Artist Tremain Smith

Tremain Smith - Artist Statement

My desire is to paint compelling works of art that create access to the spiritual world. I use the grid to create order in my work. It is the structure that I build upon, layer by layer. From this basis I move freely. It is the departure point from which I start as well as a reference to which I continually return. This structure is a metaphor for me: my core stands intact as I move, grow, and evolve. The lines are bridges or passageways which, combined with the rectangular planes, represent internal states of being. They become mappings of the unseen as I seek to visually manifest access to the spiritual.

I am influenced by the order and beauty of the urban environment. Walls, buildings, doors, and sidewalks inspire me, as well as objects that are often passed by unnoticed. My vision as an artist is expressed in the ability to see and point out the beauty in the forms and colors that encompass everyday life. My paintings abstractly reflect these human and divine expressions.

The mixed-media technique I use is composed of multiple strata of oil glazes, collaged elements, and transparent beeswax. I scratch, heat, iron, rub, and draw on the layers, and burn imprints of found metal pieces into the wax and wood. With these processes, I create a texture and depth that draws one into the substance and spirit beneath the surface.

Resume

Education

1991-94 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

1993 Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA

1985 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Bachelor of Arts

1980-81 Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Exhibitions

Solo

2009 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ
2008 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008 Lawrence Gallery, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA
2006 Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL
2006 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005 Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2005 Lowe Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2005 Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL
2004 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
2003 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2003 Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2003 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
2002 Turtle Gallery, Deer Isle, ME
2002 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Esther M. Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Art Mecca, Chicago, IL
2000 Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY
2000 Right Brain Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1999 Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
1998 University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA

Group

2009 Encaustic Invitational, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2009 Seeing Red, Somerhill Gallery, Durham, NC
2008 Abstraction – New and Review, Allyn Gallop Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL
2008 200º Featuring Encaustic Artists: Kim Bernard, Sara Crisp, William Thomson & Tremain Smith, Lamont Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
2008 Into Intuition:Towards a Redefinition, University Galleries at Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
2007 Encaustic Works 2007, Sixth International Biennial Exhibition juried by Joan Snyder, The Gallery at R&F and Watermark/Cargo Gallery, Kingston, NY
2007 Shades of White, Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC
2007 Surface & Beyond, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ
2006 Order(ed), Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA.
Bridge Art Fair Miami, Miami, FL
2006 ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables, FL
2006 Ancestors: In Search of Source, Lowe Gallery, Santa Monica, LA
2005 The Urban Canvas, Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Art Miami, represented by the Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2005 Oil and Wax, Wallingford Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
2004 Spiritual Abstractions, Segalas Gallery, Bernardsville, NJ
2004 Saving Philadelphia – The Art of the Dumpster Divers, Sedgwick Cultural Center, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Inner Circles, Sharadin Art Gallery, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA
2004 Traveled to Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2003 International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Florence, Italy
2003 The Future in Wax, The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, PA
2003 Africanisms Unmasked, The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA
2002 The African Spirit in Contemporary Art, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2002 Unforgettable, Berlin Kunstproject, Berlin, Germany
2002 Mnemonic: A 9/11 Memorial Exhibition, Atrium Gallery, Long Island City, NY
2002 Pigment & Wax: Art of Encaustic Painting, Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH
2001 USArtists American Fine Art Show, 33rd Street Armory, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Soho-Myriad, Atlanta, GA
2000 SOFA CHICAGO, Chicago, IL
2000 Burrison Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
1999 Beginnings & Endings, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE
1999 Side by Side Invitational, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1999 Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA
1998 Leaps of Faith: The Language of Symbols, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
1997 Pushing the Limit, Artforms, Philadelphia, PA
1997 Art and Religion: The Many Faces of Faith, Villanova University Art Gallery, Villanova, PA
1996 Abstraction, DOSHI Center for Contemporary Art, Harrisburg, PA
1996 Two Up, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA

