We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Gemma Smith / Australia b.1978 / Adaptable (red/blue) 2008 / Synthetic polymer paint on aircraft plywood / 65 x 50cm (dimensions variable) / Purchased 2009 with funds raised through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Appeal / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Gemma Smith
Gemma SmithAdaptable (red/blue) 2008
Not Currently on Display
Gemma Smith developed Adaptables with the intention of engaging audiences in a participatory experience: the sculptures can lie horizontally or, with a dexterous touch, they can transform and collapse into numerous incarnations. While the works at first appear to be mechanically geometric, closer inspection reveals the relationship they share with the human body.
The artist had initially created larger versions of the Adaptables; however, she was discouraged by the audience’s lack of interaction — the size of the sculptures inhibited viewer participation. Made from aircraft plywood, fitted with hinges, the Adaptables shift between the definitions of art forms and design objects. The sculptures are aesthetic in their purpose, while their function offers a playful interaction with colour and form. The participant is allowed into the artwork, becoming immersed in the colour matching and contrasting process as they manipulate the Adaptables into various positions.
In 2005 Smith studied colour theory at Parsons School of Design in New York, and researched the subject using Yale University’s Faber Birren Collection of Books on Color, one of the world’s largest holdings of books on colour theory. Through her knowledge of colour and the abstraction of modernism, Smith engages audiences with the pleasure of making art through improvisation, play and invention.