Art Alumni Feature: Casey Jex Smith

Smith prefers the accessibility of drawing to more complicated mediums, but his drawings are anything but simple

Artist Casey Jex Smith has worked in nearly every medium — including performance, murals, sculpture and collage painting. But as he ages and assumes more responsibilities that infringe on his art-making time, he has chosen to focus on drawing. “I like drawing because of its immediacy, meaning it’s really quick and clean to do,” Smith said.

Contrast that with the work of his wife, Amanda Smith, who is a ceramicist and a relief painter. Her art requires clay, glazes and a kiln — all materials that demand space and time to set up. Similarly, painters need a studio and good ventilation, Casey Smith noted, and they have to stretch canvases. “All of these things are kind of deterrents to making art,” Smith said. “I do what I can to take away any difficulty to making. I can just grab a sketchpad, grab a pen and do my art.” But this does not mean that Smith’s drawings are quick or simple; on the contrary, they are large and complex — encompassing whole civilizations and narratives with intricate detail — and often take months to create. The sheer amount of time spent on each of these drawings embeds into the work a weight or gravity that holds the viewer for a long time. Read the full article by Abby Weidmer at art.byu.edu.