Desire
Kansas Smeaton (she/her)
COMA Gallery
On view 25 November – 17 December 2022.
Gadigal Land
Interviewed by Lucia Droga
Kansas Smeaton is an Eora-based painter and a recent graduate from National Art School, who addresses themes of power, seduction, allurement and eroticism in her oil paintings. Demure editor Lucia Droga got talking to Kansas just in time for her first solo exhibition, showing now at COMA Gallery. The exhibition, called Desire, uses visual and theoretical rhetoric of 18th-century French portraiture, and is on view 25 November – 17 December 2022.
With ancestral lines hailing from Lebanon, the Pacific Islands and Scotland, Kansas was born in New Zealand, where she lived for around 12 years but spent most of her “formative years” in inner city Eora/Sydney.
“I had what could be considered an idyllic, although unconventional, childhood - I grew up in the theatre and was often travelling around the New Zealand countryside with mum's theatre company, putting on Shakespeare plays from town to town, running around barefoot and playing with props etc etc.”
Kansas recognises the privilege that she had during this time, to grow up in a way that nurtured creative expression and focused less on capitalistic achievement markers. She always felt secure in her creative endeavours and always considered it worthy of time:
“I think everyone is born an artist to some degree and how that develops I guess comes down to environment, expectation and/or any other social or cultural responsibilities.I would spend countless hours in the art rooms at school (sometimes even missing classes to be in there) and it didn’t bring me any guilt. In saying that I did spend a few years without any kind of art practice post high school.. Instead I travelled, lived abroad and focused my energy on just having a good time haha.”
When she moved back to Australia, Kansas began to brainstorm a career-based move. Thinking about what she loved doing most, she enrolled in TAFE to test the waters, and, 8 years later, it was one of the best moves she ever made. A recent graduate from Eora’s National Art School, Kansas was constantly challenged and inspired.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today without the guidance, connections and support from the institution. The exposure to other modes of thinking and art making is profoundly valuable and a great privilege. I would highly recommend art school to anyone wanting to be an artist.”
Julia with Pearls, oil on canvas, 2022.
Harry, oil on canvas, 2022.
In terms of artmaking, Kansas uses a playful, thematic subject range, inspired by contemporary artists Jesse Mockrin, Sarah Slappey and Claire Tabouret. From art history, she draws upon Fragonard, Caravaggio and Rubens. This latter is clear in the history of her work, which is seemingly transitioning through the stylistic and ornamental periods of the 1700s - both recognized by their opulent decoration and hedonism.
While her past works feature the dramatic lighting and even more theatrical scenes inspired by the Baroque Period, Kansas is currently fixated on the aesthetic qualities of Rococo, with its folly, frills and playful carefree joy which is emblematic of a brief moment of time where (for a select part of the population) the point of life was pleasure. She acknowledges the important context behind the closure of this period (aka the French Revolution), but likes to think about the small moments of pleasure we can take in our everyday lives, even if for a few minutes.
Kansas’s works are extremely endearing and seductive. A tool to aid her in creating such masterpieces, Kansas has been drawn to the seduction of oil paints - the pigments, textures and the satisfaction of the process of what she describes as “every step closer to mastering the craft”. Through every phase or artistic fixation has remained a consistent concern - the human figure:
“Anyone who paints the body will tell you that there’s something really seductive and addictive about painting flesh. The subjects in my paintings are important to the work. I want to paint people who have traditionally been on the fringes of society, people who don’t conform to the status quo and who are unapologetically themselves with courage and force.”
This interview is in time for Kansas’ first solo exhibition at COMA Gallery, an amazing achievement for any young artist. The exhibition recontextualises and appropriates Rococo portraiture, exploring its namesake, Desire:
“Pure, unadulterated desire. When I was making the show, and asking people to sit for me, I was thinking about this idea of a celebration of desire, pleasure and the erotic. I wanted to make work that honours this very innate and human experience, holding it in high regard and rejecting this idea that we have to squash this part of ourselves. I heavily reference the concepts found within rococo and 18th century portraiture, a time when pleasure was at the forefront and excess was never enough, painting my subjects in this light, elevating them and at the same time recognising their gaze, their desire and themselves as people of desire.”
As everyone can understand, balancing one’s passions - especially as an artist - is a task that plagues the best of creatives, and the work life balance is something Kansas is still grappling with. Whilst making the show for COMA, she spent every day in the studio, working 10-12 hours, 7 days a week, right up until it was finished.
“I feel like most project based creative industries are characterised by long and intense working periods followed by a big chunk of downtime. Now that the painting is done, my biggest challenge is keeping myself out of the studio and allowing myself to rest.”
In terms of artistic goals for the future, Kansas’s goals are simple: to just keep painting.
“I really feel like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of my investigation into desire and eroticism, so I think I’ll just delve deeper into what I’m only just beginning to discover.”
Liam and Psalm, oil on canvas, 2022.
Spike with Grapes, oil on canvas, 2022.