Shinique Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shinique Smith
Smith at work in her studio
Born	1971 (age 53–54) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Maryland Institute College of Art (B.F.A.) Tufts University (M.A.Ed) Maryland Institute College of Art (M.F.A.)
Awards	The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation

Shinique Smith, born on January 9, 1971, is an American artist. She is famous for her bright and colorful art. Her work often includes installation art and paintings. She uses everyday items like old clothes and other materials in her art. Shinique Smith lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Early Life and Learning

Shinique Smith was born in 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland. She started learning about art when she was very young. Her mother, who worked in fashion, encouraged her to be creative. Shinique began studying ballet at age four. Later, she went to the Baltimore School for the Arts.

In high school, Shinique was inspired by graffiti artists in Baltimore. You can still see this style in her art today. Her college studies in Japanese calligraphy and abstract art also helped her grow as an artist.

After college, Shinique worked in the film industry for a while. She helped with costumes and props for movies. She then went back to school. She earned a Master's degree in education from Tufts University in 2000. In 2003, she earned another Master's degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. That same year, Shinique moved to New York. There, she started making sculptures.

Art and Career Highlights

SHINIQUE SMITH, Bale Variant No 0006, 2005 copyright SHINIQUE SMITH

Shinique Smith mixes different art forms in her work. She uses bright colors, words, and found objects. These objects can be anything from stuffed animals to old clothes. She started using used clothing after reading an article about clothes sent to Africa from thrift stores.

Shinique says her art-making process is very personal. She lets her emotions guide her. She goes on a "journey" as she creates each piece. This journey connects objects with colors, and fabrics with song lyrics. It also connects her art with the people who see it.

People describe Shinique's art as "kaleidoscopic." This means it's like looking through a kaleidoscope, full of changing colors and patterns. Her art brings together many different materials and ideas. The Frist Art Museum says her work shows her own story. It also shows a bigger idea of how cultures connect.

Shinique's art became well-known in 2005. The Studio Museum in Harlem showed her first "bale sculpture" in an exhibition called Frequency. This show helped other artists of her time become famous too.

Her sculptures were also a big part of the first exhibition at the New Museum. This show, called Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, featured many important artists. Shinique's art was also in 30 Americans. This exhibition showed works by African American artists. It has traveled to many museums across the U.S. since 2009.

Since these early shows, Shinique's art has been shown all over the world. In 2014, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston had a big show of her work called BRIGHT MATTER. A curator there said Shinique's use of found materials shows American culture, especially from the 1980s. The exhibition showed how Shinique's art expresses feelings and human energy. Her work often focuses on joy.

Also in 2014, Shinique was asked to create a mural for The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway in Boston. Her mural, Seven Moon Junction, was named one of the Best Public Art Projects. The Greenway also asked her to make a dance video. This video, Gesture III: One Great Turning, was filmed in front of her mural.

Awards and Collections

Shinique Smith has received many awards for her art. She won the Art Purchase Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2022. She also received the Anonymous Was a Woman Award in 2016. In 2013, she won The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award.

Her art is part of many permanent collections in museums. These include the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her work is also in the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Shinique Smith has had many solo art shows. Here are some of them:

• 2023: Shinique Smith: PARADE, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
• 2022: Shinique Smith: Stargazers, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
• 2020: Shinique Smith: Grace Stands Beside, Baltimore Museum of Art
• 2019: Indelible Marks, UBS Art Collection, Art Basel Miami
• 2018: Shinique Smith: Refuge, California African American Museum (CAAM), Los Angeles
• 2016: MOCA Jacksonville, Shinique Smith: Project Atrium Quickening
• 2015: Shinique Smith: Wonder and Rainbows, The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN
• 2014: Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• 2013: Kaleidoscopic, David Castillo Gallery, Miami
• 2011: SHINIQUE SMITH: To the Ocean of Everyone Else, Brand New Gallery, Milan
• 2010: Every Brick, SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC
• 2009: Ten Times Myself, Yvon Lambert, New York
• 2008: Yvon Lambert, London; Good Knot
• 2007: Shinique Smith: Lost & Found, Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis
• 2006: Shinique Smith: No dust, no stain, Cuchifritos Gallery, New York
• 2005: Overstock, The Proposition, New York
• 2002: Crossroads, The Creative Alliance, Baltimore

Public Art Projects

Shinique Smith has created many public art projects that people can see in different places.

Temporary Projects

• Peter Blum Gallery, a group exhibition Fabric featured Shinique Smith's: Boston 2022 and Pieces of Grace 2020, May - July 2023.
• "Aspen Art Museum at Elk Camp", a special project in Snowmass, Shinique Smith: Resonant Tides, from November 2015 to September 2017.
• Open Source, a citywide exhibition in Philadelphia. This included a new mural and performance project called Shine Space.
• Seven Moon Junction, a large temporary mural at Dewey Square Park in Boston, from September 2014 to August 2015.

Permanent Projects

• "Only Love, Only Light", for the Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority, finished in 2017.
• First Born of the Child's Sunrise, located at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD. This mixed media artwork was completed in 2016.
• Joy's Way, at The UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco, finished in 2014.
• Mother Hale's Garden, located at The Mother Clara Hale Bus Depot in New York. This is a large mosaic and hand-painted glass artwork, completed in 2013.
• Twilight and Dawn, permanent murals at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, completed in 2010.

Performances

Shinique Smith has also created and performed art pieces:

• Breathing Room: Bound and Loose - Performed at the Baltimore Museum of Art in January 2020.
• Breathing Room - Performed in 2018 during Kansas City Open Spaces.
• Gesture III: One Great Turning - Filmed in 2015 in front of Smith's mural Seven Moon Junction. It featured the KAIROS Dance Company.
• Gesture II: Between two breaths - Performed by Shinique Smith and Marisa Arriaga at Brooklyn Academy of Music in October 2015, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in February 2015.
• Gesture I: Unraveling - Performed by Marisa Arriaga at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in September 2014.

Curated Exhibitions

Shinique Smith has also organized art exhibitions:

• Elsewhere, Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta. This show explored modern ideas of landscape and place. It featured works by artists like Marcus Morales and Jennie C. Jones.
• Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day, The Proposition, New York, from November to December 2006. This exhibition explored feelings of sadness through art. It included works by artists like Ann Craven and Jina Valentine.