David Brian Smith

David Brian Smith (b. 1981 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom) focuses on the genre of landscape painting within his practice as a way of connecting to his family history. The artist’s choice of motifs and painting style are reminiscent of the Brotherhood of Ruralists (founded in1975 in Somerset, England), a group of painters who concentrated on the depiction of nature and rural places. In his practice, Smith not only uses various found objects such as book illustrations, postcards or photographs as a source of inspiration for his subject matter, he also draws increasingly on his own personal memories and history. Smith’s family were Christian missionaries to British India. He was brought up in a rural context, and his eventual move to London triggered a longing for his past and a need to reconstruct the notion of his former home, and address the issues of cultural as well as social belonging. Smith uses his practice to both re-imagine his lived past and to envision his position in the future.