ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
ISSUE ONE
FALL 2018
A COLLECTION OF IMAGES, PROJECTS, AND THOUGHTS FROM THE STUDIO OF PHILLIP K. SMITH, III
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PKS3 STUDIO. LIGHTWORKS
Project made possible by Detroit’s Library Street Collective in partnership with Bedrock, Quicken Loans Community Fund and Wayne County.
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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Detroit Skybridge A Floating Bar of Light Connects Two Iconic Buildings. Over the past few years, the City of Detroit has experienced a cultural and economic renaissance leading toward the gradual reinvention of historic spaces. One such space was an elevated pedestrian bridge, constructed by architect Gino Rossetti in 1976, linking two of the city’s most iconic buildings: One Woodward and the Guardian Building. Smith was commissioned to transform the 100-foot long, 16th floor pathway in the air that was sitting dormant for years, into Skybridge, a floating bar of shifting light hovering over the streets of downtown. Smith seized the opportunity to transform the engineered, modular, extruded logic of the existing Skybridge into a sublime site-specific canvas. He was inspired by architect Minuro Yamasaki’s modular white concrete in the 1962 One Woodard skyscraper and the mosaic of hues within the 1929 Guardian Building. With this in mind, he choreographed a unique color program of moving gradients and planes of light that would steadily change with the passing of time, giving residents and visitors to the city a pulsing beam of dynamism to pierce the dark night, merging art with architecture at the scale of the city. For Smith, the project allowed him to further an internal impetus toward work that lies outside the traditional realm of museums or galleries, presented within the public realm for all to freely experience. It also developed, on a grander scale, his passion for collaborating with an existing piece of architecture, which was first considered in his high profile, mirrored and LED-lit homesteader’s shack Lucid Stead. He continues to seek challenges in the form of sites and parameters found outside the studio and in the world at large. To date, he has collaborated with the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Southern California desert, the urban history of Renaissance Milan, and now Downtown Detroit.
“ I am interested in creating experiences that tap into ‘universal beauty,’ experiences that unite all of us through our shared commonalities as human beings. —Phillip K. Smith III
TITTLE
LOCATION
MATERIAL
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YEAR
Detroit Skybridge Downtown Detroit
OPENING DATE
2018
August 25th, 2018
Existing architectural structure, LED lights, electronic components, unique color program. 100’ x 12’ x 11’ / 30.5 x 3.65 x 3.35 m.
PKS3 STUDIO. LIGHTWORKS
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Flat Torus The Flat Torus series continues Smith’s investigation into the interrelationship between light, form, and surface, a theme explored throughout his Lightworks. Conceived at the same time as his Portals series, Flat Torus experiments with the compression of space in the perception of light. While both works are six feet in diameter, the Portals are two feet deep and Flat Torus just four inches. While the reflected light of the Portals is pushed across large curved opaque white fiberglass surfaces, the projected light of Flat Torus moves through a more contained flat ring of translucent acrylic. Flat Torus 1 through 3 are all now part of private collections. However, Smith is currently in the process of creating his 2019 release of Flat Torus 4 through 6, similarly scaled as the first three works, available in the Spring. TITTLE
MATERIAL
Flat Torus 1
YEAR
Acrylic, plywood, LED lighting, electronic components, unique color program. 72” diameter x 3.75” / 183 diameter x 9.5 cm.
2018
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
Lozenge 7 Currently in progress and commissioned as part of a new development in Washington D.C., Lozenge 7 will reside in a modern all white lobby on one of two black marble walls, sharing the site with two tapestry works by Pae White. It is the first time Smith will combine a series of forms into a singular Lightworks piece, allowing for multiple variations of a unique color program that will vacillate between an emphasis on individual pieces to the group as a whole. This will create a visual experience of varied expansions and contractions of space, facilitated by Smith’s strategic orchestration of color and light. For example, at one point the central lines of all pieces may glow orange while the bodies transmute between blues and greens, while at other times, the group may be bathed overall in concordant hues. The work is slated for installation in Spring 2019 and will be on view in the studio until that time. TITTLE
Lozenge 7
YEAR
2018
MATERIAL
Acrylic, plywood, LED lighting, electronic components, unique color program. 7’ x 12’ x 9.5” / 213 x 366 x 24 cm.
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PKS3 STUDIO. LIGHT + SHADOW WORKS
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Light + Shadow One of Smith’s daily rituals is watching the early morning and late afternoon sun as it travels across the Little San Bernardino Mountains, transforming the hills from monochromatic silhouettes into highly textural, three-dimensional surfaces of light and shadow. This daily influence has had a major impact on Smith’s work. To honor the simplicity and purity of light, while also memorializing the way it dances across faceted and curved surfaces to produce variants of shadow, the Light + Shadow Works dematerialize to forms perceived as being comprised solely of light and shadow. Currently on view in the studio, these pieces provide significant insight into the artist’s foundational philosophies, practice, and interests.
