Santa Barbara resident Kerrie Smith used to specialize in transporting theatergoers into the worlds of plays and operas. The former set designer took a similar approach with her latest creative endeavor, although it’s located inside a museum rather than on a stage.
“For me, spaces are like a blank stage or canvas, and give me the opportunity to explore, redefine, and repurpose,” said the English artist, whose prolific career in set design kicked off in London and continued after she moved to the U.S. to work for a theater in Los Angeles.
Smith was 34 when she moved to Santa Barbara, a city she was attracted to for its “beauty and clean air,” she said. The biggest draw to move for her was finding a home near the More Mesa Open Space, which quickly became the artist’s favorite place for daily walks and exploration.
This coastal locale is the primary subject of Smith’s new installation at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang.
“I naturally gravitate towards spaces with possibilities. The Michele Kuelbs Tower Gallery at the Wildling Museum offers that with its circular format with no real boundaries and natural light pouring through large windows, which is a real joy,” Smith said of the exhibition, which includes banners and circular artworks that are hung from floor to ceiling.
Smith’s installation, titled Portals and Pathways, encompasses a diverse array of media that the artist created to “evoke unexpressed emotions” she feels toward the More Mesa Open Space. The entrancing program showcases a collection of abstract paintings, photographs, poetry, and other works of art.
Guests who walk through the installation are bound to hear ambient recordings of crashing waves, animal life, and other sounds Smith has captured at More Mesa. The artist described the exhibit as an “interpretation of what I perceive and experience, not necessarily an accurate depiction of a visual reality.”
“As an artist, I give myself permission to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite,” said Smith, who plans to gradually add new elements to the ongoing, multi-month installation—which premiered in April and is scheduled to remain on display through February 2023—as the seasons change.
Smith said she is already working on an additional series of photographs to attach onto the gallery floor, for museum guests to walk on.
“I like to use the entire space and not just limit myself to walls or hanging banners and mobiles,” Smith said. “I like to think that the gallery visitors will have a fully immersive experience.”
The public is invited to learn more about the installation from Smith herself at an upcoming Artist Talk at the Wildling Museum on Sunday, May 22.
Smith said she is excited to receive feedback from visitors over the coming weeks, as she plans to incorporate viewers’ reactions and responses into her future alterations of the installation.
“Over the course of the residency, it will truly become an interactive and collaborative creation,” Smith said. “The variety of perceptions will be like a multi-faceted gem of joyous interpretations.”
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