"I'm Scared of Doggs"
Art Exhibition @ University of San Diego (2016)
Is an Artshow about How the situations I grew up with inform my experiences. Some in a negative way and some in a positive way. Of the many, dogs are the one thing i cannot get over. In the neighborhood in which I grew up dogs are a weapon. Where I live now, dogs are merely a pet.This show presents a connection between us as people. No matter where or what demographic you grew up in we are connected. Art is the bridge that brings us all together...
Art Exhibition @ University of San Diego (2016)
Is an Artshow about How the situations I grew up with inform my experiences. Some in a negative way and some in a positive way. Of the many, dogs are the one thing i cannot get over. In the neighborhood in which I grew up dogs are a weapon. Where I live now, dogs are merely a pet.This show presents a connection between us as people. No matter where or what demographic you grew up in we are connected. Art is the bridge that brings us all together...
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(2015)
"COMPTON PRIDE LANDS"
Art Exhibition @ The Compton Library
Art Exhibition @ The Compton Library
This Art Exhibition features 3 installations and 10 paintings created by Compton, California native David Smith. The featured artwork visually depicts the history of Compton, California along with a personal narrative of African animals representing the inner city demographic...
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(2015)
“Just B'Cuz” 36” x 48” Mixed Media 2015
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(2014)
"JUNGLE FEVER"
David Smith's artwork thrives from a primal manner of thinking. Growing up in Compton, Los Angeles has trained him and those in his neighborhood to think in a animalistic manner as far as survival skills which David explores and exploits in his work. This exhibition pursuits a series of series' of animal portraits. The portraits are of Animalia design to represent individuals of the inner city demographic. His work artistically express ambitions of breaking social barriers between different demographics with the media of paint on wood.
(2014)
"JUNGLE FEVER"
David Smith's artwork thrives from a primal manner of thinking. Growing up in Compton, Los Angeles has trained him and those in his neighborhood to think in a animalistic manner as far as survival skills which David explores and exploits in his work. This exhibition pursuits a series of series' of animal portraits. The portraits are of Animalia design to represent individuals of the inner city demographic. His work artistically express ambitions of breaking social barriers between different demographics with the media of paint on wood.
"ELLA"
72" x 48"
Acrylic Paint on Fenceboard
2014
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"PAZ!"
72" x 48"
Acrylic Paint on Fenceboard
2014
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SD Art PRIZE: Recognition of Excellence in the Visual Arts: (Nominee 2012)
SD ART PRIZE, a cash prize with exhibition opportunities, spotlights established San Diego artists and emerging artists each season whose outstanding achievements in the field of Visual Arts merit the recognition.
SD ART PRIZE, a cash prize with exhibition opportunities, spotlights established San Diego artists and emerging artists each season whose outstanding achievements in the field of Visual Arts merit the recognition.
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"The Browns"
52" x 40"
Acrylic Paint on Canvas
2010
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"RENAISSIGNS SERIES"(2009)
The Renaissance (French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth"; Italian: Rinascimento, re- "again" and nascere "be born")
This series of paintings thrives on the idea of graffiti art. Growing up in the streets of Los Angeles I have to come to witness graffiti to be public art. Once being a graffiti muralist myself I often found myself paying homage to the deceased in my neighborhood or circle of friends. The theme is painting on street signs. Leaving a message from those that are no longer here due to life altering situations leading to their untimely death. These messages are conveyed by the usage of street signs as canvas and dedications to these individuals. This idea ratifies the notion of how street signs are meant to offer the direction of what’s next or what to expect. In this series they’re altered by symbols as a foreground. We can make the assumption that signs are our guide, but we don’t know for sure until the destination is reached; it just so happens that for some that destination is passing on.
Seeing distorted street signs slumped over from whatever situation reminded me of witnessing my friends and family slumped over after being in an incident such as a shooting or stabbing. The signs gave me the opportunity to salvage them and the remembrance of dear individuals for the on-lookers and pass-byers to notice and rejoice. The series is developed by actual street signs non-fabricated or prepared. They were found in places such as alleys, curbs, trucking docks, abandoned buildings, and appropriated from some construction sites. Acrylic paint was applied in the condition in which the signs were discovered. Whether warped, bent, or cracked, the substrates stand as they were found. With the use of numbers and symbols each piece is titled with the name of the fallen individual man and/or woman. Mostly taken part by the representation of a mammal/animal the message can also be found by the proposed sign itself. They are put in a direction in which makes them acceptable by society. As the Renaissance Period did, this is an attempt to teach the people of a development of what street art can achieve.