TITTLE
Crease (top)
YEAR
2015
MATERIAL
Painted fiberglass. 60” x 120” x 19” / 153 x 305 x 48 cm.
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Arced Line: Single Push (Vertical)
MATERIAL
Painted fiberglass, 78” x 24” x 11.5” / 198 x 61 x 29 cm.
YEAR
2014
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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Faceted Discs The Faceted Disc series was conceived as a body of one hundred unique works, released in groups of ten within Smith’s overall Light and Shadow oeuvre. The discs, each of them of 30” diameter and fabricated out of fiberglass in a sublime low-sheen white, present light in its simplest state. During the conception of the Faceted Discs project, Smith found himself wanting to break out of the self-imposed parameters delineated for the one hundred individual works. He created variants, which continue to push the principles of the discs, yet are comprised of various colors and finishes. There are three Faceted Disc Variants now on view at the studio. Smith imagines a future exhibition in which all one-hundred discs would reconvene in a shared space or institution. The group has become a metaphor to Smith: he views Faceted Discs as a tight knit family, much in the same way he envisions the collectors who have chosen to acquire and foster this series of work. The 3rd release of 30” diameter Faceted Discs 21 through 30, as well as four 48” diameter Variants are available for viewing at PKS3 Studio. TITTLE
MATERIAL
Faceted Discs
YEAR
Painted fiberglass. 30” diameter x varies 8” - 16” / 76 cm. diameter x varies 20-40 cm.
2018
PKS3 STUDIO. MIRROR WORKS
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Open Sky Pulling Milan’s Sky Down to the Ground. Earlier this year, Phillip K. Smith III was given a carte blanche commission by the progressive fashion brand COS when they asked him to create an on-site installation in the courtyard of the Palazzo Isimbardi during the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy. The much-anticipated annual event is a week-long showcase featuring the most innovative companies working at the cross section of art, architecture, and design.
The 16th century palace, now home to the headquarters of the Province of Milan, presented a unique challenge and opportunity for Smith. For this dream project, he wanted to pay respect to the magnificent architecture’s historic façade while also creating a contemporary work that would integrate seamlessly within its context, a complicated juxtaposition marrying the old with the new. He found his answer in the sky, an element that has long inspired Smith with both its universal presence and its glorious potential as a multifaceted and ever-shifting medium in his art. Using the square of sky framed overhead by the open air courtyard, Smith wanted to pull the sky to the ground and make it physically present. The result was Open Sky, a large-scale, atmospheric installation of faceted mirrors that transformed the overhead square of sky into a grounded, physical ring of reflected sky, shifting and morphing throughout the day in accordance with the sky’s tones and temperament. Upon entry, viewers were faced with the raw, organic, tactile surface of an abstract arc of concrete. As they walked around it and into the courtyard colonnade, the immaculate, shiny interior mirrors revealed themselves, collaging shards of the Palazzo’s distinctive architectural elements with planes of blue sky. Once inside the center of the installation, the angle of reflection would shift again and the architecture would slowly pull away like a curtain, opening up the sky. At the center, one became fully encircled by the sublime, slowly paced physicality of the sky’s changing color gradient and the shifting clouds; a breathtakingly immersive experience. Nature is a highly unpredictable being. Smith’s collaboration with the sky and its constant state of flux produced an organic alchemy that caused each viewer to become immersed in a non-replicable experience. Open Sky became a magical work viewed by over 25,000 people that would never be seen the same way twice.
“ The architecture wraps
across the faceted surface and then, by approaching the installation, the palazzo pulls away like a curtain, revealing nothing but the open sky. —Phillip K. Smith III
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TITTLE
Open Sky
LOCATION
Palazzo Isimbardi, Milan, Italy
MATERIAL
Mirror polished stainless steel, aluminum, plywood, concrete composite panels 44’-2” diameter x 11’-2” / 13.47 m. diameter x 3.42 m.
