Browse Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Smith III, Lee N. |
Caption |
Giants in Centerville |
Collection |
TMA |
Credit Line |
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Horchow |
Date |
1985 |
Description |
Lee N. Smith III's paintings are based on real experiences and memories of the artist's boyhood years. The images in Smith's detailed paintings are intended to be magical and mysterious, and inspire the imagination of the viewer. "Giants in Centerville" is one of Smith's "construction paintings". That is, he has combined a three-dimensional element to his painting, which is executed in his signature style, in which his use of strange color combinations and a strong contrast of light and shadow accentuate the intimate, ritualistic scenes being depicted. This scene of boys crouched around a train set evokes both excitement and tension and a sense of a secret shared. In this piece, there is a section visible along the left quadrant of the painting, which reveals a tiny suburban scene behind a "window" of Plexiglass. The scene is constructed of miniature elements, such as what would be available to the aficionados of miniature train set builders (some of the parts are mass-produced; some hand-made). Artist Lee N. Smith III moved to Dallas from New Orleans at the age of six. Smith has had no formal art training, but began in 1974 and was selected as one of less than thirty artists chosen to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. Smith quickly became acclaimed for painting and prints that draw from his childhood memories, often set in surreal suburban landscapes using vivid colors. |
Dimensions |
H-48 W-72.5 D-5.75 inches |
Medium |
Mixed Media |
Material |
Oil/Panel/Plexiglas/Found objects |
Catalog Number |
2002.03 |
Title |
Giants in Centerville |