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The work of Steve Smythe is flavoured by his background as a graphic designer. Smythe’s prints which make deft use of mixed media techniques, collage styles, and material innovation are distinguished by their bold use of colour and compositional practices, crossing the line from graphics to art in the style of early Warhol or Paolozzi. ‘The Second First Impression’ employs bricolage technique to exceptional success. An array of magazine cut outs, carefully torn and rearranged, are layered over the black and white face of a woman, and fused together with lashings of spray paint and graphite for a raw, visceral feel. Image, colour and typography coalesce in a triumph of compositional strategy, resulting in a truly beautiful work of contemporary art.
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