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Biography
| EDUCATION | ||
| 2004 - 2007 | Post-Graduate Diploma Fine Art | Royal Academy Schools, London |
| 2000 - 2003 | BA (Hons) Fine Art | Middlesex University, London |
| ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2023 | Retrospective: Fifteen Years (curated by Zavier Ellis) | GIANT GALLERY, Bournemouth |
| 2023 | Correspondences | Galerie Isabelle Gounod, Paris |
| 2022 | Autumn Song | Gramercy Park Studios, London |
| 2021 | Collaborators | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | Chronicles | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2018 | RUN TO ME (with Derek Ridgers | curated by Faye Dowling) | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt |
| 2017 | RUN TO ME (with Derek Ridgers | curated by Faye Dowling) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2014 | Colossal Youth (Part 2) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2014 | Colossal Youth (Part 1) | VOLTA, New York |
| 2011 | The Fearful Joy | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2009 | Vas Deferens | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2008 | The Cabinet | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2008 | Boundaries | Thomas Williams Fine Art, London |
| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2024 | Sometimes Always (collaborative paintings with Zavier Ellis) | Gramercy Park Studios, London |
| 2023 | Rose Garden | Terrace Gallery, London |
| 2022 | An eXhibition of SMALL things with BIG ideas (curated by Paul Carey-Kent) White | Conduit Projects, London |
| 2022 | DELTA GAMMA (curated by Zavier Ellis) | Saatchi Gallery, London |
| 2021 | Repetition | The Depot x CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2020 | Picture Palace | Transition Gallery, London |
| 2020 | Words that transform, vibrate and glow: 13 paintings inspired by the lyrics of Nick Cave (curated by Angela Koulakoglou) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | 10 Years | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2019 | Plan B | David Zwirner Gallery, New York |
| 2018 | Total Eclipse of The Heart - Paintings about Women (curated by Dan Coombs) | Watson Farley & Williams, London |
| 2018 | Making and Breaking the Rules: Royal Academy 250 | Russel-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth |
| 2018 | Pleasure Drive (curated by GSL Projekt and CAVE 3000) | GSL Projekt, Berlin |
| 2017 | In Memoriam Francesca Lowe | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2017 | Part I: Street Semiotics (curated by Zavier Ellis) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2016 | A Promise of Truth - the Contemporary Portrait | Galerie Robert Drees, Berlin |
| 2016 | Black Paintings | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt |
| 2016 | Semiotic Guerilla Warfare (Part 2) | Dean Clough Museum, Halifax |
| 2015 | Semiotic Guerilla Warfare (Part 1) | PAPER Gallery, Manchester |
| 2015 | Black Paintings | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2015 | Black Paintings : CHARLIE SMITH LONDON & Heike Strelow Gallery | Positions, Berlin |
| 2015 | REALITY: Modern and Contemporary British Painting | Walker Art Museum, Liverpool |
| 2015 | Die English Kommen! - New Painting from London (curated by Zavier Ellis) | Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt |
| 2014 | Idolatry | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2014 | Saatchi’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2014 | Cultus Deorum (curated by Zavier Ellis) | Saatchi Gallery, London |
| 2014 | REALITY: Modern and Contemporary British Painting (curated by Chris Stevens) | Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich |
| 2013 | Gallery Artists: Director’s Selection | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2013 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2013 | Porträts | Galerie Rigassi, Bern |
| 2012 | The Id, the Ego and the Superego (curated by Zavier Ellis) | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2012 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2012 | The Serpent’s Tail | Witzenhausen Gallery, Amsterdam |
| 2012 | Polemically Small (curated by Zavier Ellis & Edward Lucie-Smith) | Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham |
| 2012 | The Id, the Ego and the Superego (curated by Zavier Ellis & Marcela Munteanu) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2011 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis, Simon Rumley & Rebecca Wilson) | B1, Victoria House, London |
| 2011 | Charlie Sierra Lima | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2011 | Everyday (curated by Tony Benn) | University Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge |
| 2011 | Polemically Small (curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) | Klaipeda Culture Communication Centre, Klaipeda |
