About:
Emily J. Smith is an artist based in North Carolina. Smith was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a child, she spent time hunting with her father and enjoying domestic chores with her grandmother. These past moments have driven Smith to further explore the South’s influence on her own identity and upbringing. Her current work is focused on the idea of being a “southern lady” in contemporary times, examining her culture’s thoughts on sexuality, gender, and domestic spaces. Working primarily in found domestic materials of women’s stockings, pillows, and bed sheets, Smith creates visceral sculptures that confront the viewer, evoking feelings of comfort and disturbance through their presence.
In 2013, Emily J. Smith received her Bachelor of the Fine Arts degree from Appalachian State University. After graduation, Smith served as a studio assistant to two artists, Lisa Stinson and Lynn Duryea. In 2015, she became a member of an artist collective in Boone, North Carolina at the Nth Degree Gallery. Emily J. Smith has exhibited at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Catherine J. Smith Gallery, and Looking Glass Gallery in Boone, North Carolina, as well as at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is currently attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is currently a Teaching Fellow, and anticipates receiving her Master of the Fine Arts degree in 2017. Emily J. Smith is also a co-founder and current member of Subverbal Collective, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
CURRICULUM VITAE
b. Greensboro, North Carolina
EDUCATION
2017
Anticipated Master of the Fine Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2013
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Appalachian State University
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017
Succumb, John and June Allcott Gallery, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017
Mixed Tape, The Carrack, Durham, North Carolina, Subverbal Collective, Group Curated (Upcoming: August 2017)
The Lived Body, The LAB, Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, North Carolina, Group Curated (Upcoming: May 2017)
Time Will Tell, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Curated by Jeffery Bell (Upcoming: April 2017)
Materia, The Guest Room, Carrboro, North Carolina, Group Curated
MFA Auction, Light + Design Gallery, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Of Paper, John and June Undergraduate Allcott Gallery, Group Curated, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Schwa Show, Emerge Gallery, Greenville, North Carolina, Group Curated, Juried Show
2016
Park Pictures, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina
ma(t)ɘr-rɘalism, John and June Allcott Gallery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2015
Convergence/Subsidence, Nth Degree Gallery, Boone, North Carolina
2014
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Nth, Boone, Nth Degree Gallery, North Carolina
2013
BFA Exhibition: Friggatriskaidekaphobia, Catherine J. Smith Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
NASAD Exhibition: Depth and Breadth, Catherine J. Smith Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, Group Curated, Juried Show
2013
An Exploration in Ceramics, Looking Glass Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, Group Curated
Art Expo, Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, Group Curated, Juried Show
2012
Art Expo, Catherine Smith Gallery, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, Group Curated, Juried Show
COLLECTIONS
Private collection, Greensboro, NC
Private collection, Asheville, NC
Private collection, Greenville, NC
Private collection, Chapel Hill, NC
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
2017
Juror for Cellar Door, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Teaching Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2016
Juror for The George Kachergis Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Teaching Fellow at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Future Faculty Fellowship at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
