Borders and Barbed Wire  - a solo show by Jed Webster Smith 

“While there is no doubt crossover in the work with the unsettling environmental and political landscape currently unfolding in America, these images come from a deeply personal space. Many of the compositions are inspired by actual events that were witnessed out in the wetlands, woods and deserts of Colorado. They speak of hardship, uncertainty and Hope.”

                                       -  Jed Webster Smith, March 2025

Where do we seek comfort when we experience hardship in life? 

Hardship, challenges, or insecurity in life can have many root causes. It can be on a societal, political, or personal level due to illness or death in the near family, or it can be something completely different that can change our lives radically. 

We all handle crises differently, but there is a tendency for us humans to seek back to a basic humanity. We need to be in balance with nature and ourselves when we experience a rough time to overcome, whatever we are going through. From a primal point of view, it's a matter of life or death.

On March 29th we are opening a solo show by the American Jed Webster Smith titled Borders and Barbed Wire, that explores his relation to nature and how that can help heal from trauma, hard times, and loss. The exhibition has been postponed several times due to a hard time, that Jed and his family went through. It had big consequences for Jed, but he has also learned something about himself and humanity during this process.

In June 2023, life took a turn of events for Jed Webster Smith and his family, and at the same time Jed also suddenly had to leave his home and studio in Los Angeles. What Jed had initially planned for his solo seemed no longer to be relevant. He entered a dark time in his life and was not able to work. He took refuge in the family cabin in the high country of Colorado.

During his time there he sought retreat in the woods of the Rocky Mountains. He would go for long walks with his dog looking for grouses or he would find himself along the banks of the Conejos River, fly rod in hand, studying the water for trout. When possible for his family, they would join him, but for most of the time he was alone. After having lived in great American cities for six years, he felt that this was something he had missed.

In the woods he had time to process and heal from the trauma he had been through. Nature gave him the opportunity to see and understand the journey he had been on for the last couple of years. That understanding and cohesion he felt in nature inspired him to return to painting again.

The works that he then created clearly shows this feeling of balance and connectedness with nature. Jed experienced firsthand the struggle between life and death that animals fight every day. The complete authenticity and presence of life and nature gave Jed his appetite for life back. His paintings are extremely relevant to all of us and stand in the exhibition as a testament to what really matters when life is rough.

We look forward to showing you the vulnerability and presence in Jed Webster Smith’s works at the opening in Gallery Poulsen March 29th 12:00-16:00, where Jed himself will be present.

The exhibition presents 7 large-scale watercolor paintings, a collection of unique drawings and several new collages from the ongoing Shellacked Cowboy series.

Opening reception Saturday March 29th: 12.00 – 16:00

Gallery Poulsen, Staldgade 32, Copenhagen

For more info, please contact the gallery at [email protected] or on tel. + 45 33 33 93 96

Works