Iwan Smit
At the age of eighteen Iwan Smit moved to the centre of Rotterdam to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. He began studying graphic design followed by a study in fine arts.
While living and studying in Rotterdam, no stone was left unturned; meeting new people, seizing opportunities to show his work and making a name for himself as a young and upcoming artist.
Fourteen years later, in 2022, Smit had started losing interest in his city life, as it began to feel superficial – even empty at times. He struggled with overstimulation due to the city’s abundance, combined with the challenge of finding space to live and work. The thought of moving to calmer waters occurred.
In 2023, he answers to this call for a slower pace as he now lives and works in a small village a stone’s throw from Rotterdam. Not far from the city, but a different world nonetheless – a town that used to revolve around agriculture, with its fields and meadows still present today. The peace and quiet are a recipe for focus and productivity, though not all that glitters is gold for loneliness is his neighbour now…
In his exhibition ‘Away from the city, where the horses are’, Smit tries to take you with him into the transition from city to village. He uses horses as a vehicle to address the paradox of freedom in solitude, playing with notions of repetition and mundanity.
For more information or inquiries about Iwan Smit’s work contact info@doen.do.
