Artist Dianne Smith

Artist Bio

Dianne Smith is an abstract painter, sculptor, and teaching artist. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions through out the Tri-State area, as well as, California, Florida, North Carolina, Philadelphia and Arkansas.

Smith is currently a teaching artist in Aesthetic Education at Lincoln Center Institute. In 2007 the historical Abyssinian Baptist Church commissioned Smith to create the artwork commemorating their 2008 Bicentennial. She was also one of the artists featured in the Boondoggle Film Documentary Colored Frames released in 2007. The film took a look back at fifty years in African-American Art. In addition, she co-produced an online radio show the New Palette, dedicated to visual artists of color. In1995 she presented esteemed Poet Dr. Maya Angelou and Broadway Choreographer George Faison each with one of her paintings: Spirit of My Ancestors "I" and "II." Her work is also in the private collections of Danny Simmons, Vivica A. Fox, Rev. and Mrs. Calvin O. Butts, III, Cicely Tyson and Terry McMillian.

Dianne Smith is a Bronx native of Belizean descent. She attended the Otis Parsons School of Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music and Art. Smith currently lives and works in New York City.

Artist Statement

I create assemblages constructed with any item that would ordinarily be thrown away. The sculptures are made with everyday garbage and whatever (art) materials I have. I find ways to bridge conventional material and my trash. Or, I may deconstruct an existing piece and repurpose it into another work of art.

One day, while cleaning my kitchen I began to pay attention to the size of my trashcan. What occurred to me was how large it was for one person. The next day I swapped it out for a much smaller one. However, that did not satisfy my preoccupation with waste. I became consumed with what I threw away. Suddenly, I began saving things like: junk mail, bottles, cans, old clothes, painting rags, files, newspapers, packaging, etc. These (otherwise) discarded materials became part of my inner dialogue--a metaphor for how I view the world. Identity: race, gender, religion, inequity and consumption in a global climate filled with economic despair are all interrelated. Yet, my personhood defines my relationship with each one. Just as it defines the relationship I have with the items I use in my sculptures.

Dianne Smith, 2009, Untitled, rope, files, magazines, painted canvas paper, 69 x 12 x 5

Dianne Smith, 2009, Totem 1, rope, string, yarn, clothing, broken swiffer stick, 40”

Dianne Smith, 2009, All Wrapped Up, rope, string, junk mail, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, 36 x 10 x 5

Dianne Smith, 2009, Waste Not Want Not, rope, string, clothing, cardboard boxes, 24 x 13 x 6

Dianne Smith, 2009, Identity Theft Painting rags, paper, plastic bags, used rubber gloves, magazine pages, plexiglass, fishing wire, acrylic paint, 21 x 8 x 5

Dianne Smith, 2009, AfroPuff, wire and vintage metal afro pick, 13 x 12 x 14 (installation view)

Dianne Smith, 2009, Shanty Shack, wood, staples, nails, soda cans, wire, wire mesh, 48 x 72, (installation view)

Dianne Smith, 2008, Cornered, painted wood, metal, papyrus paper, 24 x 12

Dianne Smith, 2008, Forgotten Women, oil paint, rice paper, rope, 8’

Dianne Smith, 2008, Untitled, oil paint, rice paper, papyrus paper, wood, fiberglass foam, wire, 54 x 13 x 6

Dianne Smith, 2008, I Too Sing America, oil paint, rice paper, kitchen wax paper, metal rods, wooden bowl, paper clay, 69 x 11

Dianne Smith, 2008, Reconstructed, recycled oil painting 140lb printer paper, wire mesh, 23 x 15 x 16

Dianne Smith, 2008, Deconstructed, recycled oil painting 140lb printer paper, plumbing tape, 46 x 18 x 18

Dianne Smith 101 West 130th Street, #5C New York, NY 10027 Born: Bronx, NY 1965 www.diannesmithart.com info@diannesmithart.com

