ARTIST | FEATURE
ARTHUR OWEN-SMITH
Arthur Owen-Smith (AMOS) is one-half of the father-son artist duo who founded Sixteen Gallery and the online collective. A graphic designer, illustrator, and print-maker, his art practice extends a painterly approach to mixed-media works, with pieces that experiment with different effects of layering as he explores composition, colour, and texture.
In his latest body of work - and the focus of his solo exhibition at the gallery in October - he draws on the Tarot's Major Arcana, reflecting its symbolism through his own personal experiences using modern imagery and design techniques.
Influenced by Dada, Bauhaus and Punk, a strong hand-made, cut-up, collaged, abstract retro-aesthetic can be felt throughout the body of work, building on his signature layered style into bold, unique pieces. With rich colours playing off pattern, and recognisable everyday objects obscured and revealed by textured passages, each piece encourages the viewer to peel back layers of interplaying meaning and discover new pathways through. Using the cards' names as titles brings a simplicity to the ordered chaos, allowing an entry to a viewpoint or meaning, should you want one.
Beautifully composed, each piece is a powerful, self-contained study in texture, and when brought together, the work opens up into a cohesive pack of explorable gems.
To see these pieces in real life, don't miss his exhibition at Sixteen Gallery. Find out more here.
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