Lenard Smith

Lenard Smith (b. 1975), is a first generation Ghanaian-American interdisciplinary artist living and working in Los Angeles, California. Smith’s Advanced Photographic Studies MFA from Bard College grounds his work in traditional practices and methodologies. Fieldwork and an immersive studio practice are at the core of Lenard Smith’s art making process. Field recordings inform and accompany his investigative approach to documenting the changes within a landscape and exploring sonic observations.

While in the tradition of the ragpicker, the act of sifting through personal and found objects, Smith is often re-examining their purposes; creating new hierarchies within interdisciplinary compositions. Inside the studio, Lenard Smith wanders inside himself and his shared identities. These are depicted in paintings and sculptures from a multitude of perspectives. Tableaux scenes emerge within landscapes and interior photographs—pointing the viewer to an interest in performance while questioning the staged vs. un-staged. Recently, Lenard Smith has been working with a vintage reel film camera to create short films that offer glimpses into his relationship with cinematic studies.