2024 Red Lion Inn artist-in-residence

Kara Smith

“Room 322: A visual investigation”

Kara Smith is an artist and art educator based in Western Massachusetts. Her paintings, prints and mixed-media work are driven by an interest in memory, visual storytelling and modes of communication, with a graphic sensibility and a love of found materials and relics. She received a MA in Art Education from Brooklyn College, and a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. She has been awarded residencies at MASS MoCA, Kasini House/Kolaj Institute, The Vermont Studio Center, Brooklyn Art Space, and Drop, Forge and Tool. Kara is a Teaching Artist and Program Director at Community Access to the Arts (CATA) in Great Barrington, MA, which nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities through the arts.

Artist Statement:

This new collection of paintings and mixed-media work was created in Summer 2024, while artist-in-residence at the Red Lion Inn. In some of the pieces, the composition was directly influenced by found artifacts and ephemera from the vast history of the Inn. In other cases, the work is influenced by my personal experience of walking the halls and working in the building soaking up the textures, colors, shapes and sounds of the space. These works explore the idea that a place holds more than just its physical form; it holds a deep energy that infuses a place, transcends time and highlights the interconnectedness of past and present within its walls.