Publications

Kevin Costello, Finding Solace in Abstracts, HERALD-TRIBUNE, August 7, 2008
Ursula Ehrhardt, Philadelphia Artists Display Works in ‘Into Intuition’, THE DAILY TIMES, February 17, 2008
Peter Occhiogrosso, Art & About, HUDSON RIVER MUSEUM & GALLERY GUIDE, Fall 2006
Edith Newhall, Creative Styles of Their Own, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, May 26, 2006
Libby Rosof, Order(ed), Artblog, May 18, 2006
Roberta Fallon, Beauty, Order and Individuality, catalogue essay for the exhibition Order(ed), May 2006.
Bibliography (continued)
Alan Atner, The Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2006
Peter Frank, Gail Foster, Thomas Swanston, Tremain Smith, LA Weekly, October 21, 2005
Lori Hill, First Friday Focus, PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER, October 6-12, 2005
Mark Ormond, Allyn Gallup presents paintings of Grabowsky, Moment and Smith, Pelican Press, June 23, 2005
Victoria Donahoe, Wallingford, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, May 15, 2005.
Rick Sablove, Susquehanna Art Museum Exhibits 360 Degrees of Unity, Central Alternative, September 2004
Zachary Lewis, Art to Bring You Full Circle (Back Again), The Patriot-News, July 18, 2004
Geoff Gehman, Inner Circles Exhibit Stretches and Burns, The Morning Call, February 2004
Ellen Slupe, Inside Pennsylvania, Art Matters, September 2003
Edward Sozanski, Looking to Africa, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 7, 2003
Victoria Donohoe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 16, 2003
Ellen Slupe, Ritual Power in Bold Form, Art Matters, February 2003
Karen Quinones Miller, Of Wax and Social Commitment, Art Matters, October 2002
Susan Lindt, Smith’s Work Rewards Close Inspection, Intelligencer Journal, September 20, 2002
Jamie Malernee, A Spiritual Experience, South Florida Sun- Sentinel, January 2002
Joanne Mattera, The Art of Encaustic Painting Contemporary Expressions in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax, Watson-Guptill, 2001
R.B. Straus, More Changes Than the Seasons, Art Matters, September 2001
New American Paintings, Volume 21, The Open Studio Press, 1999
Gerard Brown, You Have To Be There, Philadelphia Weekly, May 1999
Edward Sozanski, Roots, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 30, 1999
Patricia Phillips, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts Visiting Critic 1998, November 1998
Astrid Bowlby, Too Much of a Good Thing, Philadelphia Weekly, August 12, 1998
Gerard Brown, Ritual Reminders, The Philadelphia Weekly, July 15, 1998

Professional Experience

2008-09 Art Instructor, Community Arts Program, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
2008 University of Pennsylvania Partnership School, Philadelphia, PA
2008 New Courtland Artist Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Juror, Percent for Art Permanent Public Art Commission, SEPTA Art in Transit Program, Philadelphia, PA
2006 Instructor, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC, August 2006.
2004 Artist-in-Residence, McColl Center for Visual Arts, Charlotte, NC, September-November
2003-04 Art Teacher: Visual Artist of the Harlem Renaissance, Jubilee School, Philadelphia, PA
2003-04 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Special Opportunity Stipend
2003 Art Futures Artist Residency, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2002 Artist-in-Residence, Westtown School, Westtown, Pennsylvania,
2000 Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant

Collections

Metropolitan Museum of Art
Lancaster Museum of Art
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Carrie Nicholson, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Visa Corporation
Brownstein Hyatt Farber
Post & Schell
Novartis Corporation



