Appleton, WI For Trina, the mountains surrounding her hometown Missoula Montana are a part of the fabric of her psyche. The pandemic experience surfaced a deep-rooted longing for the mountains that has persisted in her painting practice. Longing suggests a desire to make memory or residual understanding more tangible. In these paintings Trina is reaching to replicate the feeling of being in the mountains, to hold onto the sensation of the colors, the layers, and the complexities of the mountain space. ------- Trina May Smith grew up in Missoula Montana, where the landscape imprinted a lasting impression that repeatedly finds its way into her paintings. She received her BFA in Painting from the University of Washington in Seattle and her MFA in 2D Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Reflections on navigating the literal and conceptual complexities of the social landscape are at the heart of Trina’s work. The warped and altered reality of the current times shape the decisions in her paintings with an ever-evolving response. Trina has been in many group and solo shows across the United States including exhibitions in Brooklyn NY, Chicago, Washington DC, and Seattle. She has shown at Abel Contemporary, Tory Folliard and Portrait Society Galleries in WI as well as being invited to show at institutions such as the Wright Museum of Art in Beloit Wisconsin, Mount Mary University in Milwaukee and at Maine College of the Arts in Maine. Trina is an Assistant Professor of Painting at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.