Owen Smith
Cover for Issue 401
San Francisco
Issue 401 January 6, 2010

Owen Smith’s lurid figurative art often depicts the basic, sometimes base elements of life. Inspired by popular culture and artwork of the first half of the 20th century, his works are reminiscent of the robust style and subject matter of Depression Era art. Smith’s paintings mirror our current social and economic climate. His archetypal characters inhabit the boxing rings, construction sites, flophouses and burlesque theaters of urban America. Like the characters from Film Noir, Smith’s subjects seem to survive on their wits, sexual allure and violent tendencies, trapped by life, circumstances and social roles. Smith paints in oils with rich colors and shadings that emphasize movement and volumetric form. Smith also creates large charcoal drawings. His tight compositions heighten the sense of tension between the figures. Smith enjoys playing the line between serious art and kitsch, making comments about society at the same time he is having fun with a romanticized view of America’s tough past.

Currently he is designing permanent art including murals, mosaics and relief sculpture through the San Francisco Arts Commission for historic Laguna Hospital. In 2007 he designed six posters for the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Market Street Poster Program depicting the life and work of mystery writer Dashiell Hammet. Smith currently resides in Alameda, California where he teaches Illustration at the California College of the Arts and lives with his wife and two sons.

More of his work can be found online at illoz.

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