Josh Smith (1976) - Untitled

Oil on canvas by Josh Smith, 45 x 60 cm, created in 2006, signed and dated by the artist on the back, with archive number JS06127.
Work data
Artist: Josh Smith (Knoxville, 1976)
Untitled (JS06127)
Year: 2006
Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 60 x 45 cm
Signature: signed and dated 'JOSH SMITH 2006' on the back.
Archive: registered with number JS06127
Description of the work
In this painting, the artist uses their own name as the main subject, broken down into black letters layered over the white background until almost reaching abstraction, in line with the series of works called 'name paintings' that have made them recognizable on the international scene. The energetic brushwork and the serial nature of the writing transform the canvas into a dense, vibrant visual field, where sign and image coincide and invite viewers to focus on the painting process rather than just the readability of the text.
Importance in the artist's production
The works of 2006 represent a crucial phase in the development of Josh Smith's language, where the repetition of his own name becomes a conceptual device to question notions of identity, signature, and the value of the painting. During these years, the artist exhibited in major European and American galleries and institutions, consolidating a research that extends to printmaking, artist books, and sculpture, but which finds one of its most influential cores in these canvas paintings.