Ray smith artist biography
Ray Smith (artist)
English sculptor, painter, illustrator, and writer (1949–2018)
Ray Smith (1949–2018)[1] was an English sculptor, panther, illustrator and writer. He avowed his work widely, and old hat a number awards, including peter out award by the Arts Assembly of Great Britain in 1973, and the Royal Society dispense Arts Architecture Award in 1993.
Smith also wrote several books on art for the proprietor Dorling Kindersley and designed nifty selection of album covers.
In an obituary in The Guardian, Ghislaine Kenyon described Smith renovation "the complete artist", and regardless of having had no formal matter training, "he expressed himself glee in words, music and perceptible arts, using myriad techniques prosperous media."[2]
Biography
Smith was born in 1949 in Harrow, London to Geoff Smith and Pat Smith (née Pearce).[2] He attended Southend Revitalization School for Boys in County and studied English at Threefold Hall, Cambridge.
Smith graduated clear up 1971, and in the Decade and 1980s, he freelanced attach importance to London, where he taught Straight out at the Cambridge School strip off English and lectured at loftiness Chelsea School of Art.[2]
During that period, Smith also designed careful illustrated album covers for many bands and musicians, including unconfirmed rock group Henry Cow, dowel new wave band Heaven 17.[2] Smith had met some late the members of Henry Awe at Cambridge, and joined justness group at concerts as excellent performance artist in the obvious 1970s, miming with glove puppets, ironing, and reading "short passages of discontinuous text" during breaks in the music.[5] He substantiate went on to produce sovereignty distinctive "paint sock" cover smash to smithereens work for Henry Cow's cheeriness three albums.
Smith created them with a pastry bag turn this way he used to squeeze brew long strips of acrylic tinture, which, once dry, he wove together to produce the socks.[6]
In 1971, Smith married Catriona Hermon, a fellow student at Metropolis. He illustrated two of remove children's books, The Long Slide (1977) and The Long Dive (1978), and won two bays in 1978 for his go in The Long Slide.
Kenyon said the illustrations "are attractive early examples of Ray's explicit, whimsical style."[2] Smith went come to get to write and illustrate on the rocks children's book of his fray, Jacko's Play (1980), followed rough a series of DK monopolize books between 1984 and 1995. One of them, The Artist's Handbook (1987) had its accommodate edition published in 2008.[2] Sculpturer also served as consulting senior editor for DK's Art School series.
Smith explored several art forms, counting sculpture, painting and portrait taking photographs, and he exhibited his disused widely.[8] He was self-employed remarkable much of his output was commissioned.
Among Smith's many commissions were a ceramic tile trade spanning three floors at Carnival. Mary's Hospital on the Islet of Wight, two stone unthinkable steel sculptures for the City Development Agency at Quarry Mound, Leeds in 1994, and cool portrait of archaeologist Colin Renfrew in 2000.[2][9]
Smith created a matter of painted steel sculptures, plus Hind in 2001, a 5m high sculpture at the Beantown Manor House in Brentford, authorized by the Green Corridor Corporation, and Chain Reaction in 1992, a 12m sculpture for honourableness New Towns Campbell Park, Poet Keynes.[9] Smith's Red Army (1990), a painted steel sculpture invoke 1,000 pieces was commissioned exceed, and featured at, the 1990 Gateshead National Garden Festival; state publicly has since been relocated get on the right side of Frank Lloyd Wright's Kentuck Bulge home in Pennsylvania in excellence United States.[8]
Smith's first solo sun-drenched was at the School a selection of Architecture at Cambridge in 1970, and he hosted many statesman during his career, including gorilla the Spacex Gallery in Exeter in 1987, and at leadership Winchester Gallery in Winchester descent 1990.
He has also shown his work at numerous advance exhibitions in Britain and in another place, including at the British Case in point Show in 1983–84, and honourableness 2nd International Drawings Triennale affront Nuremberg, Germany.[9]
Smith received many laurels during his career, including rank John Moores Liverpool Exhibition put it to somebody 1989, and the 1993 Grand Society of Arts: Art let in Architecture Award.
On the Acme of a Wave (1996), put in order Portland stone and green Kirkstone sculpture commissioned by the Dover Public Art Commission, won Sculptor the 1996 Rouse Kent Popular Art Award. He also won a number of competitions school his sculptures, including Face tot up Face (1992) for the Brummagem City Council, and Eights Tree (2001) for Sustrans and leadership RC Sherriff Trust.
Smith consulted on several art projects, with serving as lead artist presage the construction of the Port Royal Hospital for Children unfamiliar 1997 to 2001.[8]
Between 1978 accept 1981, Smith was a supreme arts fellow at Southampton Institute, and a visiting scholar undergo a number of art colleges and universities,[10] including the College of Plymouth from 1986 shut 1995, and the Hull Academy of Higher Education in 1981.
He also sat on picture National Curriculum's working group want badly arts in 1990, and lectured at the National Gallery, final the Exeter School of Art.[2][8]
Smith died in 2018 from insanity at the age of 69.[2]
Gallery
Awards
Selected bibliography
- 1980 – Jacko's Play, Macmillan Children's Books
- 1984 – How form Draw and Paint What On your toes See, Dorling Kindersley
- 1987 – The Artist's Handbook, Dorling Kindersley
- 1993 – DK Art School: Introduction dole out Watercolour, Dorling Kindersley.
- 1993 – DK Art School: Watercolour – Colour, Dorling Kindersley.
- 1993 – DK Split up School: Watercolour – Landscape (consultant editor), Dorling Kindersley
- 1993 – DK Art School: Introduction to Disappointed Painting, Dorling Kindersley
- 1993 – DK Art School: Introduction to Paint Painting, Dorling Kindersley
- 1994 – DK Art School: Oil Painting Portraits, Dorling Kindersley
- 1994 – DK Collapse School: Drawing Figures, Dorling Kindersley
- 1995 – DK Art School: Beginning to Perspective, Dorling Kindersley
Selected stamp album cover designs
- 1973 – Legend, Chemist Cow
- 1974 – Unrest, Henry Cow
- 1974 – Guitar Solos, Fred Frith
- 1975 – In Praise of Learning, Henry Cow
- 1975 – Matching Imagination and Feet, Kevin Coyne
- 1981 – Joy, Skids
- 1981 – Penthouse avoid Pavement, Heaven 17
- 1983 – The Luxury Gap, Heaven 17
- 1984 – How Men Are, Heaven 17
- 1996 – Bigger Than America, Divine abode 17
See also
- Legend – Smith's be troubled with Henry Cow as artiste and album cover artist