Shinique Smith

Shinique Smith
Smith at work in her studio
Born	1971 (age 53–54) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Maryland Institute College of Art (B.F.A.) Tufts University (M.A.Ed) Maryland Institute College of Art (M.F.A.)
Awards	The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation
Website	shiniquesmith.com

Shinique Smith (born January 9, 1971) is an American visual artist, known for her colorful installation art and paintings that incorporate found textiles and collage materials. ^[1] She is based in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

Born in 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland, Smith's artistic training began in childhood, encouraged toward the creative arts by her mother, a fashion editor. She began studying ballet at age four, and later attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. ^[2]

In high school, Smith was influenced by artists in the Baltimore graffiti scene, an aesthetic also visible in her mature work. Her studies of Japanese calligraphy and abstraction in college also influenced her artistic development. ^[2]

After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Maryland Institute College of Art, Smith worked as a costumer and props assistant on movies such as Disclosure, Guarding Tess, Serial Mom, and That Night. ^[3] From 1995 to 2000, Smith served on the advisory board of 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, where she launched Seattle's first festival of African American film and video called Flav'a Fest. ^[4] Described in the press as "an annual journey through the visions, lives and dreams of media makers of African ancestry," ^[4] the festival hosted films by emerging and established filmmakers such as Cheryl Dunye, Cauleen Smith, Barbara McCullough, Kasi Lemmons, and Charles Burnett (who was honored by Flav'a Fest and Seattle Mayor Norm Rice at a special screening of Killer of Sheep in 1997).

After working in the film industry, Smith returned to her studies and earned a Master of Arts degree in education from Tufts University in 2000 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. ^[1] In 2003, Smith moved to New York and participated in The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's artist studio residency, where she began making sculpture. ^[5]

Art and career

Daisies up your butterfly (2013) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 2023

Shinique Smith combines fine art media with text, bright colors, and found objects, such as stuffed animals and clothing. ^{[2] [3]} She began to include used clothing in her work after reading a New York Times Magazine article about secondhand garments shipped to Africa from thrift stores. ^[6] She describes her process as a personal one: "It all begins with emotion, an expression and I allow myself to go on a journey in the making of each work, a journey of associations between object and color, between lyrics and fabric, between the viewer and me." ^[7]

Smith's art has been described as "kaleidoscopic," ^[3] collecting "the vibrant, carefully collected debris of her life and career" ^[2] and creating "graceful yet forceful combinations of many different materials and ideas." ^[8]  The Frist Art Museum has interpreted Smith's work as conveying her personal history as well as "a greater sense of cultural concern and connectivity." ^[8]

Her work gained critical attention when The Studio Museum in Harlem exhibited her first bale sculpture in Frequency in 2005, an exhibition that helped launch the careers of other artists of Smith's generation such as Nick Cave, Kalup Linzy, Xaviera Simmons, and Hank Willis Thomas. ^[9]

Smith's sculptural works were also prominently featured in the acclaimed launch exhibition of the New Museum, Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, which featured works by Sam Durant, Urs Fischer, Isa Genzken, Elliott Hundley, and Jim Lambie to name a few. ^[10] Smith's art was featured in 30 Americans, an exhibition of works by African American artists (including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rashid Johnson, Kerry James Marshall, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, and Kehinde Wiley among others) in the permanent collection of the Rubell Museum in Miami ^[11] that has toured extensively since 2009 and been a favored by critics and viewers at many museums across the U.S. ^[12]

Since these exhibitions, Smith's works have been exhibited at numerous venues internationally, including a recent 2014 survey of her work BRIGHT MATTER at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where Jen Mergel, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art described the palette of Smith's works in the exhibition and use of found materials as "a product of United States culture especially from the 1980s." ^[13] Mergel said the exhibition "reflects an essential aspect of Smith's practice: how to visually manifest emotional connection, belief and the resilience of human energy through gestures and materials that shape daily life. Her work is an embodiment of the powerful spectrum of expression that for Smith, leans toward joy. ^[14]

Also in 2014, Smith was commissioned by The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway in Boston to create a mural for their rotating exhibition wall. Smith's work, Seven Moon Junction was nationally recognized as one of the Best Public Art Projects Annually by Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review. The Greenway also commissioned Smith to create an accompanying dance performance video, Gesture III: One Great Turning, a collaboration with Boston-based KAIROS Dance Theater, which was filmed on The Greenway in front Smith's mural. ^[15]

Awards and collections

Shinique Smith received an Art Purchase Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2022, the Anonymous Was a Woman Award in 2016, ^[16] The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award in 2013, The Maryland Institute College of Art's Alumni Medal of Honor in 2012, and a Joan Mitchell Prize in 2008. Smith's work is included in several permanent collections, including the Ackland Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Denver Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Palmer Museum of Art, The Rubell Family Collection, Miami; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; ^[17] and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Select solo exhibitions

2023:

• Shinique Smith: PARADE, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, December 16, 2023 - January 5, 2025 ^[18]

2022:

• Shinique Smith: Stargazers, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, April 21, 2022 - July 31 ^[19]

2020:

• Shinique Smith: Grace Stands Beside, Baltimore Museum of Art, March 11 – August 9 ^[20]
• Indelible Marks, UBS Art Collection Gallery, New York, January 27 – June 10 ^[21]

2019:

• Indelible Marks, UBS Art Collection, UBS Lounge, Art Basel Miami, December 4–8 ^[22]

2018:

• Shinique Smith: Refuge, curated by Essence Harden, California African American Museum (CAAM), Los Angeles, California ^[23]

2016:

• MOCA Jacksonville, Shinique Smith: Project Atrium Quickening, March 19 - June 26 ^[24]

2015:

• Shinique Smith: Wonder and Rainbows, The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN; October 9 – January 10, 2016 ^[25]
• Threaded, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA; February 12 – April 12, 2015 ^[26]

2014:

• Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER, curated by Jen Mergel, Museum of Fine Arts, Henry and Lois Foster Gallery, Boston; August 23 - March 1, 2015 ^{[14] [27]}
• Shinique Smith: Changing Rooms, Galerie Henrik Springmann, Berlin; March 15-April 15 ^[27]
• Arcadian Clusters, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing; February 7-June 1 (catalogue) ^[27]

2013:

• Kaleidoscopic, David Castillo Gallery, Miami; May 17-July 6
• Shinique Smith: Bold As Love, James Cohan Gallery, New York; February 15-March 16
• Firsthand, Los Angeles County Museum of Art at Charles White Elementary, Los Angeles; Feb 8-July 19

2011:

• SHINIQUE SMITH: To the Ocean of Everyone Else, Brand New Gallery, Milan; November 10-December 23 (catalogue)
• The Urban Pastoral, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Pinnacle Gallery, Savannah GA; August 11-October 7 and (SCAD), Trois Gallery, Atlanta, April 25-July 22
• New Degree of Love, Galerie Zidoun, Luxembourg; June 9-July 31
• Shinique Smith: Menagerie, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison WI; January 22 - May 8 (catalogue)

2010:

• Every Brick, curated by Steven Matijcio, SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC; November 18-February 13, 2011
• Shinique Smith: Menagerie, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Miami FL; September 16 November 19 (Catalogue)
• Shinique Smith: No Words, Yvon Lambert, Paris; April 2-May 12
• My Heart Is My Hand, Illinois State University Galleries, Normal IL; February 16-March 28

2009:

• Ten Times Myself, Yvon Lambert, New York; May 21-July 31
• Shinique Smith: Like it Like that, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; April 2-June 28

2008:

• Yvon Lambert, London; Good Knot, November 22-December 20, 2008
• Torch Songs, Curated by Isolde Brielmaier, Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta; April 19-May 30, 2008

2007:

• Shinique Smith: Lost & Found, Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis; June 9-July 29, 2007
• Shinique Smith: Open Strings, Skestos Gabriele Gallery, Chicago; March 9-April 7, 2007

2006:

• Shinique Smith: No dust, no stain, Cuchifritos Gallery, New York; October 7-November 11, 2006

2005:

• Overstock, The Proposition, New York; December 8-January 21, 2006 (essay by Greg Tate)
• FULL-ON!, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder CO; June 24-September 3, 2005

2002:

• Crossroads, The Creative Alliance, Baltimore, September - October, 2002 ^[28]
• Manifestations, Scuola dei Tiraoro e Battioro, Venice, Italy, June 2002 (Catalogue)^{[ citation needed ]}

Public projects

Rotating

• Peter Blum Gallery, a group exhibition Fabric features Shinique Smith's: Boston 2022 and Pieces of Grace 2020, May - July 2023 ^[29]

• "Aspen Art Museum at Elk Camp", a site specific project in Snowmass, Shinique Smith: Resonant Tides Nov 28, 2015-Sep 10, 2017 ^[30]
• Open Source, a citywide exhibition with Mural Arts in Philadelphia. A new mural and performance project, Shine Space ^[31]
• Seven Moon Junction, Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Boston, September 2014 -August 2015 a temporary 70' x 76’ mural at Dewey Square Park in Boston. ^[32]

Permanent

• "Only Love, Only Light", Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority, completion date 2017 ^[33]
• First Born of the Child's Sunrise, located in the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown African American Department at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD - mixed media, completed 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shinique_Smith_plaque.jpg
• Joy's Way, The UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco, completed 2014 ^[34]
• Mother Hale's Garden, Located at The Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot, New York MTA/Arts in Transit, New York - Permanent mosaic and hand painted art glass, 5,000 square feet, completed 2013 ^{[35] [36]}
• Twilight and Dawn, Permanent murals at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in collaboration with Art Production Fund, completed 2010. ^[37]

Performances

• Breathing Room: Bound and Loose - Performed at the Baltimore Museum of Art January 11, 2020.
• Breathing Room - Performed 2018 during Kansas City Open Spaces curated by Dan Cameron.
• Gesture III: One Great Turning - 2015, Filmed in front of Smith's mural Seven Moon Junction, with the use of aerial and ground videography performed by and in collaboration with the KAIROS Dance Company with sound & editing design by Gary Pennock.
• Gesture II: Between two breaths - Performed by Shinique Smith and Marisa Arriaga at Brooklyn Academy of Music on October 5, 2015, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as part of Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER on February 11, 2015.
• Gesture I: Unraveling - Performed by Marisa Arriaga at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as part of Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER on September 7, 2014.