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2009 PARK(ING) Day NYC, West Harlem Art Fund, New York City. 2006 Live Artfully, Kalahari, New York, New York. 2005 My View: A Black Girl’s Thoughts On Canvas, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas. Curated by Garbo Hearne. Dianne Smith, ZZAJ, New York, New York. 2003 The Duplicity of the Proletariat, UFA Gallery, New York, New York. Curated by Carol Sims and Lawrence Finney. 2002 Unbroken, UFA Gallery, New York, NY, Curated by Carol Sims and Lawrence Finney Unbroken, Diggs Gallery Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, Curated by Belinda Tate. We’ve Come This Far, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Charity Event, New York, New York. 1999 Celebrating Women’s History Month, Williamsburg Music Center, Brooklyn, New York. 1998 De-Void of Conclusion, Brooklyn Moon Café, Brooklyn, New York. 1995 Unmasked Lips and Revealing Hips, The 4W Gallery, Brooklyn, New York.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2009 Habitat for Artist, New York City. 2008 School of Visual Arts Residency Open Studios, New York City. Hearne Fine Art, National Black Fine Art Show, New York City. Collaborations: Two Decades of Excellence, Pyramid/Hearne Fine Art: 1998-2008, Little Rock, Arkansas. Curated by Garbo Hearne. Daughters Of The Diaspora, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas. Curated by Garbo Hearne. 2007 Colours Fine Art, National Black Fine Art Show, New York City. 2006 Objects Reinvented, PCOG Gallery, New York, New York. Curated by Paula Coleman. Harmony Designs, Mount Vernon, New York. Abstract Artist, Johnson-Byrd Gallery, New York City. Abstract Expressionism: A Sublime Experience, West Harlem Art Fund, Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavillion, New York City. Colours Fine Art, National Black Fine Art Show, New York City. Abstraction, Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, New York. Tilford Art Group, Los Angeles, California. Curated by Terrell Tilford. 2005 Colours Fine Art, National Black Fine Art Show, New York City. Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas. Artjaz Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Arterior, Contemporary African, Caribbean and Latin American Art, Off The Main, New York City. 2004 Kenkeleba Gallery, National Black Fine Art Show, New York City. Rongio Gallery, allu’sion, Brooklyn, New York. 2003 P.C.O.G. Gallery, New York City. Represent Too! Celebrating Black Women Visual Artist of the 21st Century, Los Angeles, California. Curated by Terrell Tilford. Rush Fine Arts, New York, New York. Unbroken, Celebrating Black History, The Art Center of Northern New Jersey, New Milford, New Jersey.

National Black Fine Arts Show, UFA Gallery, New York City. 2002 No Greater Love: Abstraction, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York City. Myriad Eyes, Women in Photography, SUNY Empire State College Metropolitan Center Galley, New York City. Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas. Curated by Garbo Hearne. Believe, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, New Jersey. Curated by Carol Sims. NAC, Rush Fine Arts, New York City. UFA Gallery, National Black Fine Arts Show, New York City. Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MOCADA), Brooklyn, New York. 2001 NAC, The Center For Arts & Culture, Skylight Gallery, Brooklyn, New York. Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MOCADA), Brooklyn, New York. Gale-Martin Gallery, New York, New York. 2000 UFA Gallery, National Black Fine Arts Show, New York City. Celebrating Black History Month, The Art Center of Northern New Jersey, New Milford, New Jersey. Celebrating Black History Month, Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paramus, New Jersey. Women in the Arts, Simone's Gallery, Pelham, New York. City Hall, Mount Vernon, New York. COLOR, Chicago Black Fine Arts Show, Gale-Martin Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. Iandor Fine Art, Newark, New Jersey. Curated by Tarin Fuller. UFA Gallery, New York City. Curated by Carol Sims. Gale-Martin Gallery, New York City. 1999 Entitled: Black Women Artist At The Skylight Gallery, Center For Arts & Culture Brooklyn, New York. Ain’t No Figuring (Abstraction), Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, New York. Curated by Danny Simmons. Corridor Gallery, National Black Fine Arts Show, New York City. 1998 Hamilton Landmark Gallery, New York City. Sankofa, Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, New York. Curated by Danny Simmons. 1997 Unmasked Lips and Revealing Hips, Fine Art By Nuri, Los Angeles, California. Hamilton Landmark Gallery, New York City.

