A Broomstick in a Man’s World
Emily Mae Smith presents a solo exhibition at Petzel Gallery featuring surrealist paintings that repurpose domestic symbols as vehicles for darker commentary. Her anthropomorphic broomsticks, witch-like rabbits, and eyeball-laden grapes populate dreamlike compositions marked by technical virtuosity and an underlying sense of menace. The exhibition’s title references the astronomical phenomenon where Venus appears as a dark spot crossing the sun, a metaphor the artist applies to themes of visibility, labour, and concealed emotional depths. Works such as ‘Venus (Inner Vision)’ depict broomstick figures rendered with visible anatomical transparency, standing within atmospheric woodland settings. Through translucent imagery and formal skill, Smith transforms symbols of women’s domestic work into complex psychological vessels, interrogating what remains hidden beneath surfaces and the invisible time invested in artistic creation.
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