| 2011 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT presents: Polemically Small (curated by Zavier Ellis, Edward Lucie-Smith & Simon Rumley) | Torrance Art Museum, Los Angeles |
| 2011 | Polemically Small (curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) | Garboushian Gallery, Beverley Hills |
| 2010 | Pokerface | Koraalberg Contemporary Art Gallery, Antwerp |
| 2010 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Shoreditch Town Hall, London |
| 2010 | Polemically Small (curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) | CHARLIE SMITH LONDON, London |
| 2010 | Ray Lowry London Calling | Idea Generation, London |
| 2010 | New British Painting (curated by Zavier Ellis & Pilvi Kalhama) | Gallery Kalhama & Piippo, Helsinki |
| 2010 | Call to Arms | BRAUBACHfive, Frankfurt |
| 2009 | British Art Now (curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) | Werkstatt Galerie, Berlin |
| 2009 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2009 | New London School (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Galerie Schuster, Berlin |
| 2008 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Old Truman Brewery, London |
| 2008 | The Smallest Art Fair in the World | Anna Kustera Gallery, New York |
| 2008 | A Stain upon the Silence (curated by Chris Shilling, Chris Page & Gaboy Gaynor) | St. Martins College of Art, London |
| 2008 | Anticipation (curated by Kay Saatchi & Catriona Warren) | Selfridges, London |
| 2008 | UK Best Graduates | White Box Gallery, New York |
| 2008 | The Past is History Part II (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Changing Role Gallery, Napoli |
| 2008 | The Past is History Part I (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Changing Role Gallery, Rome |
| 2008 | Icon (curated by Hugh Mendes) | Primo Alonso Gallery, London |
| 2008 | New London School (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Mark Moore Gallery, Los Angeles |
| 2007 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT (curated by Zavier Ellis & Simon Rumley) | Atlantis Gallery, London |
| 2006 | RA 5 | Lennon Weinberg, New York |
| 2006 | Royal Academy Show | Wisniez Castle, Krakow |
| 2005 | 50 Selected artists | Hollow Salon, London |
| 2004 | 12 Award Winners Show | Florence Trust, London |
| AWARDS & RESIDENCIES | ||
| 2007 | Chelsea Arts Club Travel Award | |
| 2005 | Sturdley Award | |
| 2004 | British Institute Award | |
| 2003–2004 | Florence Trust Studio Award | |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | ||
| 2017 | RUN TO ME | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2017 | The Book of Black, Faye Dowling (ISBN 978-1786270429) | Laurence King Publishing |
| 2014 | REALITY: Modern and Contemporary British Painting, Chris Stevens (ISBN 978-1786270429) | Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts |
| 2013 | 100 London Artists Vol. 1, Zavier Ellis & Edward Lucie-Smith | iArtBook |
| 2013 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2012 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2011 | Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4’s New Sensations and THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2010 | New British Painting, Timo Valjakka | Artforum |
| 2009 | British Art Now, Travis Jeppesen | Artforum |
| 2009 | Sexuality in Art | Modern Edition.com |
| 2008 | THE FUTURE CAN WAIT | Exhibition Catalogue |
| 2008 (Jul) | Saatchi after Saatchi, Ginny Dougray | The Times Magazine |
| 2007 (Oct) | Oh You Pretty Things, Derwent May | The Times |
| 2007 (Aug) | Guide to the Fairs, Richard Clayton | Sunday Times |
| 2007 | 15 Young Masters, Freire Barnes | Bon International (No.12) |
| 2007 | Miser & Now (Issue 10), Q&A | Miser & Now |
| COLLECTIONS | ||
| Javier Baz, Denver | ||
| Carlos Fragoso, New York | ||
| Glen Luchford, New York | ||
| David Roberts, London | ||
| Sir Norman Rosenthal, London | ||
| Kay Saatchi, Los Angeles | ||
| Private collections in Belgium, Columbia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom & United States | ||
Tears Like These | Tom Morton
| Tears Like These |
| By Tom Morton |
| Silent, impassive and intensely watchful, the people who stare out of Sam Jackson’s compact, mutedly luminous paintings feel like they’re guarding a secret. It might be a transgressive thought they’ve had, or a shameful deed that they’ve committed, or maybe they’re survivors of some monstrous trauma, the bearers of invisible, throbbing scars. While they possess the striking beauty of youth, they have none of its blitheness or its candour. What is it that they’re hiding from us? Perhaps the answer – as the idiomatic English phrase has it – is written all over their faces. They are certainly beset by text, which Jackson scrawls, scratches and sprays across their features, in a manner that recalls at once stick-and-poke tattoos and graffiti on a school desk, the branding of criminals and a