This exhibition of ink drawings and fiber-based sculpture explores the relationship between body and mind. A special artist talk and reception with light refreshments will be held in the Artspace Gallery on October 6, starting at 6:00 pm.

Leah Smith thinks about deep time, embodied thought, and our place in the natural world through an artistic practice encompassing drawing, sculpture, and fiber arts. After growing up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado, she fell in love with exploring the green, worn-down hills of Appalachia during her college years, and now lives and works in the small town of Canton, North Carolina.

She says: “I am fascinated by the way the body is a part of the mind - we humans think with our hands, and through our tools and materials as much as we do with our brains. The process of weaving and working with fiber in particular is a touchstone in this work. Twisted cordage (string) is one of the very oldest technologies, and the ancient art of ordering threads into fabric has influenced and informed practically every technology that came after it, from writing to the computer.

The drawings recall both the wandering line of handwriting and the grid of woven textiles, while playing on the interaction of rigid, structured form and the imperfections of the handmade. The sculptures work with the possibilities of balance between hard and soft, weight and tension. I am interested in calling into question what is the frame; and what is the content built over it or within it; and when is that relationship inverted or ambiguous?”

October 2 through November 21

North Las Vegas Campus -- Artspace Gallery