ART IN FILM
The Allure of Anderson’s Art Artist Anderson Smith opens up about what hides within his work By Ca ro l Bada r acco Padge t t
I n the easy, cultured vibe of Atlanta’s Buckhead Village District sits mixed media artist Anderson Smith’s studio at Buckhead Art & Company. “The environment, the location, the people—it inspires me,” he says of his creative home base. “A lot of patrons come through as I work, young and old,” he describes. “And then the retail around the studio lends to the whole dynamic.” Alongside the roaming neighbors and potential clientele who take note of Smith’s artwork, which is known for its vibrant color, are the famous who pur- chase his prints. They include Carolina Panthers’ quar- terback Cam Newton, rapper T.I., hip hop artist and rapper Future, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Interna- tional Airport, where some of his work are on display. Before Smith became artist Anderson Smith, though, he was just a Chicago boy watching his closest aunt draw cartoons. “I would sit and watch her, and I started mimicking what she was doing,” he recalls of teaching himself to draw. “I got good at it. It was something natural that I had. And then I moved on to comic book characters.” As a young man, Smith moved to Atlanta where his art began to shift. “I visited New York for the first time with my late fiancée in 2011,” he recalls, “and I was doing photography and shooting the streets of the city. Then, when we got back to Atlanta I was struggling artistically. And she said, ‘What about the images from New York?’” That’s when a lightbulb went on, Smith says. “So, I started mixing art with photography and everything was born out of that.” At his first mixed media exhibition, he lucratively sold three pieces of work and went on to launch a new series immediately after. Of his fiancée and her influence, he shares, “She
Of all the ideas and objects he encounters in everyday life that make it into his artwork, Smith says that it’s his collages that truly have his person- al signature upon them. His patrons gravitate to- ward them, too, keeping them consistently among his most popular offerings. Another sought-after series of Anderson’s is what he calls the Ms Van- ity Collection , which “has different connotations regarding things that I find personal to me,” he cryptically shares. A hallmark of Smith’s work, alongside its incredibly vibrant color, is hidden objects. “Sometimes there are people or things within the work,” he confirms. “Words sometimes.” When asked if film, and more pointedly the Georgia film industry, has impacted his work in any way— or is perhaps hidden within it—he says “somewhat”; that he’s a movie buff, after all. From watching movies since he was a child and spending time on film sets in Atlanta over recent years, he finds that the experience has influenced his work in terms of composition, and has changed how he sometimes looks at things. “Especially in my collage works,” he notes, “there are certain entertainment figures that work their way in—probably 85% of the time they are there.” Alongside his observation of the film world, Smith maintains a consistent involvement in the art commu- nity and with his fellow artists. Just before Christmas 2021 he joined a group called the Obsidian Collective for a creative panel discussion at Emory University’s Hatchery Center for Innovation, followed by an ex- hibit of the Collective’s artwork at a downtown gallery. In addition, an event that Smith attends annually each winter is Art Basel Miami Beach, a show that brings together the international artworld and some of the world’s leading galleries. “It’s always a great way to
“ I started mixing art with photography and everything was born out of that. ”
passed in 2015 of breast cancer. She is the sole reason I became the artist that I am now.” And when asked if her memory continues to shape his work to this day, he softly responds, “Definitely.” Another source of influence and inspiration for Smith today is simply everyday life. “TV, thinking of things from years ago, things I see—just everything really,” he admits. “I can be sitting in traffic and something pops into my head.”
network and be inspired by all the art that’s going on,” he says. “I always look forward to it. It’s the biggest festival in the world.” One thing the artist can’t hide, as it turns out, is his deep love for art and everything that surrounds it.
@artbyanderson_
Artist Anderson Smith
Photos courtesy of Anderson Smith
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