Maya Lin, Isamu Noguchi, and Christo Javacheff are public artists that stimulated this series of images. Maya Lin plays with the idea of an gallery and public installation with her Systematic Landscapes. I was also inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s ideals and his developed works that seem as though they made sense in their placement. Just like Maya Lin, Noguchi's public installations felt like they had a sense of belonging in where they are sited. His use of Nature and the Human Experience (contact) with it is what makes his philosophy convincing. Christo’s works of taking natural landscapes and enhancing them so the viewer is aware of the object itself is probably the most influential toward my work. Reconceiving Public Areas with projections and veils over statues, buildings, bridges, etc. brings awareness to the object moreover the work. I’m encouraged at their ideology of addressing the public in a literal manner. In my other works I have purposely tired to integrate many social issues to attract certain demographics, but this is for all to appreciate. The work is not geared at the attention of a specific audience or genre; rather these works were constructed for the people. Like Christo this series is about an unveiling of something that is too often overlooked. By bringing the outside in, my hope is to give on-lookers insight.
Seeing distorted street signs slumped over from whatever situation reminded me of witnessing my friends and family slumped over after being in an incident such as a shooting or stabbing. The signs gave me the opportunity to salvage them and the remembrance of dear individuals for the on-lookers and pass-byers to notice and rejoice. The series is developed by actual street signs non-fabricated or prepared. They were found in places such as alleys, curbs, trucking docks, abandoned buildings, and appropriated from some construction sites. Acrylic paint was applied in the condition in which the signs were discovered. Whether warped, bent, or cracked, the substrates stand as they were found. With the use of numbers and symbols each piece is titled with the name of the fallen individual man and/or woman. Mostly taken part by the representation of a mammal/animal the message can also be found by the proposed sign itself. They are put in a direction in which makes them acceptable by society. As the Renaissance Period did, this is an attempt to teach the people of a development of what street art can achieve.
Maya Lin, Isamu Noguchi, and Christo Javacheff are public artists that stimulated this series of images. Maya Lin plays with the idea of an gallery and public installation with her Systematic Landscapes. I was also inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s ideals and his developed works that seem as though they made sense in their placement. Just like Maya Lin, Noguchi's public installations felt like they had a sense of belonging in where they are sited. His use of Nature and the Human Experience (contact) with it is what makes his philosophy convincing. Christo’s works of taking natural landscapes and enhancing them so the viewer is aware of the object itself is probably the most influential toward my work. Reconceiving Public Areas with projections and veils over statues, buildings, bridges, etc. brings awareness to the object moreover the work. I’m encouraged at their ideology of addressing the public in a literal manner. In my other works I have purposely tired to integrate many social issues to attract certain demographics, but this is for all to appreciate. The work is not geared at the attention of a specific audience or genre; rather these works were constructed for the people. Like Christo this series is about an unveiling of something that is too often overlooked. By bringing the outside in, my hope is to give on-lookers insight.
"405 Shoal"
(2) 10" x 40"
Acrylic Paint & Deco Pens on Canvas
2009
"True Colours"
(2) 30" x 30"
Acrylic Paint on OSB
2009
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"The Manor"
36" x 18"
Acrylic Paint on Plywood
2009
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"RHUBARB"
84" x 48"
Acrylic Paint on OSB
2009
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"CULL"(2008)
My 2008 Senior Thesis @ The University of San Diego: The work is designed to impose their presence on the viewer/observer. Inspire by the idea of cull, which is the action of picking and discarding; to select and gather-something rejected as not being up to standard. Painting on found, discarded, or appropriated materials enable the surface to speak for themselves. The substrates he paints on range from plywood, street signs, brick, glass, metals, and cardboard. Painting on once lost material draws his interests because the found material directly inspires what he will do with it. Depending on the condition each item is usually archived with an animal or human portrait, script, or developed into an installation. Whether warped, bent, or cracked, the substrates are presented in gallery space positioned similar to how they were found.
