Clare Smith An Exhibition of Drawings

Clare Smith  An exhibition of drawings, was held on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of July 2022 between 1-4 pm. at the Smart Gallery, 3 Waterloo Crescent, Dover, Kent  CT16 1LA. We are very grateful to the Smart Project for making their gallery space available and to the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club for making their terrace and bar available to exhibition visitors on both days.

The small single room gallery provided hanging space on three walls with the entrance from the Dover Espanade on the fourth. Visitors had the feeling of entering a box of drawings  mirrored by the central table of drawings in portfolio boxes letting  visitors look at individual works closely, at their own speed.

On show were a selection of Clare’s Chemo-day drawings from 2019-2020, drawings from Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and from Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors  a 1965 Ukrainian film by Soviet-Armenian filmmaker, Sergei Parajanov, based on the novel by Ukrainian writer, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky. There was also  a series or “journal’ of self portaits on found paper to turn through in an old Chinese book.

The exhibition was curated by Nicolas Deshayes and Joanna Jones and featured an accompanying text on the chemo drawings by Simon Bill. Clare Smith-Chemo day drawings 1 sheetdoc FINAL

• It was such an exciting surprise to step into the gallery and see the work so beautifully hung, though I should not have been at all surprised. (Clare)
• It was lovely to see you on Sunday and I thoroughly enjoyed your exhibition. It was interesting to hear what you were saying about the drawings. When I was looking at them without any context I thought they were a commentary on the Second World War. It occurred to me on the way home what a profound impact the war must have had on Kurosawa. I wonder how much his films were conscious and unconscious responses to that? It’s fascinating how those drawings have made me see something very different in his films which had not been noticed before. (Danny Budzak)
• So much more to absorb and think about than there was time for in a single gallery visit. (Diana Baldwin)
• I thought the show was absolutely beautiful. Well done to you and the whole team. (Mathew Cunningham)
• I’m so very delighted to see your chemo day drawings agin! Simon’s text certainly does them justice as well. Congratulations! (Christiane Anderssen)
• Gorgeous, moving show (Petra Matthews-Crow)
• We adore these drawings! So lovely to see this collection (Steph, Zach, Poppy)

Photos: Joanna Jones, Jennifer Sofield, Kate Beaugie, Clare Smith

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