The solo exhibition ‘Pots – Plates – Chairs’ was held at the Marsden Woo Gallery in 2011. Each piece in the show referenced one of these three domestic object types, either singly or as a multiple. In all the works, Smith placed emphasis on the visual power of subtle variations in form and surface pattern.
The pieces on show continued the creative tradition of exploring how small divergences within a repetitive schema of form or surface pattern can produce dramatic effects. The exhibition can be considered a visual analogy to the work of composers Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Brian Eno, whose compositions were a strong influence on Smith.
The means by which the formal elements of line and pattern were expressed through the medium of ceramic or wood was the result of extensive visual research and associated technical development. The geometric surface patterns used for the two plate installations used principles established in Islamic pattern and the wall drawings of Sol LeWitt. Their realisation required the investigation and development of cost-effective print processes for large numbers of one-off prints and resulted in the development of a hybrid approach making use of both digital and silkscreen technologies. Smith constructed the chair forms from slats of birch plywood in order to express the way that this extremely direct, regular construction creates complex, moiré-like shapes when the chairs are viewed from almost any angle.
The body of work presented a new paradigm within the applied arts, where three very different object types, methods of manufacture and scales of production – one-off, batch and volume (drawing on two material traditions) – were exploited in a single project.
Dr Glenn Adamson of the V&A Museum interviewed Smith about the work as part of a public ‘artist discussion’ at the Marsden Woo Gallery in June 2011.