Meet Naku, AKA Miss Chloe Smith: a wanderlust New York-based artist in what can only be described as a convoluted yet simple half way house we call home. She balances the opposing forces; to dig deeper into the meaning of “eternity” at the same time as letting go of “what is?” and “why?”. This is the reoccurring essence that she shows in her work. This can be thanked to the many shoes she has walked in; from being raised in England, to living in Paris, to Hong Kong, and finally here in New York. Chloe Smith, presents Nakufo, a tribal- themed art on canvas. Her mixed media painting features a medley of unusual materials; a combination of oil paint and coffee that actually resembles watercolor on the canvas, except with more depth and shadows. Chloe’s unique approach to art, with her interesting choice of materials and flare, is a pleasure to see. She is an artist who does not fear experimentation and innovation.
Naku is the spirit name given to Chloe Smith. It was given on a journey to West Africa where Chloe learned about African culture as well as art projects there. It is the warrior that has strength to take on large projects to change the world or at least help in some way. Since Chloe received her spirit name her new focus came into play. This laid the path of her new project, Nakufo, which started off simply by painting with coffee.
She started with coffee out of inconvenience of running out of paint. This sparked a whole new wave of style in her work. The warm tones and the fluidity of mixing paint with coffee allowed Chloe to explore her inner thoughts in forms of painting. Her characters became more and more alive with each painting and she began to understand her convoluted mind a little bit better. The characters she was painting are Naku, her spirit warrior.
As she put it, “It has been my biggest inspiration to change the world with art. I have a strong sense of the way the world works and am inspired to work in development and have always felt compelled to be directly involved rather than a bystander. When I was 10 years old I protested against the war in Iraq and again when I was 17 years old. As this need has progressed I’ve made it my personal mission to actively get out into the world and meet people, explore cultures and see as many perspectives as I can. I completed a degree in International Relations and French and then lived in Paris for a year and after experiencing the situation in les banlieues did my dissertation on this and why policies to stop urban segregation have failed.”
She continues, “I have worked and assisted on projects with people who share similar motivations, one of them was AptArt (Awareness and Prevention Through Art) which uses art to help people in developing countries. An exhibition I helped to curate was for child soldiers in the Congo who did self-portraits and we sold them to fundraise for the project. I began attending conferences on worldly issues as I felt strongly against the way things were being represented in the media, especially after seeing the issues from a more personal view. I was accepted onto the ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts) in Italy where there were conferences and debates about new military technology. Throughout any political and social endeavors, art has remained my escapism and love, it has continued to grow through all of this and I am constantly being inspired to use it progressively and to provoke thought on the issues I feel strongly about.”
Miss Naku is as much a skilled professional as a truly unforgettable and capable human being. She is a real artist of not only paint but of fashion, design, innovation and lifestyle. As time goes on Miss Chloe will continue to build her brand and develop more designs and artwork. On Wednesday night Chloe had a live solo art exhibition in Chelsea, New York, where she did live art performance and showcased her art in a full gallery worth of her unique oil paintings. It was an unforgettable night of art, performance and culture. I for one am looking forward to seeing what Naku does next!
