Blair Smith

"Smith states that he has a problem with being pigeon-holed.  He doesn't like to be defined as a "jeweller" preferring instead the term "maker".

..often Smith "frames" his works, whether a piece of wearable jewellery; a brooch or a ring (as these are two forms most commonly employed by Smith), or a larger wall-mounted piece.  "It stops them spilling out", he says when I ask him about this, "It makes them more like a piece of art".

I wonder too if the desire to frame a work has something to do with the fact that much of Smith's work is related to memory and linked to certain moments in his life.  These framed works reflect incidents that have been cut out and highlighted so as to become "stand-alone" events: anecdotes, short stories or signposts which sum up in a way parts of his autobiography.  

Looking to the "man-made" for inspiration; objects such as toasters, lawnmowers or taps began to enter his consciousness, memories of growing up became increasingly important during this period; partly the result, Smith says, of thinking about "how short life is". (Laurence Fearnley, 2007)

Sadly Blair Smith passed away on Sunday 25th November 2012, after a long illness.

AVID is honoured to have represented him for almost twenty years.