Anj Smith is a British contemporary artist known for her meticulously detailed paintings that skirt across and blend portraiture, landscape, and still life. Her art, held in leading international collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and MOCA Los Angeles, is celebrated for its intricate exploration of gender, ecology, anxiety, and eroticism, weaving together the personal and the mythic in richly textured worlds.

Smith was born in Kent, England, in 1978. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and Goldsmiths College in London, both institutions known for nurturing innovative contemporary artists. Smith’s upbringing in the English countryside and her rigorous academic training have profoundly shaped her visual language, which draws on both overlooked art histories and personal experience. She currently lives and works in London, maintaining a practice that is both deeply rooted in tradition and strikingly contemporary.

Photo credit : Anj Smith in her studio in London, 2025, © Kasia Bobula