Encounter in life, Lionel Smit.

Lionel Smit is a South African artist, known for his contemporary portraiture executed through large canvases and sculptures. Lionel Smit is one of South Africa’s most prolific and exalted artists. His artistic diversity is pursued through a variety of mediums and he is best known for his contemporary portraiture. His art is defined by a deeply rooted symbiotic relationship between sculpture and painting. Today, each of Lionel Smit’s works offers us an entry point into the variety and richness that lies beneath every face we encounter in life, whether applied in bronze or paint. The blending of techniques across genres is a display of Smit’s work in multiple media, all bearing a visible and tangible overlap. Smit’s work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, his painting has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London receiving the Visitors' Choice - BP Portrait Award 2013. Collections including his works vary from Standard Chartered Bank to Laurence Graff Art Collection and his painting has been featured on the cover of Christie’s Auction Catalogue. Born in 1982 in Pretoria, South Africa, Smit was exposed to sculpture through his father Anton Smit, who worked from his studio adjacent to the family home. This studio played a central role in Lionel's upbringing. By age twelve, Smit was already working in clay and considered himself primarily as a sculptor. At sixteen his parents separated, after which Lionel, a student at Pretoria's Pro Arte School of Arts at the time, began to use the empty studio space his father occupied for painting. Smit is based in Strand, South Africa. He has achieved international success including sell-out exhibitions in London and Hong Kong. Lionel Smit has also enjoyed success in his home country of South Africa, where his work has featured in local publications such as Elle South Africa and Elle Decoration. [Follow Lionel Smit to learn more] https://www.lionelsmit.com/    / @lionelsmitstudio     / lionelsmit     / lionelsmitstudio