Curatorial projects

• Elsewhere, Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta; Curated by Smith, A group exhibition exploring contemporary romantic themes of landscape, place and the pastoral with works by artists: Marcus Morales, Jane Benson, Christine Bailey, Justin Anderson, Erika Ranee, Sean Ryan, Mickalene Thomas and Jennie C. Jones.
• Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day, The Proposition, New York, November 2 -December 16, 2006; Curated by Smith, A group exhibition exploring contemporary melancholy through artworks by emerging and emergent artists; Ann Craven, Rashawn Griffin, Sean Ryan, Sigrid Sandstrom, Sabeen Raja, Jina Valentine, Christine Bailey, William Downs III, Elizabeth Bick and Kira Lynn Harris.

References

1. Pinder, Kymberly N. (2008). "Unbaled: An Interview with Shinique Smith". Art Journal. 67 (2): 7. doi:10.1080/00043249.2008.10791301. S2CID   194062621.
2. Brooks, Katherine (18 September 2014). "Shinique Smith Crafts A Celestial Universe From Ink, Textiles And Other 'Bright Matter'". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 28 March 2015.
3. "Meet Shinique Smith, The Black Artist Behind The Center Piece Of Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary Pop Art Exhibition". Essence. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
4. Hartl, John (26 February 1999). "'Flav'a Fest' Winds Down This Weekend". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
5. Fromm, Sheridan. "Artist: Body Spotlight- Shinique smith". LexingtonArtLeague.org.
6. Sheets, Hilarie M. (7 March 2013). "Giving Castoffs a Second Life". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. shinique smith
8. "Shinique Smith Brings Her Vibrant Paintings and Sculptures to Nashville's Frist Center". PR Newswire. 2015-08-12. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
9. Pollack, Barbara (January 2010). "Clothes Connections". Artnews.
10. Smith, Roberta (2007-11-30). "Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century - New Museum of Contemporary Art - Art - Review". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-03-26.
11. "30 Americans". Rubell Museum. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
12. Schumacher, Mary Louise. "'30 Americans' at the Milwaukee Art Museum". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
13. Edgers, Geoff (August 16, 2014). "Bringing joy to Smith's 'Bright Matter' works". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 1 May 2015.
14. "MFA Boston Debuts New Works in "Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER"". www.mfa.org.
15. "Inter/Sections".
16. "Recipients 2016". Anonymous Was A Woman. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
17. "Bale Variant No. 0024 (Everything), Shinique Smith ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art". collections.artsmia.org. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
18. "SHINIQUE SMITH: PARADE". The Ringling. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
19. "Shinique Smith: STARGAZERS". www.jccc.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
20. "Shinique Smith: Grace Stands Beside | Baltimore Museum of Art". Shinique Smith: Grace Stands Beside | Baltimore Museum of Art. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
21. "Transforming neglected materials into art". UBS Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
22. "Shinique Smith's "Indelible Marks" at Art Basel's UBS Lounge". Whitewall. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
23. "Shinique Smith Adds New Layers to Her Fabric Work With a Show That Doubles as a Collection for LA's Homeless". artnet News. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
24. "Shinique Smith". mocajacksonville.unf.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
25. "Shinique Smith: Wonder and Rainbows - Frist Art Museum". fristartmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
26. "Threaded". Moss Arts Center. March 9, 2019.
27. "Shinique Smith". Springmann.
28. "Shinique Smith". Springmann. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
29. "Fabric - Exhibitions - Peter Blum Gallery, New York". www.peterblumgallery.com. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
30. "Shinique Smith: Resonant Tides". Aspen Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
31. "Shine Space". Mural Arts Philadelphia. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
32. "Shinique Smith, 2014". Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
33. Broverman, Neal (January 22, 2018). "An Early Look at All the Artwork Coming to the Metro Crenshaw Line Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
34. "Shinique Smith, Joy's Way, 2014, UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay Hospitals, San Francisco, CA | Lynne Baer". www.baerartprojects.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
35. Morris, Melissa C. (2013-08-27). "Art in Transit: A Conversation with Shinique Smith". Art in America. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
36. "MTA - Arts & Design | NYCT Buses Permanent Art". web.mta.info. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
37. Feldberg, Sarah (2010-10-26). "The Cosmopolitan's writing on the wall - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.

External links

• Interview: "A Conversation with Shinique Smith" (2016) from MICA
• Interview: "An Artist's Evolution: Shinique Smith in Conversation with Cara Ober" (2020) from Enoch Pratt Free Library
• Pinder, Kymberly N. (June 2008). "Unbaled: An Interview with Shinique Smith". Art Journal. 67 (2): 6–17. doi:10.1080/00043249.2008.10791301. ISSN   0004-3249. S2CID   194062621.