<strong>Ned Smyth</strong>   portrait by Jonathan Morse, 2016 <strong>Delancy Street Studio</strong>   New York, 1972

Ned Smyth lives and works on Shelter Island, New York, and has been exhibiting his work since 1973. International exhibitions include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshorn Museum, PS1, the Venice Biennale, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, 112 Greene Street, and Holly Solomon Gallery.

Edward Albee:

Ned Smyth is a very good artist; his work is tough and beautiful and is informed by an awareness that art history began before 2005.

I have known his work for many years—beginning, I think, with the concrete de-definition of large household objects—and him for as long. His knowledge of the history of art, his understanding that art is as much about how we see as what we see, and his fondness of living out on limbs—often unfashionable ones—gives his work both comfort and challenge.

The pieces I saw in his studio are precisely what they are, devoid of metaphor. They are not “about” something; they “are” something, and the something they are is determined by how well we see… and how we see.

NYC, 2009

MEDIA

Video Ned Smyth: Moments of Matter | Grounds for Sculpture
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
  1. 1974
    1. 112 Greene Street, New York, NY, "Concrete Decay"
  2. 1976
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, "The Garden"
  3. 1977
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
  4. 1978
    1. Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Sculpture Garden, New York, NY, "Arcades"
  5. 1979
    1. Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York, NY, "Stahahe Sphere"
  6. 1980
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, "Adoration/Adornment"
    2. The Mayor Gallery, London, England, "New Works"
    3. Gallery Bischofberger, Zurich, Switzerland
  7. 1982
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
  8. 1983
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
  9. 1985
    1. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
  10. 1987
    1. Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, "Ned Smyth: Three Installations"
    2. Nevada Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
    3. University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach CA
  11. 1988
    1. 1988 New York Architectural Convention, New York, NY
  12. 1989
    1. American Craft Museum, New York, NY
  13. 1992
    1. Telfair Academy, Savannah, GA
  14. 2006
    1. Solomon Contemporary, East Hampton, NY
  15. 2007
    1. Greene Contemporary Gallery, Sarasota, FL
    2. Four Stamford Plaza, Stamford, CT, "Tree of Life"
  16. 2009
    1. Salomon Contemporary, East Hampton, NY, “Seeds and Stems”
  17. 2010
    1. Salomon Contemporary, New York, NY, “Bronzes and Drawings”
  18. 2012
    1. Salomon Contemporary, New York, NY, “American Responses: Ned Smyth Reverence”
  19. 2013
    1. Salomon Contemporary, New York, NY, “Those Who Remember”
  20. 2016
    1. Ramapo College, Kresge Gallery, Berrie Center, Mahwah, NJ
    1. Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ, "Ned Smyth: Moments of Matter”
  21. 2017
    1. Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY, "Male Torso”
  22. 2018
    1. Julie Keyes, Palm Springs, CA, “Stone Photos, Drawings, and Objects”
    1. Ille Arts, Amagansett, NY, “Photographs and Bronzes”
  23. 2021
    1. Landcraft Garden Foundation, Mattituck, NY, “Life” Curated by Ugo Rondinone
    2. Shirley Fiterman Art Center at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, New York, NY, “Moments of Matter and Life”
  24. 2023
    1. Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY, “Origin Story, Ned Smyth: Ceramics and Mosaics 1977-86”