	Tremain Smith - Artist Statement My desire is to paint compelling works of art that create access to the spiritual world. I use the grid to create order in my work. It is the structure that I build upon, layer by layer. From this basis I move freely. It is the departure point from which I start as well as a reference to which I continually return. This structure is a metaphor for me: my core stands intact as I move, grow, and evolve. The lines are bridges or passageways which, combined with the rectangular planes, represent internal states of being. They become mappings of the unseen as I seek to visually manifest access to the spiritual. I am influenced by the order and beauty of the urban environment. Walls, buildings, doors, and sidewalks inspire me, as well as objects that are often passed by unnoticed. My vision as an artist is expressed in the ability to see and point out the beauty in the forms and colors that encompass everyday life. My paintings abstractly reflect these human and divine expressions. The mixed-media technique I use is composed of multiple strata of oil glazes, collaged elements, and transparent beeswax. I scratch, heat, iron, rub, and draw on the layers, and burn imprints of found metal pieces into the wax and wood. With these processes, I create a texture and depth that draws one into the substance and spirit beneath the surface. Resume Education 1991-94 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA 1993 Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA 1985 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Bachelor of Arts 1980-81 Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Exhibitions Solo 2009 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2009 Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ 2008 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL 2008 Lawrence Gallery, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA 2006 Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL 2006 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2006 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL 2005 Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ 2005 Lowe Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2005 Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL 2004 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE 2003 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2003 Cervini Haas Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ 2003 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL 2002 Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA 2002 Turtle Gallery, Deer Isle, ME 2002 Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Esther M. Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2001 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2001 Art Mecca, Chicago, IL 2000 Phoenix Gallery, New York, NY 2000 Right Brain Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA 1999 Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA 1998 Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE 1998 University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA Group 2009 Encaustic Invitational, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, AZ 2009 Seeing Red, Somerhill Gallery, Durham, NC 2008 Abstraction – New and Review, Allyn Gallop Contemporary Art, Sarasota, FL 2008 200º Featuring Encaustic Artists: Kim Bernard, Sara Crisp, William Thomson & Tremain Smith, Lamont Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH 2008 Into Intuition:Towards a Redefinition, University Galleries at Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 2007 Encaustic Works 2007, Sixth International Biennial Exhibition juried by Joan Snyder, The Gallery at R&F and Watermark/Cargo Gallery, Kingston, NY 2007 Shades of White, Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC 2007 Surface & Beyond, Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ 2006 Order(ed), Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA. Bridge Art Fair Miami, Miami, FL 2006 ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables, FL 2006 Ancestors: In Search of Source, Lowe Gallery, Santa Monica, LA 2005 The Urban Canvas, Gallery Siano, Philadelphia, PA 2005 Art Miami, represented by the Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA 2005 Oil and Wax, Wallingford Arts Center, Wallingford, PA 2004 Spiritual Abstractions, Segalas Gallery, Bernardsville, NJ 2004 Saving Philadelphia – The Art of the Dumpster Divers, Sedgwick Cultural Center, Philadelphia, PA 2004 Inner Circles, Sharadin Art Gallery, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, PA 2004 Traveled to Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA 2003 International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Florence, Italy 2003 The Future in Wax, The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, PA 2003 Africanisms Unmasked, The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA 2002 The African Spirit in Contemporary Art, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA 2002 Unforgettable, Berlin Kunstproject, Berlin, Germany 2002 Mnemonic: A 9/11 Memorial Exhibition, Atrium Gallery, Long Island City, NY 2002 Pigment & Wax: Art of Encaustic Painting, Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH 2001 USArtists American Fine Art Show, 33rd Street Armory, Philadelphia, PA 2001 Soho-Myriad, Atlanta, GA 2000 SOFA CHICAGO, Chicago, IL 2000 Burrison Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 1999 Beginnings & Endings, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE 1999 Side by Side Invitational, Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1999 Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA 1998 Leaps of Faith: The Language of Symbols, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1998 Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA 1997 Pushing the Limit, Artforms, Philadelphia, PA 1997 Art and Religion: The Many Faces of Faith, Villanova University Art Gallery, Villanova, PA 1996 Abstraction, DOSHI Center for Contemporary Art, Harrisburg, PA 1996 Two Up, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA Publications Kevin Costello, Finding Solace in Abstracts, HERALD-TRIBUNE, August 7, 2008 Ursula Ehrhardt, Philadelphia Artists Display Works in ‘Into Intuition’, THE DAILY TIMES, February 17, 2008 Peter Occhiogrosso, Art & About, HUDSON RIVER MUSEUM & GALLERY GUIDE, Fall 2006 Edith Newhall, Creative Styles of Their Own, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, May 26, 2006 Libby Rosof, Order(ed), Artblog, May 18, 2006 Roberta Fallon, Beauty, Order and Individuality, catalogue essay for the exhibition Order(ed), May 2006. Bibliography (continued) Alan Atner, The Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2006 Peter Frank, Gail Foster, Thomas Swanston, Tremain Smith, LA Weekly, October 21, 2005 Lori Hill, First Friday Focus, PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER, October 6-12, 2005 Mark Ormond, Allyn Gallup presents paintings of Grabowsky, Moment and Smith, Pelican Press, June 23, 2005 Victoria Donahoe, Wallingford, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, May 15, 2005. Rick Sablove, Susquehanna Art Museum Exhibits 360 Degrees of Unity, Central Alternative, September 2004 Zachary Lewis, Art to Bring You Full Circle (Back Again), The Patriot-News, July 18, 2004 Geoff Gehman, Inner Circles Exhibit Stretches and Burns, The Morning Call, February 2004 Ellen Slupe, Inside Pennsylvania, Art Matters, September 2003 Edward Sozanski, Looking to Africa, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 7, 2003 Victoria Donohoe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 16, 2003 Ellen Slupe, Ritual Power in Bold Form, Art Matters, February 2003 Karen Quinones Miller, Of Wax and Social Commitment, Art Matters, October 2002 Susan Lindt, Smith’s Work Rewards Close Inspection, Intelligencer Journal, September 20, 2002 Jamie Malernee, A Spiritual Experience, South Florida Sun- Sentinel, January 2002 Joanne Mattera, The Art of Encaustic Painting Contemporary Expressions in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax, Watson-Guptill, 2001 R.B. Straus, More Changes Than the Seasons, Art Matters, September 2001 New American Paintings, Volume 21, The Open Studio Press, 1999 Gerard Brown, You Have To Be There, Philadelphia Weekly, May 1999 Edward Sozanski, Roots, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 30, 1999 Patricia Phillips, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts Visiting Critic 1998, November 1998 Astrid Bowlby, Too Much of a Good Thing, Philadelphia Weekly, August 12, 1998 Gerard Brown, Ritual Reminders, The Philadelphia Weekly, July 15, 1998 Professional Experience 2008-09 Art Instructor, Community Arts Program, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander 2008 University of Pennsylvania Partnership School, Philadelphia, PA 2008 New Courtland Artist Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA 2008 Juror, Percent for Art Permanent Public Art Commission, SEPTA Art in Transit Program, Philadelphia, PA 2006 Instructor, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC, August 2006. 2004 Artist-in-Residence, McColl Center for Visual Arts, Charlotte, NC, September-November 2003-04 Art Teacher: Visual Artist of the Harlem Renaissance, Jubilee School, Philadelphia, PA 2003-04 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Special Opportunity Stipend 2003 Art Futures Artist Residency, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA 2002 Artist-in-Residence, Westtown School, Westtown, Pennsylvania, 2000 Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity Grant Collections Metropolitan Museum of Art Lancaster Museum of Art Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Carrie Nicholson, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Visa Corporation Brownstein Hyatt Farber Post & Schell Novartis Corporation





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