Gemma Smith is an Australian artist whose modus operandi takes on a spellbinding sequence of acrylic paints with a centrifugal discourse.

Born in 1978 in Brisbane, Australia, distinguished with a BA in Visual Arts, as an artist she commanders and navigates a non-linear trajectory whereby she undertakes endless amounts of stoic paper scroll attempts of torrent swirls in acrylic paint.

The marvelous and relative entangled swirls have been realised for Sydney based clothing label Rittenhouse. The two brand directors Sally McDonald and Micah Hamdorf have had long standing relationships with contemporary artists who work in diverse mediums and are bounded by their creativity in a seamless way. This has been the case with two previous creative collaborations, in Japanese artist Ikko Taniuchi and Swiss partners Pascale Mira Tschäni and Michael Husmann Tschäni who have transmorgrifed their own artworks onto Rittenhouse’s sensual fabrics. With Taniuchi’s ritualistic and raw live pieces translated as embroidery and surrealistic, chromatic illustrations by the Swiss duo, Rittenhouse have extended their brand identity not just in fashion but also as an artistic practice.

”We wanted to work closely with Gemma as she is one of our favourite local artists”, Sally McDonald explains at the brand’s studio and office in Sydney’s own downtown rag district in Surry Hills. She continues by saying, “In this specific print [devoré skirt] she just kept making more and more prints until she liked one that was perfect.”

The semblance of Gemma Smith’s handscribed signatures in her canvassed works become like foliage whereby the transculency of the printed devoré fabric masks and reveals the delicate skin of Rittenhouse’s female wearer.

In a shell buttoned collar blouse and in a deep v-neck sleeveless silk dress, Gemma’s Loop artwork has been fabricated onto Rittenhouse’s sheer devoré by local expertise in Australia.

Smith’s own oeuvre appears reminiscent of American artist Jackson Pollock’s unscripted paint canvas yet hers however endeavour to create a tangible dialogue in fabric. The hung canvas paintings of her exhibition show presented at Sarah Cottier Gallery in Sydney references topologies such as Barcelona, crossposting, jumble and loop line. The torrent, interlocking vortexes of yarn she combines want to escape from the notion of Josef Albers’ square canvas and channel an indelible mark on Rittenhouse’s fashion identity.

The incorporation of Smith’s artworks into a series of Rittenhouse garments in silk rayon or crepe as an a-line skirt, slender camisoles beautifully infect the overall palatable beauty that remains through all the seasons created by both McDonald and Hamdorf. In one example, an oatmeal tencel scoop neck tee worn with Gemma’s printed indigo silk pleat skirt infuses a girl naturally composed without the scent of frumpiness.

Rittenhouse – www.rittenhouse.com.au