Painter René Smith moved here from Philly in 2003 and her paintings have been striking a chord in me ever since. The characters in Smith's work are furtive. They exhibit shamefulness and guilt, feelings akin to the initial blush of self-discovery.

Above the rumble of the 7 train, outside her studio in Long Island City, I asked Smith about this air of sly, sexual restraint that pervades her paintings. In the painting, Long Island City, NY (pictured here with the painter), a couple lounges against a swath of grass and sky. The pair are in a haze of post or pre-lasciviousness, and the viewer can discern a strong sense of mutual yearning. Upon seeing this painting, the viewer is made a voyeur.

Nowhere is that voyeuristic angle played up more than in her pastel, Good Luck. Here the subject is alone, her cheeks flush with desire. An embroidered message, "Good Luck", lies near her like a bad omen. The woman is placed off to the side of the frame as if to entice the viewer to reexamine her moral and physical standing. Smith begs us to look on as the character's interior life is exposed. The green wall that fills most of the canvas stands as a relief, allowing the vulnerability of the moment to run its course. While this scene is taken from an old photograph, the feeling is timeless. In Good Luck, discomfort is achingly universal.

Thanks to a new, larger studio, Smith has been able to embark on a series of larger format paintings. However, it is insignificant what size, format, or medium René Smith is working in, because her visual narratives continually last with the viewer.

In July 2008, Smith will take part in a group show at Aljira in Newark, curated by Christopher Y. Lew, the manager of curatorial affairs at PS1.