COMMISSIONS Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York City, Sponsored by the Bicentennial Anniversary Committee, 2007.

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Dr. Maya Angelou George Faison Danny Simmons Vivica A. Fox Rev. Dr. & Mrs. Calvin O. Butts, III Cicely Tyson Terry McMillan Arthur Mitchell

BIBLIOGRAPHY Angie Hancock, The Virtuoso Dianne Smith, What’s New in Harlem, New York Living Magazine, February/March 2009. Elizabeth Fasolino, Contemporary Lessons, The East Hampton Star, July 2008.

Dianne Smith, Afterward Collaborations Two Decades of Excellence, Collaborations: Two Decades of African American Art, Hearne Fine Art Catalogue, 2008. Open House NYC, NBC, LX-TV, New York City, 2008. Kim Steger, Host, Darrell McNeill and Dianne Smith, Producers, The New Palette, Edition #4: The African Game, Kim Steger chats with Rotunda Gallery Director Isolde Brilmeler and Author Knox Robinson, ArtonAir.org, 2006. Kim Steger, Host, Darrell McNeill and Dianne Smith, Producers, The New Palette, Edition #3: Kim Steger chats with Savona Bailey-McCain, Executive Director of the West Harlem Public Art Fund, ArtonAir.org, 2006. Kim Steger, Host Darrell McNeill and Dianne Smith, Producers, The New Palette, Edition #2: Laurie Cumbo / Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, ArtonAir.org, 2006. Kim Steger, Host Darrell McNeill and Dianne Smith, Producers, The New Palette, Edition #1: Danny Simmons, Host Kim Steger with artist, gallery owner, curator, philanthropist, festival organizer, television producer and impresario Danny Simmons, ArtonAir.org, 2006. Lerone D. Wilson and Nonso Christian Ugbod, Boondoggle Films Documentary, Colored Frames, 2006. New York Times, Harlem Celebrates, August 2006. Essence Magazine, Living Well Home Special, September 2004. Flo Wiley, WCHR-FM-90.3, City College Harlem Community Radio, New York, City, 2003. Cheryl Washington, Good Day New York, New York City, 2002. Ambrose Clancy, Washington Post, Life Styles In Harlem, Washington, District of Columbia, 2002. Soho Art Journal, New York City, 2002. Cheryl Washington, Channel 5 News, New York City, 2002. Disappearing Acts, HBO & Adelphi Pictures, 2000. Sunny Smith, Bronxnet Cable, Bronx, New York, 1996. The Noel Scott Report, New York City, January 1995. Di Smith's "Lips and Hips" on Display, The New York Beacon, New York City, February 1995. Charles Rogers, Different Stages The New York Amsterdam News, February 1995. Charles E. Rogers, Di Smith's "Unmasked Lips", Different Stages The New York Amsterdam News, March1995. "Art in Motion", The New York Amsterdam News, June 1995. The City Sun, "Unmasked Lips & revealing Hips", New York City, 1995. Barbara Fenton, Tell Me Something Good, Manhattan Cable, New York City, 1995. WBCR, Brooklyn College Radio, Brooklyn, New York, 1995.

LECTURES/PUBLIC-SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS Moderator, Longevity and Sustainability in a Global Market Place, Hearne Fine Art, 2008. Lecture, Hearne Fine Art, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2007. Lecture, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, New York, New York, 2006. Lecture, UFA Gallery, New York, New York, 2003. Lecture, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, New Jersey, 2002. Lecture, Winston Salem State University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2002. Lecture, Harlem Book Fair, New York, New York, 2001.

TEACHING ARTIST Lincoln Center Institute, New York City, 2005-present. STRIVE New York, The History, and Art of the Harlem Renaissance, New York City, 2004. PCOG Gallery, E.merging Y.oung A.rtists, New York City, 2003.

RESIDENCY School Of Visual Arts Residency, Painting and Mixed Media, New York City, 2008.

EDUCATION Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, New York City, 1995-96. Fashion Institute Of Technology, New York City, 1987-88. Otis Parsons School Of Design, Los Angeles, California, 1984-85. Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, New York City, 1979-1983.