regard to the construction of faith and other belief systems.
Bio
Mark R. Smith is an artist and educator in living in Portland, Oregon. His current studio practice involves use of recycled textiles which he incorporates into labor-intensive, densely patterned motifs that reference communal architecture, crowd dynamics and the behavioral aspects of social organisms. His work has been featured in institutions across the US including the Portland Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Center (Cincinnati, OH) and the Zimmerly Art Museum, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), the Whatcom Museum, (Bellingham WA) the Drawing Center and Artists Space (both in New York City). His solo exhibitions include The Office of the Governor (Salem, OR), Gallery Hlemmur (Rykjavik, Iceland), The Art Gym Marylhurst University (Marylhurst, OR) and several at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, OR where his work is represented. Smith has also received many public commissions, including projects with Trimet, Providence Hospital and the Port of Portland (all Portland, OR). His work is included in several public and private collections, including the American Embassy (Accra, Ghana), CityArts Inc. (New York, NY), King County Public Art Collection, Meta (Seattle, WA), Lewis and Clark College (Portland, OR), and Nike Inc. (Beaverton, OR). Smith received his BFA from the Cooper Union (1983) and his MFA from Portland State University (1997). “
Lecture: April 11, 2024 | 11 am – 12 pm
CSC Gallery, McLennan Community College Visual Arts Building
1400 College Drive
Waco, 76708 Texas
(254) 299-8791
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