Currently based near Nashville, TN, Justin Smith has been working with metal since 2007. He is influenced heavily by geology, science fiction, and cosmic events. His fascination with the origins of materials, and the seemingly infinite possibilities with which they can be shaped by both human and natural forces, is an ongoing source of inspiration for his work.
Awaiting Orbit II – Justin Smith
2020 | 12 x 8 x 18.25 inches | Forged and fabricated steel
For as long as I have been working with metal, I have been fascinated by the material’s cosmic origins. Starting with its billion-year-old conception in the core of a long-dead star, to the first time it was pulled up out of the earths’ crust, the trek these materials take has pushed me to question my own cosmological origins and relevance. As I contemplate over the innumerable specks of metal coursing through my body, I cannot help but be reminded of the infinitesimally small part I play in their journey across the universe. Pulling from themes of geologic motion, nature, and astronomy, my work is inspired by the odyssey of metal and its relation to the existential nature of human existence. It seeks to embody the materials beginnings in the foundation of the universe, its role as a building block of civilization, and whatever imaginative role it might serve in the future, before again being reclaimed by the cosmos.
Justin Smith
