Eric Smith: The metaphysics of paint
Curated by Rhonda Davis, Leonard Janiszewski and Tom Murray.
Eric Smith was a key figure in the development of Australian modernism. His inclusion in the landmark exhibition Direction 1, 1956 heralded the artist’s life-long search for meaning through abstraction, “throwing myself into the void, searching for ways to express truths in our times”. During his mid-career stage, Smith’s impressive record of winning major art awards such as the Archibald Prize three times, the Wynne Prize twice, the Sulman three times and the Blake Prize for religious art six times witnessed his reputation soar to the top. In the artist’s late period, his focus headed more towards abstraction and less on portraiture as a means for searching that elusive truth, works that encapsulated a deep sense of the spiritual and what lays beyond.
