Laurel Smith is a contemporary minimal painter who lives and works in Calgary, Canada. She studied art at the University of Calgary and went on to receive a BFA with distinction from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, and a MFA from Concordia University, Montreal. She is the recipient of several awards including: Canada Council for the Arts; Alberta Foundation for the Arts; Eastern Canada Winner of the RBC Investments 6th Annual Painting Competition; The Brucebo Foundation; Concordia University Fellowship; Sheila Hugh MacKay Foundation; and she was awarded both the Illingworth Kerr Travel Award and the Illingworth Kerr Academic Achievement Award. Her paintings are also included in numerous public and private collections.
Her newest body of paintings combine two diametrically opposed design styles: the austerity of Minimalism and ornament (inspried by the Rococo period and more recently the court of the late Qing Dynasty) into a form that Smith coins "Ornaminimalism". Smith combines industrial with handmade techniques by applying more than twenty glazes of colors to create an all-over surface upon her custom laser cut panels. The dense color of the multi-layered surface contrasts the borders of the paintings' edges. These contrasting edges activate the wall as an ornamental element thereby expanding the traditional boundaries and impact that paintings have upon their surround. Her works reflect her longstanding fascination of class and taste. Smith states, "The paintings reflect my view of contemporary society's excessive consumer culture, which contradicts a desire for the simple."
Solo Exhibitions:
2010 -
CIXI - Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
2008 -
Paintings by Laurel Smith - Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
2007 -
Ornaminimalism – Peak Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2005 - LS is More – Peak
Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2004 - New Stance –Nogochi, Montreal,
Quebec
2004 - Scaling –Le2, Montreal, Quebec
2001 - Critical Distance
–Bourget Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1997 - Sedimental Shifts –Marion Nicoll
Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
1997 - Stratagem – CJSW Radio, Calgary, Alberta
1996 - Sedimental Traces –Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary
Group Exhibitions:
2010 - Inhabiting Spaces: Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland,
Porvoon Art Factory, Porvoo Finland; and Museum of Fine Arts, Porto Portugal.
2010 - Fresh Paint: Alberta Foundation for the Arts 2 Year Traveling Exhibition
2009 - The New Minimalists - Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary, AB
2009 - stArt - Studio 21, Halifax
2009 - Sketchbook Project - Art House Project
2009 - Faculty Exhibition - University of Calgary Art Department
2009 - Neo-Minimalism -Triangle Gallery, Calgary
2009 - 1111 Artists: OneFest Exhibition, Calgary
2009 - ArtStroll - Herringer Kiss Gallery, Calgary
2008 - Looking Ahead - Triangle Gallery, Calgary
2008 - Soapbox - Khyber Institute of Contemporary Art, Halifax
2008 - I'll Show You Mine - University of Calgary, Mezzanine Gallery2008 - Art on the Block - Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton
2008 -
Revived Object – University of Calgary + Creative Kids Museum
2007 - Alberta
Biennial: Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Walter Phillips Gallery,
Banff
2006 - University of Calgary Faculty of Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition
2006 - About Time: Contemporary Painting in Calgary, Nickle Arts Museum,
Calgary, Alberta
2005 - Unrepentant Exposure – Group Exhibition – Paul Kuhn
Gallery, Calgary
2004 - There and Now Silent Art Auction, Calgary
2004 -
RBC/Canadian Art Foundation Painting Competition GroupTouring Exhibition
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
New Brunswick Museum of Art,
Saint John, New Brunswick
McMaster Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
Museum
of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, Ontario
2004 - ARTview 2004 Auction,
Carnegie Institution, Washington, DC
2004 - Paper Polyhedra – Two person
exhibition – Vanier Library, Montreal, Quebec
2003 - Homecoming – VAV
Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
2003 - Sacred Heart – Musee d’art Contemporaine,
Montreal, Quebec
2002 - Collective Visions – Visual Arts Centre, Westmount,
Quebec
2002 - Alumni Exhibition – Concordia University
2002 - Baltic
Watercolors – Laval University, Laval, Quebec
2001 - Bravo – Concordia MFA
Group Exhibition, Montreal, Quebec
2001 - Vanier Faculty Show – Vanier
College, St. Laurent, Quebec
2000 - Paint-or-die – Ste Catherine, Montreal,
