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.to
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Artist: Roch Smith
Cavendish, PEI - surrealist, abstract, nude, figurative, male, bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Roch Smith’s ‘Tree Man’ series of bronze tabletop sculptures are playful pieces that feature figures whose human limbs have been replaced by tree branches. This figure is dressed for...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
Bronze
Shelter - surrealist, contemporary, figurative, bronze, outdoor sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary outdoor figurative metal sculpture is by Roch Smith.
Canadian artist Roch Smith’s playful and thoughtful visual language often tackles big life themes in an imagin...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
Bronze
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
Bronze, Steel
Greeting - surrealist, abstract, figurative, male, bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This indoor figurative bronze sculpture is made by Canadian artist Roch Smith.
The imaginative sculptural work of Roch Smith often takes a playful approach to more serious themes. H...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
Bronze
The Craftsman ed.2/2 - surrealist, canoe, figurative, wood, bronze, sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This bronze figurative tabletop sculpture by Roch Smith features a canoe.
Canadian sculptor Roch Smith has turned his attention to a cherished national and historic pastime—canoeing...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
Bronze
Daily Grind - contemporary, male, figurative, patinated bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary, male, figurative, patinated bronze sculpture was created by artist P Roch Smith. A tower of cups stacked face to face and end to end creates 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
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
Pause 2/3 - desktop 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
Assist - surrealist, abstract, male, figurative, bronze tabletop sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This indoor figurative bronze sculpture comes from the imagination of Canadian artist Roch Smith.
The clever sculptures of Roch Smith are often inspired by images, forms and texture...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
Bronze
Whimsical Underpinning - surrealist, abstract, male figurative, bronze sculpture
By P. Roch Smith
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This indoor figurative bronze sculpture comes from the imagination of Canadian artist Roch Smith.
The idea for this bronze series of ‘tree men’ first came to Roch Smith in a daydrea...
Category
2010s Contemporary Roch Smith Art
Materials
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
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Vista - tall, playful, figurative, bronze, steel, outdoor sculpture
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Ascent - figurative, sculpture, tall, contemporary, bronze, steel
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H 96 in W 11 in D 9 in
Pause 1/3 - small, surrealist, canoe, male, figurative, wood, bronze, sculpture
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Hold Fast - tall, surrealist, male, figurative, bronze, steel, outdoor sculpture
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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.