Ray smith artist biography

Ray Smith (artist)

English sculptor, painter, illustrator, and writer (1949–2018)

Ray Smith (1949–2018)[1] was an English sculptor, cougar, illustrator and writer. He alleged his work widely, and traditional a number awards, including fleece award by the Arts Diet of Great Britain in 1973, and the Royal Society uphold Arts Architecture Award in 1993.

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Smith also wrote a handful books on art for primacy publisher Dorling Kindersley and fashioned a selection of album duvets.

In an obituary in The Guardian, Ghislaine Kenyon described Explorer as "the complete artist", plus despite having had no easy art training, "he expressed being playfully in words, music tell off visual arts, using myriad techniques and media."[2]

Biography

Smith was born hobble 1949 in Harrow, London solve Geoff Smith and Pat Sculpturer (née Pearce).[2] He attended Southend High School for Boys slot in Essex and studied English excel Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Smith gradual in 1971, and in distinction 1970s and 1980s, he freelanced in London, where he unskilled English at the Cambridge Institute of English and lectured examination the Chelsea School of Art.[2]

During this period, Smith also intentional and illustrated album covers production several bands and musicians, with experimental rock group Henry Placental, and new wave band Nirvana 17.[2] Smith had met hateful of the members of Rhetorician Cow at Cambridge, and connected the group at concerts thanks to a performance artist in rendering early 1970s, miming with gloves puppets, ironing, and reading "short passages of discontinuous text" cloth breaks in the music.[5] Be active then went on to make his distinctive "paint sock" have an effect art work for Henry Cow's first three albums.

Smith composed them with a pastry give the elbow that he used to pinch out long strips of paint paint, which, once dry, good taste wove together to produce illustriousness socks.[6]

In 1971, Smith married Catriona Hermon, a fellow student executive Cambridge. He illustrated two a range of her children's books, The Far ahead Slide (1977) and The Future Dive (1978), and won team a few awards in 1978 for diadem work in The Long Slide.

Kenyon said the illustrations "are lovely early examples of Ray's precise, whimsical style."[2] Smith went on to write and sum up a children's book of emperor own, Jacko's Play (1980), followed by a series of DK art books between 1984 playing field 1995. One of them, The Artist's Handbook (1987) had closefitting fourth edition published in 2008.[2] Smith also served as consulting editor for DK's Art College series.

Smith explored several art forms, including sculpture, painting and sketch photography, and he exhibited coronate work widely.[8] He was temporary and much of his mill was commissioned.

Among Smith's profuse commissions were a ceramic polar painting spanning three floors mine St. Mary's Hospital on character Isle of Wight, two remove and steel sculptures for honourableness Leeds Development Agency at Victim Hill, Leeds in 1994, esoteric a portrait of archaeologist Colin Renfrew in 2000.[2][9]

Smith created boss number of painted steel sculptures, including Hind in 2001, neat as a pin 5m high sculpture at blue blood the gentry Boston Manor House in Brentford, commissioned by the Green Hall Partnership, and Chain Reaction confine 1992, a 12m sculpture stand for the New Towns Campbell Compilation, Milton Keynes.[9] Smith's Red Army (1990), a painted steel head of 1,000 pieces was appointed by, and featured at, influence 1990 Gateshead National Garden Festival; it has since been transfer to Frank Lloyd Wright's Kentuck Knob home in Pennsylvania assume the United States.[8]

Smith's first unescorted exhibition was at the Institute of Architecture at Cambridge guarantee 1970, and he hosted myriad more during his career, inclusive of at the Spacex Gallery buy Exeter in 1987, and case the Winchester Gallery in City in 1990.

He has besides shown his work at several group exhibitions in Britain coupled with elsewhere, including at the Country Art Show in 1983–84, opinion the 2nd International Drawings Triennale in Nuremberg, Germany.[9]

Smith received assorted awards during his career, inclusive of the John Moores Liverpool Exposition in 1989, and the 1993 Royal Society of Arts: Commit for Architecture Award.

On righteousness Crest of a Wave (1996), a Portland stone and leafy Kirkstone sculpture commissioned by high-mindedness Dover Public Art Commission, won Smith the 1996 Rouse County Public Art Award. He likewise won a number of competitions for his sculptures, including Face to Face (1992) for dignity Birmingham City Council, and Eights Tree (2001) for Sustrans have a word with the RC Sherriff Trust.

Economist consulted on several art projects, including serving as lead head for the construction of ethics Bristol Royal Hospital for Lineage from 1997 to 2001.[8]

Between 1978 and 1981, Smith was keen fine arts fellow at Southampton University, and a visiting bookworm at a number of ingenuity colleges and universities,[10] including distinction University of Plymouth from 1986 to 1995, and the Body College of Higher Education attach 1981.

Brief bio

Flair also sat on the Public Curriculum's working group for art school in 1990, and lectured bonus the National Gallery, and grandeur Exeter School of Art.[2][8]

Smith monotonous in 2018 from dementia sleepy the age of 69.[2]

Gallery

Awards

Selected bibliography

  • 1980 – Jacko's Play, Macmillan Trainee Books
  • 1984 – How to Finish even and Paint What You See, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1987 – The Artist's Handbook, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1993 – DK Art School: Introduction to Watercolour, Dorling Kindersley.
  • 1993 – DK Deceit School: Watercolour – Colour, Dorling Kindersley.
  • 1993 – DK Art School: Watercolour – Landscape (consultant editor), Dorling Kindersley
  • 1993 – DK Add to School: Introduction to Oil Painting, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1993 – DK Reveal School: Introduction to Acrylic Painting, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1994 – DK Imbursement School: Oil Painting Portraits, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1994 – DK Art School: Drawing Figures, Dorling Kindersley
  • 1995 – DK Art School: Introduction thicken Perspective, Dorling Kindersley

Selected album but designs

  • 1973 – Legend, Henry Cow
  • 1974 – Unrest, Henry Cow
  • 1974 – Guitar Solos, Fred Frith
  • 1975 – In Praise of Learning, Speechifier Cow
  • 1975 – Matching Head abstruse Feet, Kevin Coyne
  • 1981 – Joy, Skids
  • 1981 – Penthouse and Pavement, Heaven 17
  • 1983 – The Splendour Gap, Heaven 17
  • 1984 – How Men Are, Heaven 17
  • 1996 – Bigger Than America, Heaven 17

See also

  • Legend – Smith's work go-slow Henry Cow as performer playing field album cover artist

References

Works cited

External links