swarm of comments feeding on a juicy social media post. Given how reserved Jackson’s subjects seem to be (an impression that’s only exacerbated by the fact they often sport what look like 19th-century clothing and hairstyles), it’s a little shocking to see them treated with such apparent violence. And yet, it’s possible that these words have not been visited on these youths by some outside force, but are rather outward manifestations of their inner emotional states – feelings that have seeped up, unbidden, from the deepest reaches of their psyches, and have announced themselves on the soft, vulnerable surface of their skins. In You Can’t Wrap Your Arms Around a Memory (2019), the painting’s title appears on an elegant young woman’s forehead. We might recognize these words as a slightly garbled echo of the 1978 Johnny Thunders ballad You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (sample lyric: “it doesn’t pay to try”), which has been interpreted as a heroin addict’s lament. This is of a piece with the words on her chest, ‘THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR WRONGS’, a reference to the 2017 novel of that name by Janet Peery, which charts an American family’s struggles with substance abuse. Then there’s the repeated painted refrain ‘LAST NITE’, which is borrowed from the title of a 2001 track by The Strokes. Against a jaunty, garage rock jangle, it tells the tale of a young woman suffering from depression, whose callous lover responds that he ‘don’t care no more / I know this for sure / I’m walking out that door’. Looking at Jackson’s painting, we might delicately piece together a narrative of mental crisis, heartless abandonment, an attempt to find solace in the numbing undertow of narcotics, and the ineradicable pain of loss. Working with (pop) cultural fragments, and their hazy persistence in our memories, the artist gives us not just a portrait of sorts, but a glimpse of its subject’s possible backstory, the secrets she might guard behind her wary, soulful stare. No wonder she weeps, although the teardrops that fall from her eyes are not rivulets of liquid paint, but rather hemispherical dots of cold pearlescent plastic. Glued to the surface of the picture plane, they both point to the image’s artificiality, and lend it extra pathos. Who might believe in – or value – tears like these? Jackson’s portrait works often leave us to fill in an information gap. What is it about the young man in Made in Heaven (2022) that indicates he might have been formed in the celestial realm, and where is the young woman’s partner in Lovers From Hell (2014)? Our answers will depend upon our own experiences and prejudices, the unique contours of our desires and fears. While these are works that in several respects foreground surfaces, what they really demand is that we reach down deep into ourselves. This is also true of what we might term Jackson’s sex paintings. In these frank and often explicit images, the artist depicts anonymous people coming together in an array of erotic encounters, their bodies emerging from the sticky murk of his pigment like some primordial form of life. Is what they are seeking, here, mere physical release, or is it something more dangerous, and ultimately much more liberating: an effacing of the self? In The Club, a foot stretches across the composition from the left, driving its toes into a blindfolded (or perhaps eyeless) face, and squashing the nose and mouth it finds there into a blur of sickly-looking paint. It might be a painting of sex or death, an answer to the call of Eros or of Thanatos. Either way, what the participants in this scene are seeking is a form of oblivion. Knowing how preoccupied Jackson is with how humans serially push at the limits of experience, it perhaps comes as a surprise to learn that he also paints floral motifs. No bigger than a smartphone, The Flower (2009) is an atomic explosion of impasto pigment, in which precise botanical details are collapsed into an impression of vigorously blooming life. Contemplating this work – with its fleshy reds, its fatty yellows, its bone-whites emerging against a dark, forbidding background – I get to thinking not of plant matter, but of interior of the body. This, it seems to me, is a painting about turning ourselves inside out, and exposing all the dark, ugly, potentially shaming stuff that we’ve been hiding away for so long. This is an act of self-destruction – our protective outer shell cracks and falls away – yet it’s also one of self-creation. Every flower, after all, needs light to grow. This text was written to accompany the exhibition ‘Retrospective: Fifteen Years’. The event will take place at GIANT GALLERY, 2nd Floor, Bobby's Building, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth BH2 5LY from 8 July to 2 September 2023. For further information please contact direct@charliesmithlondon.com. Follow us @CHARLIESMITHIdn |