Jack Smith Floating World., 1998

Sheffield-born Jack Smith (1928-2011) was a central figure in British painting in the early 1950s, renowned for his powerful realist works as a key member of the 'Kitchen Sink' school, a label applied by critic David Sylvester to a unified group of campaigning Social Realists. Smith's core concerns were always aesthetic - to do with light, form and pattern - rather than political, and by the late 1950s his work moved towards the pure abstraction for which his career has subsequently been celebrated. In 1956, Smith was featured in the Venice Biennale and went on to present solo public exhibitions at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1959; the Serpentine, London, 1978; Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, 1977; and the National Portrait Gallery, London, 2015. Floating World consists of signs and symbols that appear to hover within a shallow space; some elements are sharply delineated, while others softly merge, creating an enigmatic visual effect.

The only important quality eventually is the spirit within the painting. Painting must emanate light. - Jack Smith, 1995