When I first walked through the doors of the gallery I felt this wave of serenity despite the exciting colors and odd shapes. The combination of all the colors and the depth of each piece was so captivating. Every piece had its own statement but the collection as a whole made a story.

I love  the paintings done by cutting up the strips of paper because not only do the colors and the drawing itself bring out characteristics of their own but the lines give it another level of uniqueness that force viewers do a double take. The lines also give it a feeling of texture and works nicely to emphasize the highlights as well as the shadows. Although the lined paintings seem as if they would be ridged, if you take a good look up close you can see how perfectly placed each individual line is. I really admire these pieces for the dedication it takes for theartist to make them so impeccable.

This is my favorite painting in the “Heavenly Bodies” collection, mostly because it’s the one I feel like I understand best. As Tom was speaking, he explained how the paintings represented our relationship to the heavens and our physical being, hence, “Heavenly Bodies.” In this particular painting, the darker colors are a clear depiction of our worldly nature. The combination of the dark color scheme plus the look of eruption gives it a feeling of excessiveness, seduction and destruction. On the contrary, the heavenly side of the painting has an aura of serenity and an atmospheric effect due of the calming color scheme of purple, blue, green and white worked in with more tender brush strokes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the “Heavenly Bodies” collection at the Rox Gallery and am excited to see future works done by Tom Smith.