Artist Statement

Beginning with basic geometric shapes we cut, mold and assemble until the forms both inhabit and confine areas of space. By using mass to both express volume and draw in empty air we explore the tension between strength and vulnerability. In our work plates of steel float inches from the wall or balance oddly in space, undeniably massive, but at the same time hauntingly light. Two dimensional sheets open into mysterious depths, and hang or rest, it would seem, on nothingness. The surfaces of the pieces are etched or oxidized to bring out texture and color, to contrast with edge and shadow, and to hint at the material’s origin in rock. Ultimately each piece strives to achieve a profound balance between architectural integrity and sensitivity of form, between a static invincibility and a gestural weightlessness, between the inevitable and the not quite possible.

Randal Smithey and Holly Rodes Smithey