YEAR
EXHIBITION DATES
2018
April 17–22, 2018
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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PKS3 STUDIO. MIRROR WORKS
Reflectors A Green Kaleidoscope as Urban Sanctuary. After experiencing Smith’s large-scale Open Sky installation in the courtyard of the Palazzo Isimbardi, visitors to this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan continued through the grand 16th century palace and out into the private, secluded garden. In this respite from urbanity, they encountered five of Smith’s freestanding sculptures, strategically placed across the verdant greens. the works mirrored the foliage, surrounding architecture and sky across their horizontal and vertical corrugated and reflective skins, recollaging the surrounding environment. The work created opportunities to view the garden in altogether new ways as each piece reconfigured its existing surroundings into an entirely fresh vignette. As the sculpture surfaces served to compress space and directionality, the time of day acted as co-creator of the viewer’s experience in its deliverance of various colors and atmosphere to the reflected planes. As the light of the sky, the tones of the landscape, and the actions of the viewer continuously shifted, the Reflectors stood testament to the perpetual existence of change in our daily lives. Designed as a complementary series to Open Sky, the Reflectors accentuated and extended the installation’s overall experience by offering smaller, more intimate interactions with environmental reflection and spatial perspective.
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LOCATION
MATERIAL
YEAR
Reflectors Palazzo Isimbardi, Milan, Italy
EXHIBITION DATES
Mirror polished stainless steel, painted steel. Five volumes with the following varied dimensions: 20” x 72” x 81” / 51 x 183 x 206 cm. 20” x 48” x 108.5” / 51 x 122 x 276 cm. 21” x 30” x 137.5” / 53 x 76 x 349 cm.
2018
April 17–22, 2018
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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PKS3 STUDIO. MIRROR WORKS
Line of Land and Sky Last year during Desert X, a public art event for which artists worked in direct dialogue with the sprawling Coachella Valley desert, Smith created The Circle of Land and Sky. Formed by 300 geometric reflectors angled at 10 degrees, the artwork compelled viewers to walk within its curved space and experience a reflective collage comprised of snippets of the stark landscape, shards of searing sun, slivers of blue sky and cross sections of themselves—an experience of full immersion into the environment. Line of Land and Sky, commissioned as a site-specific work for a private residence in Palm Springs, California distills the concept and scope of The Circle of Land and Sky down to its most elegant, pure form—a singular, freestanding, reflective vertical line that separates and inverts the earth and the sky. TITTLE
Line of Land and Sky
MATERIAL
Painted steel, mirror polished stainless steel. 7” x 51 x 240” / 18 x 130 x 610 cm.
YEAR
2018
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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Reflector 1 Also commissioned for a private residence in Palm Springs, California designed by Steven Ehrlich (EYRC Architects), Reflector 1 was an exercise in allowing reflection to integrate the interior and exterior environments of a home, expressing a quintessential desert lifestyle. Located within an entry area that provides glimpses into both indoor and outdoor spaces, the work’s mirrored and corrugated surfaces juxtapose views of the breathtaking Indian Canyon with atmospheric elements of the home in a plethora of ever-changing vertical visuals depending on the light and time of day. TITTLE
MATERIAL
Reflector 1 Mirror polished stainless steel, aluminum. 8’ x 8’ x 10” / 244 x 244 x 25.4 cm.
YEAR
2018
PKS3 STUDIO. CALENDAR & AGENDA
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What. When. Where. “Unsettled” Exhibition
“Portals” Exhibition
During “Desert X”
Palm Springs Art Museum
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
PKS3 Studio
OCT 27. 2018 APR 30. 2019
JAN 19 – APR 7 2019
FEB 9 – APR 21 2019
Group exhibition offering a sweeping presentation of contemporary art by more than 75 artists living or working in the Greater West.
Three of the Portals will be presented in two different environments within the SVMA’s downtown exhibition space.
Over the course of the second edition of Desert X, new PKS3 work will be on view in the studio as well as the artwork of several emerging artists from the Coachella Valley and High Desert/Joshua Tree areas. Please email Arlene Amick at arlene@pks3.com to schedule a studio visit. Stay tuned for more information being released in early 2019.
“Regular/Irregular” Exhibition
Prints Exhibition
Claremont Graduate University Art Gallery
National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C.
OCT 29 – NOV 16 Opening reception OCT 30, 2018
MAR 15 - SEP 15 2019
Two galleries will display four works merging reflection and shifting color across regular and irregular surfaces.
This exhibition will present a new series of prints and photographs recently created by Smith with his long-time collaborators at the studio, Burzeen Contractor and Lance Gerber, inspired by the environment, light, time, and change.
PKS3 Lecture
PKS3 Lecture
Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM)
Palm Springs Art Museum Annenberg Theater
“10 Columns” Installation Los Angeles, CA
OCT 4. 2018 / 5:00PM
NOV 8. 2018 / 6:00PM
JAN 26 – APR 27 2019
PKS3 has been invited to present his work at the iconic architecture and design firm’s Los Angeles office.
