Trampling Over the Classics is my conversation with art history, a push and pull between reverence and irreverence. These paintings borrow the emotional weight, compositional power, and quiet grandeur of Renaissance and classical art, only to dismantle and reimagine them through a contemporary lens.

I’m fascinated by the tension between what we inherit and what we create anew. The process often begins with a nod to the structure and sensibility of the Old Masters, fragments of figures, the rhythm of drapery, or the gravity of a timeless pose. From there, the work becomes an act of liberation: layers are scraped away, forms are fractured, and colour surges in where history once demanded restraint. This series isn’t about rejecting tradition, it’s about keeping it alive by allowing it to change. By breaking apart the familiar, I aim to uncover something raw, something that speaks to the present while still carrying the bones of the past. In Trampling Over the Classics, heritage and innovation meet on equal footing. It’s a space where the weight of history is acknowledged, but never allowed to stand still.
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Above the Vaulted Sky, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Above the Vaulted Sky, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Carried by Angels, 2021
    Ian Rayer Smith, Carried by Angels, 2021
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Fractals , 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Fractals , 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Garden Party, 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Garden Party, 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Freedom in the fields #1, 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Freedom in the fields #1, 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Freedom in the fields #2 , 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Freedom in the fields #2 , 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Journey Among Worlds, 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Journey Among Worlds, 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Laguna , 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Laguna , 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, High Society , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, High Society , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Life Stream , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Life Stream , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Living a dream of a life of freedom , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Living a dream of a life of freedom , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Post Terram, 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Post Terram, 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Portal 6 , 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Portal 6 , 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Show Me the Stars, 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Show Me the Stars, 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Shroud , 2023
    Ian Rayer Smith, Shroud , 2023
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Rushing Through Delicate Situations, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Rushing Through Delicate Situations, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Souffle, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Souffle, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Spring Tales , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Spring Tales , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, First light, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, First light, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The moment of our dreams, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, The moment of our dreams, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Fractures, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Fractures, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Solitude, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Solitude, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The Visit, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, The Visit, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Bouncing over subtlety , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Bouncing over subtlety , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Collision , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Collision , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The moment of an empty space, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, The moment of an empty space, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The belonging , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, The belonging , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Wonders of life , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Wonders of life , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Twist, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Twist, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Fragment , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Fragment , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The pursuit of happiness , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, The pursuit of happiness , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, One last time, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, One last time, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Air, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Air, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Wandering, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Wandering, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Looming, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Looming, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Solitude , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Solitude , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Eterna, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Eterna, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Long sustain, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Long sustain, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Depth of soul, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Depth of soul, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Flow, 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Flow, 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Everlasting , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Everlasting , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Begin by letting go , 2025
    Ian Rayer Smith, Begin by letting go , 2025
  • Ian Rayer Smith, II, Inner Heaven
    Ian Rayer Smith, II, Inner Heaven
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The Garden of Heinous Delights, 2019
    Ian Rayer Smith, The Garden of Heinous Delights, 2019
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Everlasting , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Everlasting , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Gravity , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Gravity , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Change of Scenery , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Change of Scenery , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Postured and Poised , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Postured and Poised , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Flaunting with Scenarios , 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Flaunting with Scenarios , 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Symphony of Life, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Symphony of Life, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Regal Days, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Regal Days, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, The Divulgence of Decadence, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, The Divulgence of Decadence, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Keepers and Gallants, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Keepers and Gallants, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, Island of happiness 2024 220x160cm 8, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, Island of happiness 2024 220x160cm 8, 2024
  • Ian Rayer Smith, In the shattering of things 2024 137 x 137cm 1760, 2024
    Ian Rayer Smith, In the shattering of things 2024 137 x 137cm 1760, 2024