LONDON, ENGLAND.- Fred [London] are delighted to announce our second solo exhibition by Guy Richards Smit. Smit is a man of many talents whose artistic activities include painting in oil and acrylic on canvas as well as watercolour, complex narrative video works and being both singer and songwriter for his band Maxi Geil! and Playcolt.

For this exhibition, Smit has focused on his works on canvas and paper to create a stream of current political commentary, sexual innuendo and satire. As part of a larger ongoing series, Smit uses the layout of the cover and inside pages of The New York Times as the template for his watercolours and oils. Its is through the headlines and article topics that Smit conveys his sharply observant cultural and political message, whilst displaying the technical skill of a fluid colourist and bold painter.

In these new works, Smit has directed his gaze firmly at the American political scene. However, his signature wanderings into philosophical observation still cut through his message as does humour. We find headlines such as 'America Getting Arrested' alongside 'Hot Frustration of Youth' and 'Genius Gorilla', as well as moments of the bleakest pathos in 'Soldier's Unique Hopelessness' and 'This Shelter is Colder Than the Wild Wind Outside'.

Smit's current works are representative of how many among the American political left are seeking to express their dissatisfaction, especially where foreign policy is concerned. Here Smit declares 'Keep What the Soldiers Can't Carry Away' alongside 'Trafficking in the Unknowable' then turns his gaze to the art world with 'Contemporary Art is Failing You' alongside 'These Dark Woods are Where I Live'.

Guy Richards Smit has previously exhibited at Fred (London), Sketch (London), Roebling Hall (New York), The Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the Indiana Museum of Contemporary Art (Indianapolis). His recent films are part of a series of screenings on art and music at the Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-De-Marne (Paris).

This exhibition has been timed to coincide with the release of Guy Richards Smit's band's second single 'Making Love in the Sunshine', music video and album 'Strange Sensation' which will be available nationally and on iTunes from April 9th and April 30th respectively.