John Holt Smith is an artist whose paintings are studies in ultimate abstraction, reducing figurative images to their most elemental state. Smith's ultra-methodical approach blends traditional and contemporary, organic and industrial, artistic and scientific processes. Always seeking ways to commingle figurative painting with progressive abstraction and photography, he discovered the visual bridge of color sequencing after learning about spectroscopy-a process that captures light from an object in space and uses that light to analyze its composition, position, and rate of movement. Smith achieves a multi-dimensional luminosity, at once the embodiment of traditional and contemporary aesthetics. The intricately layered lines shimmer and vibrate on their cool, flat support, creating palpable rhythm and depth throughout. The colors absorb and reflect light to produce a subtle glow that emanates from within, revealing the aesthetic and spiritual essence of both the structural components and the system they create.
Smith received a B.F.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he concurrently worked with artist Ann Hamilton on many exhibitions, including those at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. During college, he received the William Dole Scholarship and a President's Undergraduate Fellowship, and also spent a year in Florence, Italy, studying art and art history. Smith lives and works in Fort Worth, Texas.
b. 1968, Fort Worth, TX
EDUCATION
1992
University of California, Santa Barbara, BFA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
“Curvature and Flow” William Campbell Contemporary Fort Worth
2020
Return to Form, William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2016
Cellular Level, William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2012
Infinite Bloom, William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2008
Opiates + Oculus, William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2005
Sequence, William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth
2004
Four Walls Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
2002
Swim, Lawndale, Houston, TX
2001
Swim, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
1996
Perimeter (Bathroom Studies) 2 part exhibition - TZ'ART & CO, Caren Golden Fine Art, New York, NY
1995
From Dust, North Texas Health Science Center Atrium Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
1994
In the Grain, Arts on Tap Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
1992
What I Think of When I Think of Texas, Creative Studies Gallery, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
DIMENSIONS Matthew Hawtin, Matthew Shlian + John Holt Smith, Dimmitt Contemporary Art
2019
Emergence, Dimmitt Contemporary Art, Houston, TX
2015
Made Art Museum, Dallas, TX
2011
12 Abstractions Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2010
Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2008
Field of Color: Seven Contemporary Artists in Texas, Arts Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
2005
William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2004
William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, TX
2001
Action Heroes, The Art Center, Waco, TX
Art in the Metroplex, Templeton Gallery, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
The Creative Itch, 414 Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
2000
ARCO, Madrid, De Chiara/Stewart, Madrid, Spain
1999
Artforum Berlin, De Chiara/Stewart, Berlin, Germany
Critics Pix, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX
A Night to Remember, Victoria Regional Museum, Victoria, TX
1998
The Art Exchange Show, De Chiara/Stewart Gallery, New York, NY
Still, De Chiara/Stewart Gallery, New York, NY
1997
A Reversal of Scale, Turner & Runyon Gallery, Dallas, TX
1996
Future History, Turner & Runyon Gallery, Dallas, TX
1994
Recent Paintings: Todd Christensen & John Holt Smith, Alternative Site, Los Angeles, CA
1993
Human Voice (performed by Anna Kohler), Assistant Director and Artistic Advisor - P.S. 122, New York, NY
Human Voice (performed by Anna Kohler), Assistant Director and Artistic Advisor - Downtown Art Co., New York, NY
Machine Gun in a State of Grace (by Graham Durward), Five member performance, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York, NY
The Salon Show, Art Initiatives Gallery, New York, NY
1992
Metamorphisis, Fiona Templeton & Co., Eight member performance, The New Museum, New York, NY
The Spatial Drive, Installation, The New Museum, New York, NY
Realities, Fiona Templeton & Co., Performance and installation, Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA
Be Our Guest, Fiona Templeton & Co., Performance and installation, Arts Awareness, Lexington, NY
Honors Show, University of California, Santa Barbara Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
The Book as a Portable Sculpture, University of California, Santa Barbara Creative Studies Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
AWARDS
1992
William Dole Scholarship
1991
Presidents Undergraduate Fellowship