Catherine Smith

Whale Project #9

Inspired by: Evelyn Rydz, Gulf Pile

upcycled plastic, wood

30″ x 26″

2022

The Whale Project started in response to the now all-too-common sight of a dead whale washed up on shore with a belly full of plastic. As one of many who have been horrified by this sight, I decided to try to eliminate plastic from my life as well as save and make art out of that plastic I could not avoid buying. I saved one year’s worth of plastic and have made ten pieces in the last six years from that refuse. I feel a kinship to the work by Evelyn Rydz, Gulf Pile, who brings attention to plastic pollution on our beaches and the harm it does to the environment.

@Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith

Portrait of Jen: The Rocky Road to Enlightenment

Stoneware, wood base

16.5” x 15” x 8”

2023

I am a lover of flowers and the single white peony is one of my favorites. This image is of a peony that belonged to a recently deceased friend and I painted it to celebrate her love of this flower. The Chinese bird and flower painting genre is one that I have worked in for a very long time. I am now an ancient being and continue to do what I love, cooking good food and painting in the Chinese style.

Catesmith.art

Catherine Smith

Self-portrait in a Corset and Puffy Sleeves

archival print on paper

8 x 10 inches

2022

I have collected photographs for years, mostly old images of women in pants, before it became acceptable for us to wear these garments in public. I am always looking for examples of uncomfortable clothing and just found this from one the late 1890’s recently. The woman’s faint smile may have been genuine but I can only look at this image and feel pain. With a little help from photoshop, it has because a self-portrait.

Catesmithart

Catherine Smith

Porcelain Big Mac

Inspired by: Matt Siber, McDonalds

porcelain

8″ x 10″ x 4″

2024

Chinese culture gave the world porcelain. American culture gave the world the Big Mac. Matt Siber’s manipulated photograph of a so familiar McDonald’s sign, which appears to be floating in a radiant blue sky, critiques by asking the viewer to consume the graphics without the allure offered by hyper-yummy, corporately engineered, fast food. Whether we are employees, customers or critics, few of us have escaped internalizing multiple opinions about the company that employs the second-largest private workforce in the world. This piece is a reminder that we love and elevate so many things that are not so good for us.

@Catesmith.art

Dread Running

installation view

Dread Running

installation view

Dread Running

installation view