I reached out to an artist I’ve followed for a while. I’ve seen his acting work in TV and movies, listened to his music, and really been a fan of his visual art. When I sent Danny Smith a message asking him if he would be interested in talking about his art with Hope & Glory, I was stoked to hear back so quick with a very positive response!
Here’s what Danny had to say:
I’m D$, aka Danny Smith, a Toronto-based artist who makes messy art at night until the sun rises every day. Acrylic portraits on wood, spray-painted images on walls and dirty collages taped together are favourite mediums. Each piece is scratched and distressed, ripped and abused. These scars suggest the piece has fought through a tortured, difficult life before finally being recognized as special and beautiful and earning a place on your wall.
Making art is like being in a fight that I always win. It’s a physical experience, a full-body workout, a brawl. I fall into a trance and when I re-emerge, I’m sweating and tired and don’t remember what happened. But there’s always a pretty piece staring back at me. Making art is my escape from depression and the incessant stress of “real” life. When creating, time stops and I feel so much better and calmer and happier. It’s therapy, it’s sex, it’s drugs, it’s loud music.
Here is some more info on Danny Smith if you would like to know more! (and scroll for more art!)
D$ ARTIST BIO
D$ is Danny Smith, a Toronto-based artist whose work was first published on the front cover of the Montreal Gazette Sunday Comic Book, at age 6. Since then, his artwork has been exhibited at ROM, Budweiser Stage, and The Art Of Banksy (Toronto June- September 2018) where he was the only artist other than Banksy to exhibit work. That piece that is currently on a North American tour with the exhibition.
D$ paints messy portraits, most often in black & white, where the subject stares directly at the viewer. This creates a unique experience for each person interacting with the piece. Some people feel a meditative connection. Others empathize with a perceived sadness in the eyes. Most just think the art looks cool.
His collage work features dirty, torn pages from various printed materials assembled in deceptively slapdash compositions. Nostalgic ephemera recalls high school binders covered in stickers and band names. Youth is a time full of hope. As one grows up, hopes and dreams get destroyed. The tape holding these pieces together is a metaphor for how we desperately try to salvage crumbling situations in life, like relationships or careers, and how some of us cling to our dreams by any means necessary. Each piece is scratched and distressed, ripped and abused. These scars suggest the piece has fought through a tortured, difficult life before finally being recognized as special and beautiful and earning a place on your wall.
D$ artwork also hangs at: Budweiser Head Office, Merchandise Building Lofts, Red Lion Advertising Agency, SNDWRX Audio, Cylinder Sound & Film, H Bar, Red Line Cafe, Page One Cafe, #Hashtag Gallery, Super Wonder Gallery and over 100 homes across the world.
D$ is also a Film & TV actor who has shared the screen with Mark Wahlberg, Jeremy Renner, Kirsten Dunst and Leonard Nimoy.
In 2017, he went behind the camera and co-directed a Sport Chek commercial starring the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry.
From 2002-2008, he was a Sony Records-signed musician as the lead singer/ guitarist/pianist/songwriter in the LA-based band The City Drive. They opened for Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Hoobastank, Goo Goo Dolls and played Warped Tour 2006 & 2007.
CHECK OUT @DANNYSMITHX ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO STAY UP TO DATE!
Hope & Glory 