GROUP EXHIBITIONS
  1. 1973
    1. 112 Greene Street, New York, NY
  2. 1974
    1. 112 Greene Street, New York, NY
  3. 1975
    1. Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York, NY, "Report From Soho"
    2. The Clock Tower, New York, NY, "Brutten and Herrick Collection"
  4. 1976
    1. Akaddmie Der Kunst, Berlin, Germany, "New York-Downtown Manhattan: Soho"
    2. Louisiana Art Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, "New York-Downtown Manhattan: Soho"
    3. P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY, "Rooms"
    4. Fine Arts Building, New York, NY, "Sculptors' Drawings"
  5. 1977
    1. Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, PA, "Improbable Furniture"
    2. Galleria Alexandra Monte, Brussels, Belgium, "Pattern and Decoration"
    3. Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH , "Drawings"
    4. Customs House, New York, NY, "Drawings and Collage : Selections from N.Y.U. Collection"
    5. Wave Hill Center for Environmental Studies, New York, NY, "Sculpture Garden"
  6. 1978
    1. Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH, "Arabesque"
    2. P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY, "Indoor-Outdoor Sculpture Show"
    3. Nobe Gallery, New York, NY, "Black and White on Paper"
    4. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, "Gold/Silver"
  7. 1979
    1. Mayor Gallery, London, England, "Pattern and Decoration on Paper"
    2. Galleria Habermann, Cologne, Germany, "Pattern and Decoration on Paper"
    3. Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, PA, "Material Pleasures/ICA Fabric Workshop"
    4. Wave Hill Center for Environmental Studies, New York, NY, "Wave Hill, The Artists View"
    5. Robeson Center Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, "Green Magic"
    6. Freedman Gallery, Albright College, Reading PA, "Small Is Beautiful"
  8. 1980
    1. Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, "Operto 80s"
    2. Venice Biennale, United States Pavilion, Venice, Italy, "Drawings: The Pluralist Decade"
    3. Neue Galerie/Sammlung Ludwig, Aache, Germany, "Els Nouveux Mauves"
    4. Daniel Templon, Paris, France, "Nouvelle Tendence de la Peinture Americain"
    5. Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, "Architectural Sculpture"
    6. Holly Solomon Editions, New York, NY, "Davis, MacConnel, Smyth"
    7. Diane Brown, Washington, DC, "Maquettes and Small Works"
    8. ICA, University Pennsylvania, PA
    9. The Squibb Gallery, Princeton, NJ, "Aspects of Post- Modernism: Decorative and Narrative Art"
    10. Public Art Fund, New York, NY, "Percent for Art in Architecture.
    11. Ben Shahn Gallery, Paterson, NJ, "112 Greene Street Revival"
    12. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
    13. McIntosh/Drysdale Gallery, Washington, DC, "The Decorative Image"
    14. General Electric CO, Fairfield, CT, Organized by the Art Lending Service of MOMA
    15. Kunstforeningen Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
    16. Henie Onstad Museum, Lisbon, Portugal, "Drawings: The Pluralist Decade"
    17. Mannheimer Kunstverien, Mannheim, Germany
    18. Amerika Haus, Berlin, Germany
    19. Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England, "Dekor"
    20. Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, "Aspects of The Seventies: Site work"
    21. Greenberg Gallery, Saint Louis, MO
    22. Joe and Emily Lowe Gallery, Syracuse, NY, "Current New York"
    23. Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, SUNY Old Westbury, NY, "Fabric In Art"
  9. 1981
    1. The New Museum, New York, NY, "Alternatives in Retrospect: An Historical Overview 1969-1981"
    2. Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, NY, "Garden of Delight"
    3. Alternative Museum, New York, NY, "Islamic Allusion"
  10. 1982
    1. Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL
    2. Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK
    3. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
    4. Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
    5. Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
    6. Montgomery Museum of Fine Art, Montgomery, AL, "New Directions"
    7. Galerie Art-Cultural, Paris, France "Pattern Painting"
    8. Kestnergesellschaft, Hanover, Germany
    9. Kunstverein München, Munich, Germany
    10. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
    11. Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany, "New York Now"
    12. ICA, University of Pennsylvania, PA, " ICA Street Sites 2"
    13. Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, Purchase, NY, "Orientalism"
    14. Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, NY, "The Column"
    15. Allen Frumkin Gallery, New York, NY, "Self-Portraits"
    16. Independent Curators Inc., New York, NY, "Art Materialized: Selections from the Fabric Workshop"
    17. Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA, "Aspects of Postmodernism"
    18. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
    19. Zabriskie Gallery, New York, NY, "Flat and Figurative - 20th Century Wall Sculpture"
    20. Alberta College of Art Gallery, Alberta, Canada, "Decoration and Representation"
  11. 1983
    1. Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucern, Switzerland
    2. Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Bonn, Germany
    3. Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart, Germany, "Back to the USA"
    4. Galeria Swart, Amsterdam, Holland, "Brad Davis, Bob Kushner, Ned Smyth"
    5. The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, "New Decorative Art"
    6. The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, "Ornamentalism: New Decorativeness in Architecture and Design"
    7. Loch Haven Art Center, Orlando, FL; The Jacksonville Art Center, Jacksonville, Fl, "New Decorative Works from the Collection of Norma and William Roth"
    8. Proctor Art Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, "The Decorative Image"
    9. Linda Farris Gallery, Seattle, WA, "Self Portraits"
    10. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
    11. Dancer Fitzgerld Sample Inc., New York, NY, "H2O, Organized by MOMA"
  12. 1984
    1. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, "An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture"
    2. Hirshorn Museum of Art, Washington, DC, "Artist Collaboration in the Twentieth Century"
