Josh Smith

Josh Smith was born in 1976 in Okinawa, Japan, and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee.


He lives and works in Brooklyn. Josh Smith is distinguished by his mastery of multiple mediums, including painting, collage, sculpture, book, printmaking and ceramic, and his tendency to acknowledge trends in painting and sculpture by expressly upending them. However, he’s primarily known for his paintings.


Typically working in series, his most iconic works are gestural paintings that boldly feature his name as their subject, in which the letters fluctuate between signifiers and abstracted forms. Lately, the name has given way to more figurative motifs such as leaves, fish, skeletons, insects, ghosts, and sunsets.


In selecting these rather arbitrary subjects and rendering them in a manner that is by turns aggressive, playful, repetitive, and oblique, using gloomy colour and broad brushstrokes, Smith compels us to move beyond aesthetics towards a focus on process and looking, inquiring the potentiality of abstraction.


His work is held in many international public collections including The Broad, Los Angeles; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (MUMOK), Vienna; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Channels

Biography

Solo exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2024
USA, Life Drawing, The Drawing Center, New York
2022
France, Surprised by Joy, MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris
IT, OK, MASSIMODECARLO, Milano
2020
D, Spot On: Josh Smith, Museum Brandhorst, Munich
2018
USA, Josh Smith, Eva Presenhuber, New York
2017
N, Josh Smith:You Walk On Ahead, Go As Fast As You Want. I’ll Follow Along Slowly. I Know The Road Well, Standard, Oslo
2016
D, Josh Smith, Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn
B, Josh Smith: Fishes, Xavier Hufkens, Bruxelles
2015
USA, Hosh Smith: Sculpture, Luhring Augustine, New York
J, Josh Smith: Cold Fusion, Hiromi Yoshii Roppongi, Tokyo
CH, Josh Smith, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
I, Josh Smith, MACRO, Roma
2014
I, Unsolved Mystery, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
2013
USA, Josh Smith, Luhring Augustine, New York
N, Josh Smith, Standard, Oslo
CH, 24 Hours, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
USA, Josh Smith: Gauntlet of life, Home Alone 2, New York
UK, Josh Smith, Zabludowicz Collection, London
USA, Josh Smith, Luhring Augustine Bushwick, New York
2012
CH, Josh Smith, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
2011
USA, The American Dream, The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich
USA, Josh Smith, Luhring Augustine, New York
2010
I, Josh Smith, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
USA, On The Water, Deitch Studios, New York
NL, Who Am I, De Hallen, Haarlem
2009
USA, Currents, Luhring Augustine, New York
F, I’m Not You, Air de Paris, Paris
USA, Josh Smith Books, Printed Matter, New York
2008
A, Hidden Darts, MUMOK MuseumsQuartier, Wien
N, Unstable Ideas, Standard , Oslo
B, Josh Smith: Collages, Galerie Catherine Bastide, Bruxelles
CH, Josh Smith: Zurich Abstraction, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
Group exhibitions
Year
Country, Exhibition Name, Location
2023
FIN, Before Tomorrow - Astrup Fearnley Museet 30 Years, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
2022
RL, Dark Light, Realism in the Age of Post truth, Aishti Foudation, Beirut
Night Owl Curated by Archie Raphulu, MASSIMODECARLO, VSpace
I, Winter Wunderkammer, MASSIMODECARLO, VSpace
2021
F, Panoramas, MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris
I, Stop Painting, Fondazione Prada, Venezia
2019
NL, Trouble in Paradise. Collection Rattan Chadha, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam
USA, From Day to Day, De La Cruz Collection, Miami
I, MCMXXXIV, Massimo De Carlo, Milano
2018
USA, David Zwirner: 25 Years, David Zwirner, New York
N, Bufalo bufalo Bufalo bufalo bufalo bufalo Bufalo bufalo, Standard, Oslo
USA, Cliche, Almine Rech Gallery, New York
CH, Smooth Transitions, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich
I, Contemporary dialogues with Tintoretto Curated by Ludovico Pratesi, Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, Venezia
2017
USA, Heatwave, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles
CT, Animal Farm, The Brant Foundation, Greenwich
USA, Force and Form, de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, Miami
D, Pharmacy for Idiots, Rob Tufnell & Tanya Leighton, Köln
USA, FEED BACK, Marlborough Contemporary, New York
USA, Jo Baer, Michael E. Smith, Josh Smith, Raphaela Vogel, Essex Street, New York
Greece, Jump Ball, Dio Horia, Mykonos
USA, Abstract / Not Abstract, Moore Building, Miami
Switzerland, Zeitgeist, MAMCO, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Geneva
Austria, Artistic Toolbox:1989-2017, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna
USA, Creature, The Broad, Los Angeles
N, Fredrik Vaerslev: All Around Amateur, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen
USA, Painting Paintings (David Reed) 1975, Gagosian Gallery, New York
Scotland, The Gap Between the Fridge and the Cooker, The Modern Institute, Galsgow
USA, White Trash, Luhring Augustine, Bushwick
2016
USA, No Rules, No Rules, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York
USA, Michael St. John: These Days; Leaves of Grass, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
USA, S.M.S. S.O.S.: Text, Texture and Gesture, Marlborough Chelsea, New York

