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Roch Smith Art

Canadian
Canadian sculptor P. Roch Smith received a BFA (Honours Sculpture) from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (ECIAD - 1997) and an MFA from York University (2003). A teacher as well as an artist, he has taught classes at the University of Waterloo, ECIAD and York University. He currently manages and operates the bronze and aluminum foundry at York University. Roch Smith has exhibited throughout Canada and in the US. P. Roch Smith’s work is included in private, corporate and museum collections. P. Roch Smith’s work centres on the creativity of play, equilibrium and disequilibrium, and how memories are constructed and held in place - a geography of memory. Smith presents work in which the mass produced (plastic army figures – model kits - tools) are merged with the organic (tree branches, sisal twine and yarn). The figures are unified by bronze casting – fixing their hybridity in both a metaphoric and material manner. The relational nature of value is examined as the tiny scale of the bronze figures is the antithesis of monumentality usually associated with bronze as a sculptural material. While bronze casting normally speaks to permanence and the epic, the scale of these works creates a form of intimacy. Play has been theorized as a liminal space – occupying both the real and the imagined simultaneously. It is within this topography that Smith tries to point to certain aspects of the human condition. Does replacing the guns on toys with branches change the essential meaning of the situation? Is it absurd? Can a small figure evoke a sympathetic response or reaction? We manufacture toys with the intention of enabling children to play and the assumption is that this play is free, unencumbered and not contingent. Pulling back, however, it may be argued that the inherent structure of the toy itself echoes strictly adult concerns. Toys and play easily normalize certain ideas about one’s place in the greater scheme of things. Thankfully, children have also long subverted these rigid narrative structures. The altering of toys – drawing tattoos on a doll or shaving the “life-like” hair off of a GI Joe figure – is an aspirational act and speaks to claiming new narratives. As a maker, Smith maintains this drive to construct and model objects with a sense of playfulness. Ideally, the works are at turns humorous but also manage to evoke a pathos associated with labour, work and the monumentality of mundane tasks. The figures carry weight in both a literal and figurative manner beyond what should be their actual capacity. The scale of the works are important for their small-scale for they invite both a broad and intimate viewing. Viewing the work one enters a space of inspection – of being a giant in a land that is off-kilter – witness to a precarious balance.
(Biography provided by OENO Gallery)
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The Contour of Balance - tall, figurative, bronze, steel, outdoor sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
As a sculptor, Roch Smith often interprets the big questions in life in imaginative and playful ways. The Toronto artist is known for his use of toys –familiar childhood images that ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Steel, Bronze

House Hunter 1/3 - small, surrealist, figurative, bronze and wood sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Toronto artist Roch Smith often uses toy figures in clever and fun ways to convey cultural statements that go beyond child’s play. This tabletop figure is bending over, arms extended...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Pause 1/3 - small, surrealist, canoe, male, figurative, wood, bronze, sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The legendary canoeist and Canadian filmmaker Bill Mason once said, “First God made the canoe then he created a country to go with it.” Sculptor Roch Smith has embraced the iconic i...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Downhill (Knight Ave) - tall, narrative, figurative, male, bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This fun and somewhat whimsical sculpture recalls a cherished childhood memory for Roch Smith. The Toronto-based sculptor has hand-forged the bronze figure of a young boy on a bike balancing upright on its back wheel-popping a wheelie. He stands poised to ride off the top of a high, narrow steel track that ends in a loop reminiscent of the popular ‘Hot Wheels’ toy race car...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Dream Walker - surrealist, abstracted, figurative, male, bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The evocative image of tree branches lying on the ground caught the imagination of sculptor Roch Smith. The Toronto artist re-envisioned the natural for...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Enlarging Perspective - Surreal stretched male figure in bronze
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
It’s a striking image—a man, standing—his legs impossibly long, his arms spread wide affording him, perhaps a new and bigger perspective. Is this the intention behind Toronto artist ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Daily Grind - Patinated bronze cups stacked on a male figure
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A tower of cups stacked face to face and end to end create a beautifully undulating formal column reminiscent of Brancusi's Endless Column. Precariously balanced on the shoulders of a small bronze figure...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze, Steel

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Previously Available Items
Hold Fast - tall, surrealist, male, figurative, bronze, steel, outdoor sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Toronto artist Roch Smith was inspired by recent events to create a new metal sculpture that reflects on the idea of community—lending a hand to others in need. ‘Hold Fast’ is a play...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Bronze, Steel

Work/Play Balance - tall, narrative, figurative, male, bronze, wood, sculpture
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Located in Bloomfield, ON
As a young boy Roch Smith used to take apart his mother’s wooden clothes pegs and glue them together to create various objects like ships and cars. Recalling those early creative imp...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Bronze

Reliable Technology - tall, narrative, figurative, male, bronze sculpture
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Roch Smith continues to conjure up images of his childhood by creating uniquely dynamic and fun sculptures. This piece combines two popular playtime objects—Tinker Toys and a tin can...
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Enfold (Tree Men Series) - small, surrealist, males, figurative bronze sculpture
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Bronze

Reunion (Tree Men Series) - small, surrealist, male, figurative bronze sculpture
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Located in Bloomfield, ON
P. Roch Smith’s playful bronze ‘Tree Men’ series was inspired by a walk in the woods. The Canadian sculptor imagined fallen twigs and branches replacing human limbs. With Reunion, tw...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Bronze

Canadiana: Tug of War - tall, narrative, figurative, male bronze sculpture
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Located in Bloomfield, ON
Bronze cast figurines of two men, one at each at end of a bronze rope, standing on a teeter totter -- one man merely holds his end of the rope, the other one pulls. The whole is bal...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Semblance of Balance - Bronze casted male figure with stacked spheres
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The thoughtful, playful sculptures of Roch Smith often revolve around the idea of finding balance in one’s life. With this bronze, patinated piece, the Toronto artist has cast a male...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Evolution of a Vantage Point 3/4 - surrealist, male, figurative bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Available by commission, please allow 4-6 weeks for completion upon delivery. Roch Smith’s inspired bronze sculpture is a clever ‘play’ on a popular saying. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” (Sir Isaac Newton...
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2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

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Bronze, Steel

Memory Houses - Patinated male figure and stacked shaped houses
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Roch Smith is known for his fun and thoughtful sculptures. His creative use of scale and form—small figures that take on big tasks is evident in this bronze piece. A man, dressed in ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze, Steel

Branch Executive - small, bronze surrealist male sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Canadian artist P. Roch Smith taps into a surrealist sensibility in the bronze sculpture of a suited man sprouting tree branches in place of arms.  "Using toys...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Counterpoise
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Canadian sculptor P. Roch Smith taps into a surrealist sensibility in this bronze narrative of precarious balance -- physical and psychological.    "Using toys...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Counterpoise
Counterpoise
H 19 in W 24 in D 9.25 in
Ponder - small, narrative, figurative, male bronze sculpture on wood base
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
A suited man stands poised, staring intently in this intriguing psychological narrative in bronze by sculptor P. Roch Smith. Clues to the story may be found in the figure's contempor...
Category

2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art

Materials

Bronze

Roch Smith art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Roch Smith art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Roch Smith in bronze, metal, steel and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Roch Smith art, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jennifer Small, Ginette Legare, and Steven Heinemann. Roch Smith art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,600 and tops out at $19,000, while the average work can sell for $7,530.

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