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Born in Farnham, England in 1970, Ian Rayer-Smith spent twenty years in the corporate world. With no formal training or prior experience, Rayer-Smith began painting as an escape. Fascinated by the medium and its possibilities, and after graduating with a degree in visual arts, he has since enjoyed a spectacular trajectory in the art world, attracting the attention of prominent collectors, winning several awards and being featured in various international art publications.
Artist’s statement
“In a world preoccupied with technology, there is something remarkable about painting. It connects us to the oldest and most basic forms of human self-expression.
I am influenced by the Abstract Expressionists – for their emotional rawness and mark making, and also by the Renaissance – for composition, light and movement. I add influences from contemporary culture and my own personal experience and aim to instill a classical feel in my work while finding new visual avenues, hopefully resulting in an exploration of the purpose of painting itself.
My paintings ask a series of questions rather than provide open-ended statements or narrative pointers to a clear type of answer. There would be no joy or satisfaction in doing that. Instead, the process is more about showing my search for something that, perhaps, I hope never to find.”
” I’m not interested in painting something that already exists. My urge is to use paint to explore new forms that will ultimately have emotional weight. I try not to recreate an image. Instead, I can use it as a reference point to move from one painting to the next.”
Ian Rayer Smith’s paintings have both a visceral and emotional quality. He is currently represented by galleries in London, Melbourne, Paris and Florida.
Ian Rayer-Smith’s work is, without question, in the realm of abstraction. The vigorous style is in keeping with the current canons of British painting. Color is a solid pillar: the choice of tones and their relationship first strike the viewer’s eye.
