Assist

About Assist

This contemporary figurative tabletop sculpture is forged in bronze.

The clever sculptures of Roch Smith are often inspired by images, forms and textures found in nature. This is one of an ongoing series of smaller sculptures that plays with organic form. Forged in bronze, the arms and legs of these two figures are replaced by elongated shapes that resemble twigs or fine tree branches. In this piece, the characters face one another and the limbs are entwined as if one is assisting or helping the other. The narrative suggests the idea of human kindness or empathy.

“While the figures have branch limbs it is not lost on me when I physically join two figures that there is a sense of touch or of touching involved. As a sculptor who is constantly handling artifacts as I create them - this tactility is perhaps implied but when I look at the works it sits well with me that their proximity to each other speaks to our fundamental sense of touch.” Roch Smith

Roch Smith received a BFA (Honours Sculpture) from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (ECIAD - 1997) and an MFA from York University (2003). A teacher as well as an artist, he has taught classes at the University of Waterloo, ECIAD and York University. He currently manages and operates the bronze and aluminum foundry at York University. Roch Smith has exhibited throughout Canada and in the US. His work is included in private, corporate and museum collections.