Josh Smith: painting in plain sight

Smith, having disposed of deliberately complex subject matter that would otherwise distract, allows a viewer to focus on his manner of painting - his style. In the publication accompanying Hidden Darts Reader, Smith’s show at Museum Moderna Kunst in Vienna, Smith says of artist Bruce Naumann: “He keeps it very simple, yet somehow manages to bring up a lot of big ideas […]. I think that’s one of the best things art can do for us.” In my view, Smith himself achieves this having focused on the fundamentals of painting as an idea and an activity. In the writing that follows I consider three individual name paintings and later the relationship between individual paintings and Smith’s over-arching serial project, aiming to locate the artist in the work.