Ned Smyth Archive
Searching for the Whole
Selected Artworks  1971 - 2016
The Archive

This archive follows the development of Smyth’s studio art from 1971 to 2016. He sees this trajectory as a continual search for expressing the Whole. From the age of one, Smyth was regularly taken to museums and churches across Europe, while his father, Craig H. Smyth, researched Renaissance Art. Rejecting art school, Smyth moved to New York City and began making work that echoed his early influences.

Beginning in the minimalist tradition, he introduced architecture, image and meaning into the repetition of forms. By adding this content to the formal nature of minimalism, a block of concrete became a column, became an arcade, became a cloister, became a reverent space. Smyth continues to explore the expression of reverence.

Artworks are organized by year and concept. From 1985 through 2004 Smyth exhibited only large-scale public works. A complete list of these works can be found here. The majority of artworks in this archive—from 1989-2004—were made in private and not publicly exhibited. Many are seen here for the first time.

DISCOVERING THE TRADE

Artworks 1971-1973

FINDING THE FATHER - CULTURE

Artworks 1973-1976

LEAVING THE FATHER'S HOUSE

Artworks 1977-1988

BEGINNING TO SEE

Artworks 1989-1993

MATTER HOLDS THE MYSTERY

Artworks 1992-2016