My work illustrates nuanced moments of vulnerability and strength. Through the use of performance and objects, I draw a parallel between the physicality of glass and the human body, comparing material affordance to corporeal affordance. I utilize the material metaphors inherent to glass (invisibility, luminosity, resilience, and fragility) to illuminate the dualities fluidity and rigidity; and isolation and connection.

Madeline Rile Smith is an artist specializing in glass with a focus on performance, video, and body-activated sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in venues throughout the US and internationally, including the Museum of Arts and Design, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, the Toyama Glass Art Museum, and in New Glass Review 41 and 35. She earned an MFA in glass at Rochester Institute of Technology, and a BFA in glass from Tyler School of Art.