In conjunction with the Unsettled exhibition, Smith will lecture about his studio practice. Visit psmuseum.org or call (760) 322-4800 for more information regarding tickets.
PKS3 will exhibit a site specific immersive, light-based installation as the inaugural show for a new exhibition space opening in Los Angeles that will be announced in early 2019.
ISSUE ONE. FALL 2018
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LONG TERM UPCOMING PUBLIC PROJECTS
WHAT IS ISSUE ONE?
West Hollywood, CA – Parallel/Perpendicular The multidisciplinary design firm Rios Clemente Hale is currently reinventing West Hollywood Park. Smith will contribute to this project with Parallel/Perpendicular, a permanent light-based artwork for a more private portion of the park adjacent to North Robertson Blvd. Commissioned in late 2015, it will be installed in late 2020/early 2021.
ISSUE ONE is Smith’s way of reaching out directly to his closest friends, collectors, curators, museum directors, and others in order to provide an open and direct connection to his work and studio practice. This interest grows out of Smith’s desire to actively contribute to the wave of new business models for the creation, sharing, and support of artwork and other creative practices.
Bellevue, WA – Wilburton Station As part of the Sound Transit extension from downtown Bellevue to the Microsoft headquarters, an additional ten stations will be built. Each station will feature its own iconic artwork and Smith’s work will be part of the Wilburton Station. The piece, consisting of a 42-foot-high reflection and light-based extrusion of glass and color sited in the entry plaza, will reflect the surrounding area during the day, and by night, inject floating color into the sky. The project is scheduled for install in 2022/2023. Scottsdale, AZ – Raintree + Hayden A 50-foot-high, all white Light + Shadow work will head to North Scottsdale in late 2020. Transforming from a circle at the base, upward to a hexagon, then to a triangle, the steel structure contains 60 degree slices, which will allow for the colors of the Arizona sky to mix with its naturally shifting light.
ISSUE ONE is a limited edition printing of 500.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS Lucid Stead Element #7 was acquired by the Denver Art Museum as part of their permanent collection. Smith recently spoke at DAM as part of the Logan Lecture Series.
ABOUT PHILLIP K SMITH III (AMERICAN, 1972 - )
Torus 9 was acquired by the Newark Museum as part of their permanent collection. It is currently on view in their Chromatic Gallery sharing walls with Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, Donald Judd, Jules Olitski, Wojciech Fangor, David Einstein, and Larry Poons.
SELECTED PRESS Wallpaper, Artnet, C Magazine, Architectural Digest, The Guardian, L’Officiel, BlouinArtInfo, DesignBoom, Forbes, CNN Style, Elle Decor Italy, Yatzer
From his Palm Desert, CA studio, Phillip K. Smith III creates lightbased work that draws upon ideas of space, form, color, light + shadow, environment, and change. He continually distills his concepts to create intensely physical, seemingly ephemeral, and highly meditative works that affect perception, breath, and pace of experience. Incorporating a sense of change through shifting color or the movement of the sun, Smith challenges us to slow down and align ourselves with his work so that we can better see and hear the beauty that is in front of us.
SPECIAL THANKS Special thanks to: Lisa Smith, Burzeen Contractor, Perry Scanlon, Arlene Amick, Tim Shockley, Mark Oteri, Kyle Elder, LJ Cella, David Lafaille, David Einstein, Karen Amiel, Carlos Madrid III, Library Street Collective, Jennifer + Dan Gilbert, Steven Ehrlich + EYRC, ADM Works, Urban Art Projects, StudioKhom, Camron, Karin Gustafsson and the entire team at COS. ISSUE ONE is dedicated to the memory of the fierce, passionate spirit of Dr. Loren Lipson.
Image: Smith’s limited edition, commissioned cover for Wallpaper Magazine’s May 2018 issue
Artists PKS3 is collecting and following on Instagram: @blakebaxter_studio @harrisonfraley @jedochmanek @jcrossstudio @lance.gerber @rachelle.mendez @sofiaenriquez @rmc1
Credits: Photography: Lance Gerber Photography @lance.gerber Graphic Design: Mariana Pariani @girlpilot Text: Kimberly Nichols @kimberlycooperstudio PKS3 Portrait (on this page): Antonia Jane Allan @antoniajane Prints Exhibition photo (left page): Max MacKenzie
PKS3 Studio. For all inquiries regarding commissions, sales, press or studio visits, please contact Arlene@pks3.com WWW.PKS3.COM
PHILLIPKSMITH3
#PKS3
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PKS3 STUDIO.
Image: Excerpt from PKS3 sketchbook. Drawn February 2nd, 2018 on flight back to Palm Springs from London.