Ka'ila working in Studio at Modoc Point, Oregon. Photograph by Cale Christi, 2018.
Ka'ila Farrell-Smith is a contemporary artist of Klamath, Modoc, Irish, and French descendancy working on the former Klamath Reservation in Modoc Point, Oregon. The conceptual framework of her practice focuses on channeling research into a creative flow of experimentation and artistic playfulness rooted in Indigenous aesthetics and abstract formalism. Utilizing painting and traditional Indigenous art practices, her work explores the space in-between the Indigenous and western paradigms. Her visual language records the research and exploration through collecting marks and detritus that examine cultural interpretations of aesthetics, symbols, and place. Ka’ila displays work in the form of paintings, objects, and self-curated installations.