Edition of 50 double sided cards, each uniqueIn conjunction with his solo exhibition at MASS MoCA, artist Michael E. Smith(b. 1977, Detroit) has produced an edition of 100 unique works for themuseum's Research and Development Store, all produced during thepreparation for his show at the museum. Smith conceives the works as“laminated cards.” Sealed in plastic and already "framed," the artworkresembles vernacular forms that invite touch — a placemat, a menu, a flashcard. Despite their appearance, however, the cards seem to possess no clearfront or back, no position within the sequence, no ‘correct’ way to be used.Each laminate is a mixture of collage and décollage, offering a rare view ofSmith's treatment of gesture, symbol, concealment, and content. Usinglaminator as a print matrix, he draws each impression from an open-endedprocess. Smith works each laminate as he works his sculptural objects —building the surface up and paring it back, layering bold color, symbols,borrowed iconography, found and original images.These cards ask to be held and handled, their plastic coating implyingdurability and permanence. Yet all the while, their contents betray the traceof a restless hand, compositions ranging from extreme clarity and intensityto vacancy, repetition, and low resolution. In these editions, Smith offers apiece of the show itself, completing its gesture of the concealed canvas orunopenable present.
