Nick Smith’s compositions rest comfortably between abstraction and figuration, appearing from afar to be pixelated versions of famous paintings from Western art history. Each is a collage of hundreds of paint swatches Smith has assembled to form images of iconic paintings, like his tributes to masterpieces by Grant Wood and Leonardo da Vinci, American Gothic (2020) and Mona Lisa 1 (2015). Smith began reconstructing paintings in 2014, when he recreated Andy Warhol’s portrait of Marilyn Monroe. His works are highly sought after by international collectors. While best known for his replicas of museum masterpieces, Smith also uses color chips to reproduce movie posters, nude portraits, and still lifes of condiments. He also incorporates text into his pieces by replacing paint names on swatches with evocative words, adding a narrative layer to the work. A graduate of Coventry University, Smith’s previous work in interior design led to his choice of medium.