Poetic Motion at The White Room Gallery

Artist Taylor Smith’s ongoing series and process of using computer floppy diskettes in paintings is on full display at The White Room Gallery in East Hampton in “Poetry In Motion,” a show featuring work by Smith and artist Stuart Yankell. The show opened with a reception on September 14 and remains on view through October 13.

“Poetry In Motion” is proof that two very different artists can achieve the same effect. Smith, whose paintings are on view in The Black Room at the gallery, achieves poetry in motion through paintings made entirely from salvaged floppy diskettes, which cannot be traditionally recycled, combined with several different analog processes from screen printing to painting. Using this obsolete technology with its anonymous information still intact, these paintings use the visual language of popular culture to ask larger questions about how we use (and discard) our technology, information, and digital identities in an age of rapid advancements.

The perfect placement of the disks creates famed figures like James Bond, John Wayne, David Bowie and Mohammed Ali in larger-than-life pieces. Champagne, skulls and a boombox round out the collection. Smith is a multimedia artist whose work examines discarded technology, popular culture and consumerism. She has exhibited in North America and Europe. High profile collections include the Eli Lilly permanent collection, the Madeleine Albright collection and the Cleve Carney Museum of Art among others.

The work of Stuart Yankell celebrates life and the common fabric of humanity. Combining abstraction with a kinetic approach rooted in classical lighting and form, he embraces historical convention while seeking to expand the language of art. For nearly four decades, Yankell has painted a multitude of musical and dance forms, as well as figurative themes based on a broad range of universal settings. He has traveled to nearly 20 countries, and his works are developed through a combination of on-site painting, studio work with live models, and the forces of instinct and imagination.

The White Room Gallery is at 3 Railroad Avenue in East Hampton. For details, visit thewhiteroom.gallery.