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Judson King Smith
USA
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"I'm still that little kid in his garage building models."
Judson King Smith anchors his artistic practice within the rich historical lineage of West Coast Assemblage Art. Emerging from the vibrant cultural landscape of midcentury California, this movement heavily informed his conceptual development during his formative years in Los Angeles. Surrounded by pioneering creators, the artist absorbed a unique regional aesthetic that championed the use of unconventional materials. His current sculptural work acts as a direct continuation of this subversive tradition, blending conceptual rigor with intricate craftsmanship. By engaging deeply with local art history, he establishes a solid foundation for his complex explorations of materiality.
Anthropocene Dream | Mixed Media
$25,000
72 x 126 x 12
The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch characterized by the profound influence of human activity on Earth’s ecosystems and climate. Anthropocene Dream reflects on the historical arc of human development—from early subsistence societies to fossil-energy economies and modern geopolitical power—while highlighting how planetary forces such as hurricanes, tsunamis, thawing tundra, and climate change challenge human dominance.
At the core of this expansive body of work lies a rigorous investigation into the plight of the human condition. Smith examines how physical forms erode under the relentless progression of time, highlighting the delicate grace inherent in all existing things. The resulting creations serve as meditations on impermanence, challenging the illusion of perpetual stability. Rather than shrinking away from decay, the sculptor leans into the weathering process as a testament to survival and transformation. Every constructed piece embodies a quiet acknowledgment of the fleeting nature of existence.
Anthropocene Dream | Mixed Media
$25,000
72 x 126 x 12
The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch characterized by the profound influence of human activity on Earth’s ecosystems and climate. Anthropocene Dream reflects on the historical arc of human development—from early subsistence societies to fossil-energy economies and modern geopolitical power—while highlighting how planetary forces such as hurricanes, tsunamis, thawing tundra, and climate change challenge human dominance.
A distinct sense of speculative archaeology permeates the entire studio output, imagining contemporary society from the perspective of a distant future. The artist deliberately selects materials that simulate artifacts unearthed long after the collapse of modern civilization. Through the careful integration of concrete, obsolete machine parts, and fragmented cultural detritus, he constructs a hypothetical fossil record of current human ingenuity. This approach strips everyday objects of their immediate utility, elevating them into profound symbols of a bygone era. Observers are invited to view their own present moment through an unsettling yet fascinating retrospective lens.
"The darkness and lightness, sacred and profane, remain intrinsically intertwined."
To ground these philosophical inquiries in the physical realm, figurative elements are frequently introduced through meticulous body casting techniques. Fusing the human form with fabricated metals and found objects creates a striking visual tension between organic vulnerability and synthetic rigidity. The resulting hybrid figures often possess a mandala like symmetry, projecting a sense of spiritual transcendence amidst material ruin. This synthesis allows the artist to map personal wounds and emotional growth directly onto the crumbling architecture of his sculptures. Consequently, the boundary separating man from machine becomes increasingly porous and ambiguous.
We Are The Crown of Creation | Mixed Media
$10,000
132 x 72 x 4
The title references Jefferson Airplane’s Crown of Creation, which contrasts nuclear annihilation with the biblical notion of humanity as God’s “crown.” The work explores the paradox of human progress—juxtaposing vulnerability with the destructive potential of scientific achievement. A monkey skull, roots, and an earthy figure evoke primal origins, while the exploding crown symbolizes brilliance gone awry and the pinnacle of achievement in peril.
The title references Jefferson Airplane’s Crown of Creation, which contrasts nuclear annihilation with the biblical notion of humanity as God’s “crown.” The work explores the paradox of human progress—juxtaposing vulnerability with the destructive potential of scientific achievement. A monkey skull, roots, and an earthy figure evoke primal origins, while the exploding crown symbolizes brilliance gone awry and the pinnacle of achievement in peril.
We Are The Crown of Creation | Mixed Media
$10,000
132 x 72 x 4
Early biographical experiences significantly shaped the meticulous fabrication methods employed in the studio today. Growing up immersed in the creation of intricate miniatures and claymation films cultivated a profound patience for small scale construction. Building tiny, detailed worlds provided a foundational skillset that translated seamlessly into the production of massive, complex assemblages later in life. This lifelong dedication to miniature environments allows for an exceptional level of precision when arranging disparate components. Such precise staging ensures that even the most chaotic combinations of scrap metal and bone maintain a rigorous compositional balance.
"I explore industrial archaeology and the climate crisis through intricate decaying forms, revealing humanity's complex relationship with technology and nature under time's relentless passage. "
"My deepest desire is that people connect to my artwork and appreciate its rawness, its honesty, and its crudeness, and that it doesn't frighten them; that it inspires them. That maybe it is shocking at first, but the strength of it is revered and appreciated. And that it makes them think a little bit about their world, and when they go about their day, they might see things a little differently."
Popular media and cinematic narratives of societal collapse injected a powerful thematic undercurrent into his conceptual evolution. Witnessing iconic cinematic moments depicting ruined national monuments triggered a lasting fascination with dystopian imagery and the inevitable fall of empires. This dramatic visual language translated into a lifelong obsession with industrial ruins, abandoned ghost towns, and maritime shipwrecks. Instead of interpreting these sites as tragic failures, the sculptor views them as majestic displays of nature reclaiming human hubris. The artwork captures this cinematic grandeur, offering viewers a sweeping visual narrative of cyclical destruction.
