On Saturday, April 15th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, please join Arcana: Books on the Arts as they welcome their friend Lenard Smith to celebrate his lovely new limited edition, nearly-sold-out survey of recent work: A Sort Of Looking.

Smith’s first publication presents a selection of seductive images from the past five years of work that draw lines connecting the artist’s hand and chance. The formal compositions of his still lifes bring attention to the banal object form; tissue paper, flower, and in between the exploration of sculptural arrangements. Smith’s portrait work commands attention – bringing the viewer up close up to his subjects – whether they are photographed in the studio or quickly on the streets. These powerful portraits act as a metronome throughout the entire book, grounding the audience. The title reveals the artist’s engagement with institutional critique, and plays with the discourse that is commonly used in art conversations. A Sort of Looking is in fact Lenard Smith’s own looking, and not a “sort of”, but exactly how he is able to view the world in front of his lens just as he sees it.