Josh Smith @ Xavier Hufkens

July 8, 2019 

2-TIMES • Art
 Josh Smith,
‘Finding Emo’
@ Xavier Hufkens
— 

‘For thousands of
years, death has
assumed a human
or skeletal form in
various cultures. The
Grim Reaper — a dark,
hooded figure who
harvests (or ‘reaps’)
human souls with
his scythe...’ 

Born: 
1976, Okinawa, Japan. 

The exhibition: 
Is American artist
Josh Smith's second 
solo with Xavier Hufkens
in Brussels — spanning
both gallery outposts, 
presenting new paintings
& monotypes depicting
the Grim Reaper
—
Seen within this
context, the image of
the Grim Reaper can
also be read as a cliché:
an image so ubiquitous
that it is barely given
a second thought. In
this series, Smith rises
to the challenge of how
to paint the Grim Reaper
in a contemporary and
meaningful way. 

“I try to strip out as
much of the content
as possible, so the
viewer does not have
to reach for a meaning.
You don’t have to look
at one thing and try
to get it. The one in
front of me is the one
I am looking at now.” 

On view at: 
Xavier Hufkens 
—
6 & 107 rue St-Georges,
St-Jorisstraat, 1050
Brussels, Belgium. 

Closes: 
July 13, 2019.