Sable Elyse Smith


Sable Elyse Smith is an interdisciplinary artist and writer. Smith works in photography, neon, text, appropriated imagery, sculpture, and video installation connecting language, violence, and pop culture with autobiographical subject matter. In 2018, Smith was an Artist-in Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The artist lives and works in Richmond, Virginia, and New York City.

Early life and education

Smith was born in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Smith holds a B. A. in studio art and film from Oglethorpe University and a MFA in Design & Technology from Parsons the New School for Design.

Work

Smith often uses surveillance tape to explore the structure of the incarcerated labor system its corruption.
Smith makes sculptures and two-dimensional works that raise questions about societal problems. Her work is inspired by her father who been incarcerated for most of her life. Her work uses common objects from the prison system to question labor, class, and memory with emphasis on the everyday effects of institutional violence. Smith uses coloring books for kids used in court setting as a subject in some of her 2D works. Smith has talked about her work stating: “The work should never say the same thing to every viewer. It is multi-vocal in its address and affect—that's the point."

Exhibitions

Solo