    3. Hirshorn Museum of Art, Washington, DC, "Content: A Contemporary Focus 1974-84"
    4. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, "The National Midyear Exhibition"
    5. Davis McClain Galleries, Houston, TX, "International Water Sculpture Competition"
    6. Rona Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, "Projects: Worlds Fairs, Waterfronts, Parks, and Plazas"
    7. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, 'The Innovative Landscape"
    8. McIntosh/Drysdale Gallery, Washington, DC, "Collaborating. The Power of the Artist and the Architect"
    9. The Bette Stoller Gallery, New York, NY, "Arabesque: Grand Gestures in Painting and Decorative Arts"
  13. 1985
    1. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, "1985 Biennial Exhibition"
    2. Palazzina Mostra, Rimini, Italy, "Anni Ottanta"
    3. The JB Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, "Artistic Collaboration in The Twentieth Century"
    4. Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, "A New Beginning"
    5. Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgfield, CT, "The Classic Tradition in Recent Painting and Sculpture"
    6. The Whitney Museum of American Art, Stamford, CT, "Working on the Railroad: Projects for the Northeast Corridor"
    7. Munson William Proctor Inst., Utica, NY "Heart and Soul: Bodily Encounters"
    8. Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, "Artists and Architects: Challenges in Collaboration"
    9. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, "Home Work"
    10. Jamie Szoke Gallery, New York, NY, "Public Art in the Eighties"
  14. 1986
    1. Fendrick Gallery, Washington, DC, "An American Renaissance: Painting and Sculpture"
    2. Nora Haime Gallery, New York, NY, "Drawings by Sculptors"
    3. Gallery Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL, "Homeworks/Public Works"
  15. 1987
    1. Madison Art Center, Madison, WI, "Sculptors on Paper/New Work"
    2. Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA, "Drawn to the Surface"
  16. 1988
    1. Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, "Columnal"
    2. American Craft Museum, New York, NY, "Architectural Art"
    3. Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, "American Baroque"
  17. 1990
    1. Whitney Museum of Art, Stamford, CT, "With the Grain"
    2. Harkis Gallery, Boston, MA, "Furniture"
  18. 1991
    1. Elysium Art Gallery, New York, NY, "The Tree"
  19. 1993
    1. Sidney Mishkin Gallery, New York, NY, "Studio to Site: Public Art in New York"
    2. Alphist Gallery, New York, NY, "Nine From 14 Harrison Street, curated by Edward Albee"
    3. Hippodrome Galleries, Long Beach, CA, "In Progress"
    4. Champion International Corp, Stamford, CT, "Animal Kingdom"
  20. 1994
    1. Midtown Payson Gallery, New York, NY, "Trees"
    2. Creative Time, New York, NY, "The 42 Street Show"
    3. Brooke Alexander Editions, New York, NY
  21. 1996
    1. Rainer Wins Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
  22. 1998
    1. Susan Rush Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
  23. 1999
    1. Southampton College Museum, Southampton, NY
    2. Century Club, New York, NY
  24. 2000
    1. Anita Friedman Gallery, New York, NY
  25. 2001
    1. Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY
    2. Morgan LaFay, New York, NY
  26. 2003
    1. The Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, NY
  27. 2006
    1. Long House, East Hampton, NY
    2. Salomon Contemporary, East Hampton, NY
    3. University Gallery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, "Ten + Ten: Revisiting Pattern & Decoration"
  28. 2007
    1. Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, "Pattern and Decoration: An Ideal Vision In American Art 1975-1985"
  29. 2008
    1. Elie Tahari, East Hampton, NY, "Aycock, Benglis, Hunt, Smyth"
  30. 2010
    1. Leslie Tonkonow Gallery, New York, NY, “Out of The Woods”
    2. Salomon Contemporary, New York, NY, “Plank Road”
    3. Federal Court House Building, Brooklyn, NY, "Honorary Show for Supreme Court Justice Tony Sifton - Eric Fischl, April Gornik, Maya Lin, Ned Smyth, Michael Spano, Donald Sultan"
  31. 2011
    1. Salomon Contemporary, New York, NY, “112 Greene Street - The Early Years”
  32. 2014
    1. Pavel Zoubok Gallery + Mixed Greens Gallery, New York, NY, “HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD! (1934–2002)”
    1. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, “Artists Choose Artists”
  33. 2016
    1. Southampton Art Center, Southampton, NY, “East End Collected 2”
  34. 2017
    1. Tripoli Gallery, Southampton, NY, “Black and White”
  35. 2018
    1. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, “New Works in the Collection”
    2. Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA, “Beautiful Strangers”
    3. Washington Art Association, Washington Depot, CT, "WWA Sculpture Walk"
    4. Peter Freeman Inc., New York, NY, “Summer” Curated by Ugo Rondinone
    5. Ludwig Forum Fur International Kunst, Aachen, Germany, “Pattern and Decoration. Ornament as Promise”
    6. MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland, “Pattern Decoration, & Crime”
  36. 2019
    1. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, “Parrish Perspectives, Recent acquisitions in Context”
    2. Ludwig Muzeum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, Hungary, “Pattern and Decoration”
    3. MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, “With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972–1985”
    4. Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria, "Pattern and Decoration. Ornament as Promise"
    5. Le Consortium, Dijon, France, “Pattern, Crime & Decoration”
  37. 2021
    1. Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY , “With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972–1985”
  38. 2022
    1. Shelter Island Historical Society, Shelter Island, NY, “Once on This Island” Curated by Margaret Garrett
    2. Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA, "Symbiosis" Curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody
    3. Sculpture Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, "Nature Doesn't Know About Us" Curated by Ugo Rondinone
    4. Southampton Art Center, Southampton, NY, "Celebration of Trees"
    5. Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, "Other Artists/Other Gardens"
  39. 2023
    1. Parrish Museum, Southampton, NY, "Artists Choose Parrish, Part II"