Quebec
2000 - Sur la Ligne/On the Line – UQAM Centre de Diffusion, Montreal,
Quebec
2000 - MFA Painters – Concordia VAV Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
2000
- Faire la Rue – Mount Royal Summer Exhibition – Montreal, Quebec
1999 -
Painting Insides – Two person exhibition – Stride Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
1999 - Wide Open – Concordia VAV Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
1999 - MFA
Open House – Bourget Building, Montreal, Quebec
1999 - Artists Trading Card
Sessions – Calgary, Montreal, Poland
1998 - Picture Windows: New Abstract
Painting, Artweek, Calgary, Alberta
1998 - Poland Travel Study Exhibition –
Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary
1998 - Senior Painting
Exhibition – Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary
Public Collections:
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Calgary Arts Alliance Civic Art Collection, Calgary, AB
Royal Bank Investments/Canadian
Art Foundation, Toronto, Ontario
Contemporary Arts Museum, Visby, Gotland,
Sweden
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Triangle Gallery Artists Circle, Calgary, AB
Manitoba Hydro Permanent Collection, Winnipeg, MB
Hotel Alma, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Publications/Reviews:
Inhabiting Spaces Catalogue 2010
Paintings by Laurel Smith: Herringer Kiss Gallery by Mireille
Perron, Canadian Art Magazine Winter 2009
Neo-Minimalism Exhibition Catalogue, curated by Harry Kiyooka, 2009
RBC Canadian Painting Competition 10 Years: Laurel Smith The
Minimalist by Catherine Crowston
2008 RBC Canadian Art Foundation Calendar
Ornaminimalism,
Exhibition Catalogue, 2007
Globe & Mail, December 2007, Laurel Smith at
Peak Gallery by Gary Michael Dault
Utopia + Disaster: Alberta Biennial
Exhibition Catalogue, 2007
Avenue Magazine, October 2007
Calgary Herald,
February 2006, Celebrating Paint by Jennifer McVeigh
Globe & Mail,
February 2006, LS is More by Gary Michael Dault
Mass Art Guide, Feb. 2006,
The Less and More of Laurel Smith by Monika Burman
Canadian Art Magazine,
Winter issue 2005
RBC Investments Press Releases, Fall 2004
The Link,
2003
Concordia Alumni Magazine, 2003
Watercolor Magazine, 2001
Snapshot
CD Rom Catalogue, 2000
Paint-or-Die, Exhibition Catalogue, 2000
Painting
Insides, Stride Gallery Publication, 1999
Fast Forward Magazine, 1999 The
Link, 1999
Picture Windows: New Abstract Painting, Exhibition Catalogue,
1998
Reviews Written by Laurel Smith:
2010
– Driven by Distraction: Tim Westbury, Fast Forward Magazine
2010 – An Ocean of Possibilities: Eveline Kolijn, Fast Forward Magazine
2010 – Cutting Edge Art: Reinhold Pinter, Fast Forward Magazine
2009 – Branding KiCK Gallery Q+A, Prairie Artsters
2009 – Throw Away Gallery Director Susan Piechotta, Prairie Artsters
2009 – It Isn’t What You Think Works of Christopher Willard, Prairie Artsters
2009 – Paintings by Melanie Authier, C.A.R. Culture
2009 – Improve Vision, C.A.R. Culture
Teaching:
2008-present Alberta College of Art and Design, Extended Studies
2006-Present Sessional Instructor, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
2002-2004 Champlain
College, St. Lambert, Quebec
2000-2001 Concordia Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec
2001 Vanier College, St. Laurent, Quebec
Artist Talks, Lectures &
Residencies:
2009 - ArtNow - University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
2009 - Telus Science Center, Creative Kids Museam
2006 – Nickel Arts Museum, Calgary, Alberta
2003 -
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
2002 - Visual Arts Centre, Westmount,
Quebec
2001 - Laval University, Laval, Quebec
2000 & 2001 - Hunter
College, State University of New York, NY
2000 - Brucebo Foundation,
Gotland, Sweden
1998 - London Travel Study Pilot Programme
1998 - Poland
Travel Study Programme
Education:
In
progress: Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Education, University of Calgary
2001 - Master of Fine Arts
(Studio Arts), Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
1998 - Bachelor of Fine
Arts with Distinction, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary
Awards:
Canada
Council for the Arts Production Grants
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Production Grant
RBC Canadian Art Foundation Painting
Competition Eastern Canada Winner
Concordia University Student Merit
Award
Concordia Alumni Association Merit Award
Concordia University
Graduate Fellowship
Canadian-Scandinavian Brucebo Fine Art
Scholarship
Sheila Hugh MacKay Foundation Grant
Alberta Foundation for the
Arts Visual Study Grant
Illingworth Kerr Travel Study
Illingworth Kerr
Academic Achievement Award
