Richard Smith CBE, British 1931-2016 - Far Corners, 1979; acrylic on canvas, mixed media construction in three pieces, each signed, titled, dated and numbered on an attached canvas tag 'R Smith Far Corners 79', 240 x 74 cm, 167.5 x 78.2 cm, 88 x...

Richard Smith CBE,
British 1931-2016 -

Far Corners, 1979;

acrylic on canvas, mixed media construction in three pieces, each signed, titled, dated and numbered on an attached canvas tag 'R Smith Far Corners 79', 240 x 74 cm, 167.5 x 78.2 cm, 88 x 83.5 cm (unframed) (3) (ARR)

Note: with thanks to the Richard Smith Estate for their assistance cataloguing this lot.

This work is one of the ‘kite paintings’ for which the British artist Richard Smith was particularly well-known, and which were first exhibited in New York in 1971. In these works, Smith essentially deconstructs the painting, drawing attention to the medium of the canvas and stretcher as key elements of the artwork which are all too often overlooked. In transforming the work into a kite in this manner, Smith explores the very nature of a painting, and the boundary between this and sculpture. Kite paintings similar to this lot are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the British Arts Council, and have also been the subject of exhibitions at Flowers Gallery in New York and Gimpel Fils in London.

Smith studied at St Albans School of Art, followed by the Royal College of Art. His first solo exhibition was held at the Green Gallery in New York in 1961. He represented Britain twice at the Venice Biennale, as one of five artists in 1966, and solo in 1970. Smith was also awarded the Grand Prize at the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1967. Smith’s work was the subject of a retrospective held at the Tate Gallery in 1975, and are now held in museum collections around the world, including the Tate Gallery in London, the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth.