Bill Smith
Free Trajectory Space Hotel (fig. 24), 2014
carbon fiber and biodegradable 3-D printed plastic
120 x 42 x 42 ins.
304.8 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm
P·P·O·W is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Bill Smith. Smith, who has a degree in both sculpture and micro-biology, uses his knowledge of science not only as a basis for inspiration but as his media as well. While artists since the Renaissance have used scientific ideas to create masterpieces, Smith uses actual techniques of the scientific and natural world to create sculptural assemblages that draw on the intricate systems and inherent beauty found in nature. Taking scientific laws and principles as a guiding form, Smith has created a highly aesthetic visual language that he uses to create complex, often mechanized, sculptural works that bridge the gap between art and science.
P·P·O·W’s exhibition will feature a new body of work by Smith, including a series of small sculptures made out of spring steel, along with large-scale models made out of carbon fiber and biodegradable 3-D printed material. While appearing to be geometric, these elaborately crafted works, created using a complex molecular inspired building system that Smith recently patented, in fact contain no straight lines and have the potential to create an infinite variety of shapes and structures.
The development of this patent, and these works, exhibit Smith’s ongoing exploration of smart materials – responsive materials that are able to reconfigure their physical properties based on contact with outside influences – and are thus ever changing. The assemblages that will be on view represent a selection of modules that he has proposed in his most recent patent, and are all meant to have the capacity to change shape and mimic living organisms.