An Earthing
Solo show
Tabula Rasa Gallery Beijing
29 November 2025 – 10 January 2026
Solo show
Tabula Rasa Gallery Beijing
29 November 2025 – 10 January 2026
From Bruegel to Smith: Earthbound and
Beyond
Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s fascination with the ground and the principles of being resonates deeply in British artist Cheri Smith’s work. Bruegel had a dual perspective — Smith described it as “he was sitting up in a tree”, while retaining an intimately grounded view of the intricate landscape. Her connection to Bruegel is most apparent in the painting The Fall of the Rebel Angels, whose appeal she explains through its contrast with his more earthbound scenes: “It is all in the air. They are just bodies falling through the air. They are almost like atoms.” In her own work, Smith embraces this ambiguity, inviting viewers to ask whether figures are falling or rising, entering or emerging from the earth.
Smith’s connection, however, is less about a single painting and more about Bruegel’s approach to individual subjects within his broader philosophical worldview. She forged an even deeper connection when she travelled to Vienna in 2018 to visit his exhibition Once in a Lifetime at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. There she encountered works such as Dulle Griet and The Triumph of Death. The latter influenced her depictions of skeletons, blurring the boundary between life and death. In her paintings, the skeletons remain fully human—stripped only of flesh—evoking a primal essence of being.
Materiality is a vital element in Smith’s practice. Using earth pigments and natural materials, she highlights a primal, almost ritualistic act of creation. Her work embodies what T. J. Clark describes in Bruegel as “down-to-earthness,” a re-grounding of the spiritual into the physical. This is evident not only in her choice of materials but also in her approach to painting: Smith does not paint from imagination alone, but from direct observation of the natural world. She draws from found objects, plants, and the textures of the earth itself—often encountered on walks in the cemetery near her house—allowing the physicality of her subjects to shape the work. In this way, the act of painting becomes an intimate dialogue with the material world, connecting her to both life and its inevitable cycles of decay and renewal.
Animals in Smith’s work carry both symbolic and personal significance. She often depicts them challenging human figures, subverting traditional hierarchies to explore interspecies relationships. In her view, humans are not inherently dominant but should contribute to a nourishing coexistence. Her mindset is shaped by her own lived experience with her dog, Fig, a Bedlington Whippet. “Being alive is beautiful,” she explains, “and a big part of life is interacting with other beings, whether that means humans, animals, or plants. And that is why I try to give equal attention to all those parts in my paintings.”
While her work begins in dialogue with Bruegel’s worldview, it ultimately emerges as a multidisciplinary reflection of Smith’s own experiences, observations, and philosophical inquiries—blending historical inspiration, material exploration, and personal narrative into a singular contemporary vision.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Cheri Smith (b. 1991, Essex, UK) currently lives and works in London. Her work explores themes of animality, embodiment, wildness, and strangeness. Cheri’s painted world and its symbolic elements are deeply rooted in the principles of nature. Earthy colours and a sensitivity to natural details and textures draw attention to the organic cycles of life. Animals and plants recur as lively symbols, weaving individual elements into a collective narrative.
Through her unique lens, Cheri addresses complex themes such as life and death, reaching toward the origins and continuities of existence. She paints with oil, egg tempera, and glue distemper on various supports including canvas, wood panels, and book covers. Beyond traditional techniques, Smith employs a distinctive method of layering thin, tonal glazes to create a subtle luminosity. Her paintings are not merely individual images but living components that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination.
Cheri Smith received her BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Norwich University of the Arts in 2013, then completed her post-graduate degree in Drawing from Royal Drawing School in 2018, where she was awarded the Trustees Prize. She has been a recipient of residencies at Hanover Grange, Jamaica (2019), Borgo Pignano, Italy (2020), and Dumfries House, Scotland (2022). Her recent exhibitions include: An Earthing, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Solo, Beijing, 2025); Deja Vu, Galleria Annarumma (Napoli, 2024); Swallowing Figments, Fortnight Institute (Solo, New York, 2024); Four-Folds, Lychee One (London, 2024); Here be Dragons, James Freeman Gallery (London, 2023); The Consolation of Clinamen, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2023); Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize (online, 2023); It’s Better to Be Cats Than Be Loved, Tabula Rasa Gallery (London, 2022); Bookworks, James Freeman Gallery (London, 2022); Nine Lives, Fortnight Institute (New York, 2021); Winter Solstice 2020 Art, Books & Ephemera, Fortnight Institute (New York, 2020); The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, the Mall Galleries (London, 2019); and Best of the Drawing Year at Christie’s (London, 2018), among others.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s fascination with the ground and the principles of being resonates deeply in British artist Cheri Smith’s work. Bruegel had a dual perspective — Smith described it as “he was sitting up in a tree”, while retaining an intimately grounded view of the intricate landscape. Her connection to Bruegel is most apparent in the painting The Fall of the Rebel Angels, whose appeal she explains through its contrast with his more earthbound scenes: “It is all in the air. They are just bodies falling through the air. They are almost like atoms.” In her own work, Smith embraces this ambiguity, inviting viewers to ask whether figures are falling or rising, entering or emerging from the earth.
