If last Monday was “Blue Monday” (not an homage to New Order’s most famous belter, but the most depressing day of the year), then this week should at least be the start of some more cheerful times. And what better way to herald them in than with a melange of some of the most chipper icons we know: the sun, a big old smile and a balloon. American artist Adam Parker Smith—who we previously highlighted as an example of curators “lightening up”—works with sculpture, video, assemblage, collage and photography to create pieces that often place daft, fun objects on high-art pedestals (or at least plinths), such as this adorable, rosy cheeked sun face, which would surely raise a smile in even the most January-blues’d of us. Smith once said he feels like many of his irreverent works begin from ideas that “start out as jokes, for better or worse”, even if they’re ultimately rooted in darker feelings of fear, longing or jealousy.
