SMAC Gallery

Embrace creativity with our stunning Art-inspired SMAC Tote bags! "In Gilliams’ paintings there is no attempt to fix or name the world. Rather, we find a deft eschewal of the known, a fascination with the non-secular and atemporal – the eternal and untimely – realms irreducible to any specific optic or culture. So, while the iconographic influence might stem from classical and pre-classical Italian painting, Gilliams’ image repertoire cannot be thus contained." _____ @gommaargilliams Text by Ashraf Jamal

Mary Sibande "The Manifestation (2022) is one of the clearest portrayals of these aspirations, as Sophie is seen knitting a garment that is instantly recognisable to most as a Superman suit. Her demeanour appears solemn and demure through poise and professionality, but her actions show that she dreams of more. Sophie’s dreams are rich with aspirations, not limited to her individual but shared by her community, and as she travels deep within herself her humanity is revealed."

“The paintings’ glittering surfaces, evoking all the bubblegum popping, lipgloss smacking, powder puff sparkling, and hairbrush singing of tween-hood in the late 90s, also belie the industrial isolation of a far more laborious process of creation. Buttoned to the eyes in protective gear and with the oppressive whir of an airbrush compressor cutting her studio off from the rest of the world, Mudge is lost to the music blasting from her earphones.” _____ Artwork by Rosie Mudge Text by Fay Janet Jackson

"Taken together, her work made of acrylic nails makes an argument that femininity exists here: at the intersection of allure, glamour, ferocity, mercilessness, potency, and horror. The varied memes and codes that are used to represent women in worldwide popular culture all drink from this well. The problem with these depictions tend to be one-sided - which is how we come to inherit the caricature of womanhood that is alternately the virtuous Madonna figure, the sour prude, the evil seductress, or the crazy ex-girlfriend. … the essence of her work argues for an understanding of womanhood as coextensive with the vast possibilities of being human. The reason that we might be surprised by this complexity is that for too long we have been told that complexity of being is a predicament, an obstacle. It isn’t. It’s where woman find and manifest themselves in all their glory.” Request a portfolio of works via DM or email to [email protected] ____ Frances Goodman Text by Seph Rodney

Romina Bassu b. 1982 in Rome, Italy. Studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome and the Faculty of Fine Arts of Seville. In 2014, Bassu worked as an assistant at Alberto di Fabio and Christiano Pintaldi’s studies. Bassu presented a solo exhibition in 2021 titled, Arché at AlbumArte in Rome, Italy. Further solo exhibitions by Bassu include: Monday Blues at Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri in Rome, Italy and MIART both in 2019 with Studio Sales Roma in Rome, Italy. Male gaze at Studio SALES di Norberto Ruggeri in Rome, Italy; Campionario analogico at Burning Giraffe Art Gallery in Torino, Italy and Promises, Galleria Marcolini, Forlì, Italy (2017). In 2015 Romina Bassu - Mnemosyne, MEB Arte Studio, Borgomanero, Italy; in 2014 Archivo anónimo, Galleria Manuel Alés, La Línea de la Concepción, Cadiz, Spain; Archivo anónimo, Sala Rafaél Argelés, Fundación de Cultura José Luis Cano, Algeciras, Spain and Sala Rivadavia, Diputación de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain (2013); in 2010 I’m stressed out, Pantocrator Gallery, Berlin, Germany.

SMAC Gallery is pleased to announce our participation at Art Brussels, with a solo presentation by Bonolo Kavula from 25 April - 28 April 2024. "Combining print, design, painting and sculpture, Kavula works with —and challenges— traditions and techniques, as she pursues her ancestry in the present tense. There are decades and dimensions of cultural, political, familial and personal histories encoded into Kavula’s artworks. Where words often fail, or where vital records, stories and cultures are lost, stolen or destroyed, it is just that new forms of communications surface." Booth 6B-23 Brussels Expo Halls 5 & 6 Place de Belgique 1 1020 Brussels VIP Preview: Thur 25 April (11h00 - 16h00) Vernissage: Thur 25 April (16h00 - 21h00) Public Days Fri 26 April (11h00 - 19h00) Sat 27 April (11h00 - 19h00) Sun 28 April (11h00 - 19h00)