2023 Art Exhibition - Matters of The Heart
This collection delves into the intricate tapestry of relationships, capturing the raw beauty of love, the ache of loss, and the profound transitions that shape our emotional landscapes. Through each piece, we navigate the depths of connection—from the euphoria of love’s embrace to the quiet devastation of a breakup, and the inevitable shadow of death.
These works serve as a reflection of the human experience, inviting viewers to witness, remember, and resonate with the emotions that bind us all.
This Is Where You Said Goodbye
Mixed media on wood panel
This work traces the journey of love through the moment it is interrupted by loss. At the top, a cascade of red and pink hearts expresses affection in full bloom—vibrant, alive, overflowing. As the eye moves downward, the palette shifts; those once-bright hearts begin to fade into muted greys, capturing the stillness and silence that follow death. Along the left edge, a heartbeat motif gradually flatlines, marking the moment love changes form rather than disappears. Yet even in this quiet, solemn space, hope remains: at the very bottom of the flatline, a single heartbeat returns, hinting that love continues—changed, but still present.
It Will Be All Clear in the Morning
Mixed media on wood panel
This piece moves through the quiet intensity of the “dark night of the soul,” expressed in deep green and black—those heavy, uncertain hours when dawn feels impossibly far away. Yet, emerging through the darkness, hints of white, blue, yellow-green, and red begin to surface. These colours gently signal the first light breaking through, the promise that clarity is coming. The work holds the tension between struggle and renewal, ultimately offering a quiet but steady assurance: hope is already forming in the dawn of a new day.
Dark Moon Rising
Photograph by Stuart Smith | Poem by Christine Eltherington
Dark Moon Rising brings to life the tension, ache, and unbreakable bond at the heart of the Prodigal Son narrative. The work explores a relationship shaped by independence and rebellion, yet held together by a love that refuses to release its grasp. The imagery and poem together echo the son’s longing to return home, burdened by regret and distance, while the father remains steadfast, compassionate, and reaching outward—his embrace the light that rises through the dark.
Along the pier, the lights shine brightly at first and then gradually dim as they fade into the distance. This gentle loss of illumination mirrors the son’s journey as he walks further into self-determination, drifting from the warmth and wisdom of home and slowly losing sight of what truly matters. Yet the darkness never fully claims the scene; like the father’s unwavering love, a quiet glow endures, waiting patiently to guide him home.
Introducing Stuart Smith
This a pencil drawing of Whitby. This is a stand alone work from Stuart.
To see more of Stuarts work, click on the link below.
Stuart Smith Instagram www.instagram.com/55_photography/
Matters of the Heart Exhibition
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