The Color of Night by Aaron Smith. Oil paintings and intaglio prints exploring the night time landscapes of forgotten spaces.  This includes paintings from his Abandoned Dreams series and Athens Alleys series, as well as a few small paintings from Penland School of Craft, where his obsession with night landscapes began.

In his Abandoned Dreams series, Smith explores the abandoned homes in small town Appalachia, Nelsonville, Ohio. This part of Appalachia, with low income and high unemployment, is no stranger to abandoned properties. In Nelsonville, the abandoned home issue is an ongoing problem of a poor urban community, only compounded by the recent economic downturn.

Smith says, “I would like my art to be cathartic, as an expression of something a bit more genuine than the status quo. These are the houses of my neighborhood. I do not live in fear of these spaces- I exist among them. And though I do not celebrate them, they are a part of my local identity. These are ruins, yet they feel like home.”

In his Athens Alleys series, he explores the night- spaces illuminated by artificial light and faraway celestial bodies. He choose to deal with forgotten or ignored spaces. The alleys of Athens contain a more direct view of the soul of the city. The facade is just that- a front. In the day our eyes gather clear reflections of light off of every surface. At night our memories, fears, and imaginations fill in the gaps. He represents his subject as directly as he can, hoping that the viewers of his work will bring their ideas to project on and inform the pieces.

Aaron Smith, born October 18, 1969 in Cincinnati, Ohio, currently resides in the small Appalachian city Nelsonville, Ohio with his wife Ann Judy (also an artist). Aaron is an artist who specializes in oil painting. He also has experience in large scale murals, sculpture, installation pieces, and photography. He is the co-founder of Majestic Galleries, a contemporary art space. He received his Masters in Painting from Ohio University. Known for his oil paintings of mobile homes, he has recently been exploring the night landscapes of Athens city’s beautiful alleys, and Nelsonville’s abandoned homes.

Color of Night is an oil painting exhibition featuring the work of Aaron Smith. The opening is Wednesday, September 18th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and the show will remain up through Winter 2020.