Frieze Masters 2014

For Frieze Masters 2014 Bruce Silverstein Gallery proposes a solo exhibition of the work of Keith Smith, an American artist active in the 1960s-80s.

This comprehensive exhibition would be comprised of Smith’s earliest photographic-based works from his years at the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as prints, collages and one-of-a-kind books, made in the 1960s-80s that combine drawing, stitching and painting.  Smith, of his own volition, has never aggressively sought attention for his work, which makes this exhibition a rare opportunity to view a number of pieces that have never been shown.  30 artist books have been selected for this exhibition, and reveal Smith's unfailing interest in experimenting with new materials and processes.  He designs books that allow the viewer to experience and question the structure and nature of the book itself.  His works are often radical departures from traditional books—made of string or covered in fabric, they unfold, light-up, do not open, are unbound, or punched full of holes.  Each piece is an opportunity for the viewer to expand his or her own expectations for a book and physically engage with the imagery or text. 

The widely respected photography curator John Szarkowski included Smith’s photo-etching, Figure in a Landscape, 1966 in the seminal exhibition and catalogue Mirrors and Windows, 1978.  Smith (b.1938) has taught at the Visual Studies Workshop, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of Illinois.  He is a recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, a National Endowment of the Arts grant, and a Pollock/Krasner Foundation grant.

Smith’s work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Center of Creative Photography, University of Arizona; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London among others.