ABOUT ME
artist
Bio,
Kayla Smith is a multidisciplinary artist, born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. She is a recent graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She graduated with a Bachelor's in General Fine Arts and Humanistic Studies and a minor in Art History and Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Additionally, she is pursuing a second degree in biology and forensic science at Tarrant County College, where she is currently a student. Smith’s studio work explores and reimagines otherworldly concepts, creating visceral and beautifully macabre mythologies combined with her diaristic incorporation of poetry. Kayla’s work explores dichotomy and subjectivity elevated by themes of death, cyclicity, mortality, and personal explorations of faith and punishment. Additionally, her academic studies examine the complexities of extremist human behavior and institutional corruption, focusing on themes of apocalypse, race, rage, and abuse of power.
In May 2024, Smith’s senior theses were displayed in MICA’s campus-wide senior exhibition, ArtWalk. Her work was exhibited in a student’s curated show, Breakout: G2G Again, at the Night Owl Gallery from January to February 2024. She had her first Solo exhibition titled BAPTISM in October 2023 at MICA.
In May 2024, Smith’s senior theses were displayed in MICA’s campus-wide senior exhibition, ArtWalk. Her work was exhibited in a student’s curated show, Breakout: G2G Again, at the Night Owl Gallery from January to February 2024. She had her first Solo exhibition titled BAPTISM in October 2023 at MICA.
Venus - IG: @venus_loves_vengeance
Website: https://www.venusstanton.com/
Photographers:
Mathilde Mujanayi - IG: @mujanayiismyname
Website: https://mmujanayi.myportfolio.com
Miracle Kendall - IG: @districtimage
David Daye - IG: @davidphotos_art
Ke Lianghong - IG: @farawayke
Makeup Artist:
Arielle Alexander - IG: @a.a.arte
artist
Statement,
I am a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller. My work embraces the essence of poetics and the beauty of materiality in my exploration of narrative and conceptual world-building. Through diaristic sketch booking and research practices, my art explores new mythologies embodying dichotomy, visceral beauty, and surrealistic macabre.
My practice examines concepts of life and death, the otherworldly, presence and absence, memorial and ritual, martyrdom, and penance. These ideas are explored through complex combinations of sculpture, painting, poetry, installation, material manipulation, and experimentation. The materiality expands my thinking into sculptural and poetic avenues.
Rather than seeking answers, my work transforms my questions into interconnected narratives through symbolism and repeated motifs. Through these interweavings, the presence of allegory further informs the themes that enrapture my work, how it presents itself, and the mysteries and stories that are told within it.
CV
Mathilde Mujanayi - IG: @mujanayiismyname
Website: https://mmujanayi.myportfolio.com
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