  1. PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
    1. Whitney Museum of American Art
    2. Parrish Art Museum
    3. Carnegie Museum of Art
    4. Museum Ludwig
    5. Louisiana Museum
    6. Anchorage Museum
    7. Iowa State University
    8. University of Southern Florida
    9. Montclair State University
    10. Lehman College
    11. Ramapo College
    12. Battery Park City Authority
    13. U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
    14. Prudential Life Insurance
    15. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
    16. Cigna Life Insurance
    17. Department of Environmental Protection, Fort Lauderdale
    18. Marriott International
    19. Hagedorn State Hospital
    20. NYC Department of Education
    21. New Jersey Transit
    22. Anthony Gordon Investors
  1. EDUCATION
  2. 1970
    1. B.A., Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, with high honors in art
  1. AWARDS AND GRANTS
  2. 1975-1976
    1. C.A.P.S. Grant Recipient
  3. 1978
    1. National Endowment for the Arts
    2. America the Beautiful Foundation, Harriman, NY
  4. 1985
    1. The Industry Honor Award - Installations, The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association
  5. 1990
    1. Award of Design Excellence, awarded by Mayor Dinkins, NYC, "For Wave Wall in Green"
  1. TEACHING EXPERIENCE
  2. 1976
    1. C.A.P.S. Community Service Program, NY. High School System
  3. 1977
    1. College of New Resources, University of New Rochelle, NY
  4. 1999
    1. Southampton College, Southampton, NY, Master Class
  5. 2000
    1. SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, Interim head of undergraduate and graduate sculpture dept.
  6. 2003—2012
    1. Ross School, East Hampton, NY, Mosaic Master Class
  7. 2006
    1. SUNY Albany, Albany, NY. (Visiting Lecturer and Studio critic)
  8. 2008
    1. SUNY Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY
  9. 2008—
    1. Ross School, East Hampton, NY
  1. MISCELLANEOUS
  2. 1981
    1. "The Song" A window installation in collaboration with Brad Davis for "Artist Windows", Wanamaker's, Philadelphia in conjunction with the ICA, University of Pennsylvania, PA
  3. 1996-2006
    1. Design team for the New Jersey Transit Light Rail System Master Plan