Renay Smith is an artist who investigates the relationship between everyday objects and scenes and their ability to evoke emotions and create a nostalgic and sometimes humorous reflection on time and place. Her early career as a Graphic Artist evolved into painting and printmaking, and in recent years her creative practice has encompassed imagery that contemplates the commonplace and incongruous, unloved fauna and collective memories from the recent past. She works with synthetic polymers on canvas and in graphite and charcoal on paper, and also focuses on linocut relief printmaking with strong graphic elements of landscape and distinctive objects.
Through the use of repetition, pattern and colour—reminiscent of mid-century interiors and cultural trends—Smith explores the evolution of a thoughtless and indulgent consumer society. With a deep sense of affection for a time before global wholesale cultural clichés, her works reinterpret commemoration and adoration. She examines contemporary social and cultural issues, with environmental consciousness featuring prominently in her work. Renay’s work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions across NSW, and her paintings and prints, both exhibited works and commissioned pieces, are held by local and interstate collectors. Her influences include Fauvism, Japanese printmaking and Pop Art
