Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Andrew Smenos
"THIS WON'T HELP", Oil Paint on Canvas, Fire Extinguisher, Home, Disaster, Humor

2019

About the Item

From the Apathy Series, Andrew Smenos' recent body of work, comes "THIS WON'T HELP" – a fire extinguisher melting in the heat of disaster... At 30x20", this accurately detailed oil on canvas painting is a must for optimists and pessimists alike. It's an annoying disaster. From a recent Press Release: "There’s a giddy, liberated pleasure looking at Andrew Smenos’ elegant ocean liner sinking in front of you, all that grace and purpose, sinking not sinking, gone but not going, happy to not be on THAT boat. The life-jackets in their great solidity are saving no one. The buildings are on fire, sadly one room at a time. The fire extinguishers and traffic pylons are melting down. Of course we look! It’s tragic and hilarious, alarming and numbing – and here’s Andrew Smenos, with gentle time-worn materials and craft, portraying disaster and holding out hope." From Andrew Smenos – "We want what we want despite the consequences. The cognitive dissonance experienced in the world today is powerful and destructive. The Apathy Series asks why we seem to have an imbalance of apathy and obsession. The lack of common sense to understand cause and effect. The ignorance to neglect solutions." "The classical and historical tradition of ceramic sculpture and oil painting speaks to the obsession society has always had for beautiful and relevant objects. Simple on the surface, the works focus on a single, poignant image brought to life by centuries-old sculpture and painting technique. The naive style and the irreverent, sardonic humor is intended to align itself with our less sophisticated and apathetic attributes." Andrew Smenos' paintings and ceramic sculptures were recently shown at Fresh Paint, a group show at Art of Our Century Gallery in Greenwich Village, New York City, from February 27 to March 22, 2020. Andrew Smenos received his BFA from The Ringling College of Art and Design. His work is held in private and public collections nationally and has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Daily Beast and ArtInfo. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    2019
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Toronto, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU134525831261

More From This Seller

View All
"AUTOMATON BACKDROP", Figurative Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, Blue Woman
By Libby Rosa
Located in Toronto, Ontario
The painting "AUTOMATON BACKDROP" by Libby Rosa blurs the distinction between abstraction and representation. And that rational/irrational alignment is only...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

"Toys In The Attic", oil painting, artist's tools, child's pencil, crayon, play
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"Toys In The Attic" addresses subject matter that continues to fascinate the artist – on one hand the tools of painting, drawing and art making – brushes, pens, pencils and crayons. ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Hard-Edge Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil

"The Gatekeeper", acrylic, oil stick, judge, jury, portrait, proscenium, stage
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"The Gatekeeper" is a mysterious painting, seemingly both a portrait and a situation – perhaps a portrait of a barrier. Gatekeeping suggests inclusion a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Hard-Edge Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Acrylic

"BONGWATER", Abstract Painting, Yellow, Green, Black, Hazy, Cavern, Crystalline
By Jeffrey Kurland
Located in Toronto, Ontario
The large abstract painting "BONGWATER" by Jeffrey Kurland is an acrylic on canvas measuring 60" tall by 72" wide. BONGWATER is new work from the long hot summer of 2020. Often emplo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"HELP YOURSELF BEFORE HELPING OTHERS", Painting, Yellow Life Jacket, Disaster
By Andrew Smenos
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From the Apathy Series, Andrew Smenos' recent body of work, comes "HELP YOURSELF BEFORE HELPING OTHERS" – an oil painting on canvas showing a yellow life...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"RISING TIDES USED TO BE A GOOD THING", Painting, Oil on Canvas, Disaster, Humor
By Andrew Smenos
Located in Toronto, Ontario
From the Apathy Series, Andrew Smenos' recent body of work, comes "RISING TIDES USED TO BE A GOOD THING" – the life-jacket saving no one... At 20x20", th...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

The Conversation II
Located in Greenwich, CT
Signed lower left Elizabeth Higgins (Canadian, b. 1960) Elizabeth Higgins describes herself as an abstract figurative and landscape painter. Everything around her serves as a potential subject, an inspiration to begin a painting. Fidelity to the landscape, the figure, or the still life is relative, as she isn’t interested in literal depictions; instead, it’s the abstract relationships of these shapes and colors, the abstract pictorial design that drives her work. Higgins’ paintings are rooted in the tradition stemming from Courbet, Derain, Bonnard, Matisse, Morandi, German Expressionism, and the Canadian Group of Seven (also known as the Algonquin School of landscape painters, 1920–1933). She is influenced by the work of her artist-teachers Paul Resika—himself a student of Hans Hofmann—and Robert De Niro, Sr. (1922-1993), as well as the paintings of contemporary artist Peter Doig. Her artistic evolution stretches across this continuum. It is the “in-between”, the hovering between representation and abstraction, that interests her, not the labeling effect of details; instead, she aims directly at the spirit of the painting—of making something come to life. John Goodrich wrote in her catalog essay, “Elizabeth Higgins’ direct brushwork and simplified forms suggest an energy, but crucially, reveal a painter who knows the power of color…” Elizabeth Higgins was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1960. As a Helena...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Couple, Oil on Canvas, Red, Orange by Contemporary Indian Artist “In Stock”
By Buwa Shete
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Buwa Shete - Couple - 30 x 60 inches (unframed size) Oil on Canvas, 2005 ( ROLLED AND DOOR DELIVERED ) Buwa Shete, born in 1960 in Maharashtra, India, is o...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Contemporary Surreal Figurative Self Portrait with Neon Green
By Michael Pauker
Located in Soquel, CA
A contemplative, contemporary self-portrait of the artist with neon green by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). In the background of this piece are self-portraits fro...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Child Playing with Parrot, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas Board, Contemporary Artist
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Gurucharan Singh - Untitled Oil and Acrylic on Canvas Board ; 11.8 x 14.5 inches Born 1949 Exhibitions : Selected Solo Exhibitions 2012 'Twilight Tales', The Viewing Room, Mumb...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Board

Child Playing with Parrot, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas Board, Contemporary Artist
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Gurucharan Singh - Untitled Oil and Acrylic on Canvas Board ; 11.8 x 14.5 inches Born 1949 Exhibitions : Selected Solo Exhibitions 2012 'Twilight Tales', The Viewing Room, Mumb...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas, Oil, Board

Untitled, Oil & Acrylic on Canvas, Red, Yellow by Contemporary Artist "In Stock"
Located in Kolkata, West Bengal
Gurucharan Singh - Untitled Oil & Acrylic on Canvas, 48 x 24 inches Born 1949 Exhibitions : Selected Solo Exhibitions 2012 'Twilight Tales', The Viewing Room, Mumbai 2008 Jehan...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Recently Viewed

View All