IN PRAISE OF LOVE
IN PRAISE OF LOVE
Dillwyn Smith8 Oct - 10 Nov 2024
PRESS RELEASE
The work of Dillwyn Smith (b.1958) exists in a world of perfect imperfection. It balances between certainty and the unknown; the visible and what remains to be discovered. His visual style thrives on subtle contradictions—geometric yet fluid, solid yet translucent, structured yet never static. He calls them placebo paintings; “they are paintings without paint” - a paradox that only deepens their intrigue to the discerning eye.
For Dillwyn, fabric is the medium and colour is the language. All he asks of the viewer is time: time to look, to see through every layer, every bar and every shadow, to feel the illusions, bursts of colour, and rays of light that give his work its pulse.
As one engages with Dillwyn’s abstract compositions, initial perceptions pave the way to new ways of seeing. Clean-cut edges reveal hand-cut imperfections, and perfectly straight lines loosen, documenting the artist’s human touch. It is within these opposing tensions that Dillwyn’s magic unfolds, where what we thought we saw transforms upon closer inspection, drawing us deeper into the very fabric of the artwork - both literally and metaphorically. Each piece follows its own rhythm, with vertical and horizontal lines oscillating between disruption and harmony. The transparent fabric creates a sense of depth and fluidity, inviting viewers into a visual choreography of colour, form, and light—a space that is as much felt as it is seen.
As such, what may begin as an intuitive, perhaps subconscious expression of the artist evolves into an extension of us all—a mirror reflecting who we are, what we have known, and what we may find if we simply look long enough.
—Christina Shoucair, 2024
