Paintings > Guardian Series/2019 >
The work in the Guardian Series explores memory as well as the ambiguity of nostalgia. Girl by the Sea and Guardians Series are both inspired by the discovery of a photograph of the artist taken by her mother when the family was in Étretat, France in 1959. Girl by the Sea initially riffs on this one image in dozens of smaller sketches, later developed into “memory flags.” The larger Guardians Series eliminates the peripheral details of the memorialized Étretat photograph and brings the ever-changing girl holding the bird front and center. Working through the losses and grievances inherent in a personal history – especially the sudden loss of a mother – Smolen experiences a cathartic release in the creation of this new body of work.
In 2022, new additiions to the Series were added which included the motif of flukes and/or whales.
Guardian Series/2019 >
Hermione
2019
Oil and ink on Arches Oil Paper to Panel
51 x 46 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches Oil Paper to Panel
51 x 46 inches framed
Guardian Series
Private Collection
New York, New York
Private Collection
New York, New York
Saskia
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Atiqtalik (Polar Bear Mother)
2019
Oil and ink on Arches paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Zoe
2019
Ink on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
2019
Ink on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
Tapeesa (Arctic Flower)
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Danaë
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Beatrix
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Iolani
2019
Oil on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
2019
Oil on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
Theodora
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper
51 x 31 inches
Thalassa (Sea)
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Anastasia
2019 – 2020
Sumi ink on paper, thread to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
2019 – 2020
Sumi ink on paper, thread to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
Guardian Series
Collection of the Artist
Collection of the Artist
Penelope
2020
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
2020
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
Siobhan
2020
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
2020
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches framed
Greta Thurnberg's Voyage
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
2019
Oil and ink on Arches oil paper to Panel
51 x 31 inches framed
Rachel
2019
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches
2019
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches
Jacqueline
2019
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches
2019
Oil, ink, thread on paper to fabric
51 x 31 inches
Maya
2020
Mixed media on Arches Huile to panel
51 x 36
2020
Mixed media on Arches Huile to panel
51 x 36
Guardian Series
Leila in Forest
2021
Mixed media on wood panel
48 x 40 in
2021
Mixed media on wood panel
48 x 40 in
Guardian Series
Margaux by the Sea
2021
Oil and charcoal on wood panel
48 x 36 in
2021
Oil and charcoal on wood panel
48 x 36 in
Guardian Series
Jo Reflecting on Whaling History
2021
Oil, charcoal on wood panel
48 x 36 in
2021
Oil, charcoal on wood panel
48 x 36 in
Guardian Series
Alex with Whale & Her Calf
2021
Oil on wood panel
48 x 36 in
2021
Oil on wood panel
48 x 36 in
Guardian Series
Tanya in Deep Water
2021
Mixed media on wood panel
48 x 36 in
2021
Mixed media on wood panel
48 x 36 in
Guardian Series
