Interview
Mel Smothers
Mel Smothers has a hard-to-find studio along the shore of South Lake Tahoe, California, USA.
He is an American contemporary artist born in the West coast of the USA in 1947. Smothers evolved as an artist in Pop Art America during the ’60s and ’70s, working alongside his contemporaries, Andy Warhol and Wayne Thiebaud. Thiebaud would later become Smothers’ university professor and a forefront figure of the American Pop Art.
Smothers is well established in the USA, having held numerous exhibitions, has featured in museums and gallery collections, and participated in art fairs and art projects. He has been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as Brussels, Monaco, Singapore and Berlin. He has had solo, group and public art commissions in NYC, Miami, Chicago and San Francisco. In 2006, he was selected for NYC Cooper-Union’s “Emerging Artists of the Year” exhibition.
Could you tell us about your background and how you started your journey in the art world?
“I graduated with an MFA from the University of Idaho, USA. I always enjoyed the feeling I had when looking at art. After going down many paths, I finally settled on what I enjoyed the most.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“My content comes to me through clues that I get from the natural world. My work is about creating awareness of climate change.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“The return to the hand building process with natural materials, away from assistant-created, pompous objects without deep meaning.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“My work is improvised. Before the work can begin, though, there is a long planning period.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“I use a conglomeration of unrelated materials to create one object. I order boxes, coat racks, vinyl signs and house paint online. Then I modify these items into a sculpture base. I go to the sites of natural disasters created by climate change and gather objects of the destruction to form my work. My visual ideas are based on art history.”
What does your art mean to you?
“It means a feeling of joy from the personal accomplishment of creating an object that no one has seen before.”
What’s your favourite artwork and why?
“Matisse's Piano Lesson and Red Room. Those works gave me the OK to take the reality I see and using my visual ideas, create something that's never been seen before.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I'm happy any time my work can be seen, and that becomes noteworthy to me.
One exhibition that stands out was in 2006. After taking a personal and financial leap of faith for my art and moving my studio to New York City, I was selected for NYC Cooper-Union’s “Emerging Artists of the Year” exhibition.”
