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WL SMITH Born in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, Smith grew up in Los Angeles, California during the 1960's and 70's, the youngest of four children. His mother's family immigrated to the United States from Lisbon, Portugal in the early 1900's. His father, a descendant of an original settler in England's American colonies and perhaps the first American feminist Anne Hutchinson (1591 – 1643). Smith’s background is in economics and psychology, with no formal training in fine art. Smith began painting in 1984 while living in Hollywood, California. During the 1980's, Smith provided service for various causes including sitting board member of a Laguna Beach nature conservancy. Smith is an outspoken advocate of human rights and proponent of U.S. campaign and healthcare reform. |
In the early 1990's, Smith relocated to the East
Village Arts District in downtown Long Beach, California
where his spontaneous tempera and acrylic minimalist
abstractions began featuring castoff materials and
gravitated towards preconceived Sociopolitical
Narratives.  Smiths’ work is created not with traditional painter's tools but rather with his hands, sticks, trowels, hardened brushes, rags, and heavy plaster and/or acrylic impasto. Smith works with the stretched canvases laid out on the studio floor. |
 Abandon hope, all ye who enter here |
SOLO
EXHIBITIONS 2005 Indifference – Portfolio; Long Beach. 2005 Left Behind – Open; Long Beach. 2002 Yesterday – Portfolio; Long Beach. 1998 In A NutsHell – Artscape; Long Beach. 1997 Hindsight – Portfolio; Long Beach. 1995 Degrees of Perspective – TOMA; Long Beach. 1994 Alternative Perception – Portfolio; Long Beach. 1994 Beyond Abstraction – City Frameworks; Downtown Long Beach. GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2006 United Care Charity Auction “An Evening Of Wine And Song” – CSULB Japanese Gardens. 2002 S.E.E.D. Charity Auction – Eckstrom Gallery; Laguna Beach. 1996 Unveiled – Dark's Art Parlour; Santa Ana. 1993 Uncooperative Abstraction – The Project Box in association with ArtWeek; Los Angeles. 1992 Public Corporation for the Arts Juried Exhibition – LBCC Art Gallery. Awarded Entry for "Silent Screams, 1991". Juror: Peter Frank. 1992 Holiday Exhibition – Portfolio; Long Beach. 1992 Reflections of the Urban Environment – Studio of David DiMichele; Long Beach. 1991 The Nature Of Importance – Portfolio; Long Beach. 1991 Opening Exhibition – Wells Gallery; Riverside. |
| REVIEWS Schoenkopf, Rebecca; Long Beach Rocks, O.C. Weekly, 3-28-97, p 27. Gottlieb, Shirle; Monochromatic Message, Press Telegram, 3-18-97, pages C1/C2. Lisa Buck; Melancholic ‘Hindsight’ Shows Surprising Insight, The Downtown Gazette, 3-17-97, p 5. Yoon, Linda; Dark's Art Parlour, The Periodical of Dark Art, Issue 3, p 8. Inigo Jones; Caffeinated Art, The Catalyst Newspaper. March 1994. Metivier, George; The Missing Link, The Marina News, 3-3-94, p 9. Montgomery, Tiffany; Artist Paints What He Can't Scream, The Signal, 2-2-94, p 2. Sasway, Mark; Alternative Perception, The Event, 3-10-94, p 6. Scarborough, James; Uncooperative Abstraction, the ProjectBox in association with ArtWeek, 12/93. |
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