Casey Jex Smith

 


Artist Statement
I use the structures of role-play-gaming and religious ritual to create allegorical drawings. Leveling up, isometric perspective, character creation, quest items, mythical beasts, and battles are used to mirror real life scenarios where the individual butts up against institutional power structures. I contrast the reward system in gaming that is finely tuned to provide pleasure to the reward system of global capitalism that can at times feel arbitrary and cruel. My drawings are power simulations where I rule over a white rectangle.

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Casey Jex Smith is an artist that works in drawing, collage, installation, and performance. He creates narratives that exist in the intersection between fantasy-gaming and religious ritual. He has exhibited at the Drawing Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, The Lab, Josée Bienvenu Gallery, Allegra LaViola Gallery, Caren Golden Gallery, Galerie Polaris, and Nudashank Gallery. His work has been written about in Art Review Magazine, Artinfo.com, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, Wired.com, Huffingtonpost.com, and Timeout Chicago. He received a BFA in Painting from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. He currently resides in Provo, Utah with his wife and fellow artist Amanda Smith and their two children.