Coaster ed. 2/3

About Coaster ed. 2/3

This figurative tabletop sculpture is by Roch Smith

Canadian artist Roch Smith has created an entire series of small sculptures that stir our collective imaginations and often deliver iconic imagery in a playful, creative way.
Here he is, once again playing with scale as this toy-sized figurative sculpture is inspired by an iconic Canadian theme—the canoe. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a devoted naturalist and canoeist, once said of the canoe that if you ‘paddle a hundred miles in a canoe, you are already a child of nature.’ The canoe is a symbol of our nation’s glorious wilderness.
With this hand-forged dark bronze piece, Smith features the classic elongated shape of a wooden canoe upside down. The figure of a barefoot man sits on top of it, knees raised as if he is ‘coasting’ on the canoe.

“The latest works have some instances where I was thinking of the notion of quiet contemplation with the figures that are sitting on the hull of an overturned canoe. It seemed like the presentation of a quiet singular moment - perhaps looking out onto a lake or forest scene.” 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).
As a teacher and 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.