Smith’s connection, however, is less about a single painting and more about Bruegel’s approach to individual subjects within his broader philosophical worldview. She forged an even deeper connection when she travelled to Vienna in 2018 to visit his exhibition Once in a Lifetime at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. There she encountered works such as Dulle Griet and The Triumph of Death. The latter influenced her depictions of skeletons, blurring the boundary between life and death. In her paintings, the skeletons remain fully human—stripped only of flesh—evoking a primal essence of being.
Materiality is a vital element in Smith’s practice. Using earth pigments and natural materials, she highlights a primal, almost ritualistic act of creation. Her work embodies what T. J. Clark describes in Bruegel as “down-to-earthness,” a re-grounding of the spiritual into the physical. This is evident not only in her choice of materials but also in her approach to painting: Smith does not paint from imagination alone, but from direct observation of the natural world. She draws from found objects, plants, and the textures of the earth itself—often encountered on walks in the cemetery near her house—allowing the physicality of her subjects to shape the work. In this way, the act of painting becomes an intimate dialogue with the material world, connecting her to both life and its inevitable cycles of decay and renewal.
Animals in Smith’s work carry both symbolic and personal significance. She often depicts them challenging human figures, subverting traditional hierarchies to explore interspecies relationships. In her view, humans are not inherently dominant but should contribute to a nourishing coexistence. Her mindset is shaped by her own lived experience with her dog, Fig, a Bedlington Whippet. “Being alive is beautiful,” she explains, “and a big part of life is interacting with other beings, whether that means humans, animals, or plants. And that is why I try to give equal attention to all those parts in my paintings.”
While her work begins in dialogue with Bruegel’s worldview, it ultimately emerges as a multidisciplinary reflection of Smith’s own experiences, observations, and philosophical inquiries—blending historical inspiration, material exploration, and personal narrative into a singular contemporary vision.
Download PDF
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Cheri Smith (b. 1991, Essex, UK) currently lives and works in London. Her work explores themes of animality, embodiment, wildness, and strangeness. Cheri’s painted world and its symbolic elements are deeply rooted in the principles of nature. Earthy colours and a sensitivity to natural details and textures draw attention to the organic cycles of life. Animals and plants recur as lively symbols, weaving individual elements into a collective narrative.
Through her unique lens, Cheri addresses complex themes such as life and death, reaching toward the origins and continuities of existence. She paints with oil, egg tempera, and glue distemper on various supports including canvas, wood panels, and book covers. Beyond traditional techniques, Smith employs a distinctive method of layering thin, tonal glazes to create a subtle luminosity. Her paintings are not merely individual images but living components that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination.
Cheri Smith received her BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Norwich University of the Arts in 2013, then completed her post-graduate degree in Drawing from Royal Drawing School in 2018, where she was awarded the Trustees Prize. She has been a recipient of residencies at Hanover Grange, Jamaica (2019), Borgo Pignano, Italy (2020), and Dumfries House, Scotland (2022). Her recent exhibitions include: An Earthing, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Solo, Beijing, 2025); Deja Vu, Galleria Annarumma (Napoli, 2024); Swallowing Figments, Fortnight Institute (Solo, New York, 2024); Four-Folds, Lychee One (London, 2024); Here be Dragons, James Freeman Gallery (London, 2023); The Consolation of Clinamen, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2023); Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize (online, 2023); It’s Better to Be Cats Than Be Loved, Tabula Rasa Gallery (London, 2022); Bookworks, James Freeman Gallery (London, 2022); Nine Lives, Fortnight Institute (New York, 2021); Winter Solstice 2020 Art, Books & Ephemera, Fortnight Institute (New York, 2020); The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, the Mall Galleries (London, 2019); and Best of the Drawing Year at Christie’s (London, 2018), among others.
Tabula Rasa Gallery (London)
Unit One, 99 East Road,
Hoxton, London
N1 6AQ
Unit One, 99 East Road,
Hoxton, London
N1 6AQ
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