Out of The Trance of Unworthiness She Awakens | Mixed Media
$15,000
132 x 72 x 12
Combining mixed media, found objects, newspaper clippings, photographs from my late grandparents, and life casts of my daughters, I intuitively tell a story of relational wounds, emotional growth and transformation.
Far too long, this woman has been caught in a trance of unworthiness, but in this moment her perspective begins to shift. Her memories we witness, illuminated in shadow boxes that reveal her inner life, guardian angels, relatives, ancestors, sorrows, and triumphs.
Relocating to a secluded woodland environment introduced a new dimension of quiet authority to the ongoing artistic investigation. Daily immersion in the forest environment provided firsthand exposure to the undeniable rhythms of life, death, and ecological regeneration. This natural setting shifted the focus from purely urban decay toward the intersection of manufactured goods and primal landscapes. Watching foliage overtake manmade structures reinforced the realization that human progress is ultimately subservient to geological forces. The artwork subsequently absorbed a more organic texture, reflecting the slow breakdown of technology under the weight of the natural world.
Out of The Trance of Unworthiness She Awakens | Mixed Media
$15,000
132 x 72 x 12
Combining mixed media, found objects, newspaper clippings, photographs from my late grandparents, and life casts of my daughters, I intuitively tell a story of relational wounds, emotional growth and transformation.
Far too long, this woman has been caught in a trance of unworthiness, but in this moment her perspective begins to shift. Her memories we witness, illuminated in shadow boxes that reveal her inner life, guardian angels, relatives, ancestors, sorrows, and triumphs.
Every selected object in the studio undergoes a rigorous evaluation based on its metaphorical potential before being incorporated into a final piece. The artist actively hunts for discarded items ranging from embedded animal bones and antique weaponry to religious icons and broken circuit boards. When combined, these distinct items generate an abstract narrative that transcends their original functions. The relationships established between a rusted gear and a piece of pottery generate new dialogues concerning cultural memory and American identity. It is through this intuitive matching process that raw debris transforms into highly charged poetic statements.
Through mixed-media collage incorporating a rat skull, mummified opossum fetus, and miniature mechanical parts, this work centers on an 1887 portrait of Yellow Rodge of the Blackfeet tribe. The composition interweaves past and present to examine American identity, cultural mythmaking, and the shifting relationship between technology and the natural world.
American Reliquary | Mixed Media
$1,500
31 x 12 x 2.5
"I am always searching for materials and their metaphorical relationships."
The Organ Grinder's Banquet | Mixed Media
$1,800
41 x 18 x 4
This mixed-media assemblage centers on an 1880s New York daguerreotype of an organ grinder, surrounded by Victorian images of twin sisters and an organ grinder’s monkey. Castings of small hands, mechanical fragments, Godzilla, a UFO, and surreal figures—including a Buddha with a rabbit head—create a dark, vaudevillian tableau. The work blends Victorian spectacle with contemporary myth, evoking the strange theater of history, memory, and popular culture.
Beyond individual introspection, the assemblages confront sweeping societal issues including the impact of war and the evolution of religious dogma. By juxtaposing artifacts of conflict with symbols of faith, the work initiates complex conversations about the recurring mistakes of humanity. The sculptures do not attempt to preach or offer simple solutions to these massive historical burdens. Instead, they present a visceral mirror reflecting the tension between our species intellectual brilliance and our devastating primal urges. This thematic density ensures that each sculpture operates on multiple interpretive levels simultaneously.
This mixed-media assemblage centers on an 1880s New York daguerreotype of an organ grinder, surrounded by Victorian images of twin sisters and an organ grinder’s monkey, Castings of small hands, mechanical fragments, Godzilla, a UFO, and surreal figures—including a Buddha with a rabbit head—create a dark, vaudevillian tableau. The work blends Victorian spectacle with contemporary myth, evoking the strange theater of history, memory, and popular culture.
The Organ Grinder's Banquet | Mixed Media
$1,800
41 x 18 x 4
Ultimately, these intricate structures function as humble homages to the inescapable passage of time rather than mere dystopian warnings. The practice attempts to capture the magic, horror, and absolute wonder of navigating the contemporary world as a mortal being. By offering a tactile experience of impermanence, the creations encourage audiences to find profound beauty in transience. The slow disintegration of the physical world is reframed as a magnificent, shared reality rather than an impending tragedy. The final legacy of this endeavor is a quiet demand to honor the fleeting nature of what society foolishly labels as permanent progress.
The God Tracking Station (Study after Kienholz) | Mixed Media
$1,800
20 x 23 x 7
God Tracking Station is an homage to Edward Kienholz’s satirical assemblage responding to Cold War–era space race anxieties. Loosely based on his God-Tracking Station #1 (1959), the work combines a truck headlight, deer bones, and concrete to suggest a primitive technological altar—reflecting on humanity’s attempts to locate meaning, power, or divinity through science and machinery.
"Time moves in one direction. Now is all we have."
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