Bibliography

Year
Author, Publication Title, Date
2020
Simonini, Ross, ArtReview, April 30,
Collins, Ann C., The Brooklyn Rail, Jul-Aug
2019
Bui, Phong, The Brooklyn Rail, May
Smith, Roberta, New Tork Times, May 16
Russeth, Andrew, ARTnews, May 30
2015
Schjeldahl, Peter, Newyorker, January
Guaglianone, Pericle, Artribune
T. D. Neil, Jonathan, ArtReview, March
Merjian, Ara H, Frieze, April
Mousse, Summer
Troncone, Alessandra, Flash Art Italia, May - June
2014
Bonami, Francesco, Flair, February
Mottin, Matteo, Atp Diary, May
2013
Powers, Bill, Purple Fashion, Fall/Winter
2011
Vogel, Carol, The New York Times
Corbetta, Caroline, Ventiquattro
Korine, Harmony, Interview Magazine, May
Marcus, Daniel, Artforum, Summer
Kuo, Michelle, Artforum, Summer
Harry, Cooper, Artforum, Summer
Diez, Renato, Arte, June
2010
Bradley, Joe, The Journal
Bordignon, Elena, WUmagazine, May
Massimiliano, Gioni, Alpha and Omega: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Exhibition Catalogue. 'p' pp. 18-19
Obrist, Hans Ulrich, DU, June
Sophie von Hellermann/Josh Smith, Exhibition Catalogue. Dijon, Le Consortium
arte e milano, June-August
Spampinato, Francesco, Flash Art, July
Yablonsky, Linda, New York Times Magazine Blog
Meneghini, Matteo, Exibart, July and August
2009
Trezzi, Nicola, Flash Art International, March-April
Stephen, Maine, Art in America

Public collections

Country
Location
Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Austria
Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Wien
Pomeranz Collection, Wien
Belgium
Charles Riva Collection, Brussels
Canada
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal
France
Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Germany
Museum Brandhorst, Munich
Sammlung Goetz, Munich
Greece
Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens
The George Economou Collection, Athens
Hong Kong
K11 Foundation Collection
Israel
The Gani Trust Collection
Italy
Fondation François Pinault, Venezia
Lebanon
Aïshti Foundation, Beirut
Norway
Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo
Portugal
Serralves Museum, Porto
Sweden
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Switzerland
MASI - Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano
Sammlung Ringier, Zurich
Swiss Re Art Collection, Zurich
United Kingdom
The Saatchi Gallery, London
Zabludowicz Collection, London
United States of America
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
De la Cruz Collection, Miami
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee
Museum of Modern Art, New York
The Brant Foundation, Greenwich
The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica
The Warehouse, Dallas
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

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Title
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Josh Smith