Exhibition Date: January 10 - March 15, 2015
Reception Date: Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 2:00pm

Smits’ painting style invokes similarities to artists of the “Mystic painters” movement in the Northwest, such as Mark Tobey, Morris Graves and Guy Anderson. Smits shares the same appreciation of movement and distorted perception in her work. Her landscapes appear flattened, due to her altered sense of time and space from repeated recollection. This technique is reminiscent of Japanese Ukiyo-e, although it was not her direct inspiration.

Adrianne Smits’ painting style is formed from both ecological influences and artistic intuition. She mentions: “In larger compositions I interpret and emphasize visual details from my encounters with nature in order to communicate the complexity of natural systems beyond their cursory picturesque value.” Smits’ paintings evoke more than a literal documentation of her surrounding environment. She allows nature to completely encompass her existence, ridding herself of preconceived notions. Smits’ paintings escape tradition while providing her audience with a newer and deeper understanding of the hidden, natural world. Courtesy of Bryan Ohno, Bryan Ohno Gallery, Seattle.