Sam Smith (artist)
Sam Smith is a contemporary Australian filmmaker and artist, based in the UK. He is the co-director of contemporary art space Obsidian Coast, with Nella Aarne.
Education
Smith graduated from the MFA in Fine Art course at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2015. He completed a BFA with Honours at the College of Fine Arts, Sydney in 2003.
Career
Smith's films, video installations and live desktop performances have been presented at many international art institutions and film festivals, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, Whitechapel Gallery and Institute of Contemporary Arts, Les Rencontres Internationales (Paris and Berlin), Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Melbourne), KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, and many others.
Smith is the co-director of Obsidian Coast, with Nella Aarne. Obsidian Coast is a contemporary art gallery that hosts exhibitions, residencies, events and a library project.
Recognition and awards
Smith has undertaken a number of residencies. He was part of the International Studio Programme for one year at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. Previous residencies include Helsinki International Artist Programme; Artspace, Sydney; and Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded New Work grants in 2007 and 2010 from the Australia Council for the Arts. Other grants and awards include:
- 2007: Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship to undertake a series of artist mentorships in New York City and Berlin
- 2008: Winner, inaugural 2008 Wilson HTM National Art Prize
- 2008: Winner, Churchie national emerging art prize
- 2008: Finalist, inaugural Premier of Queensland's National New Media Art Award
- 2012: Australia Council Visual Arts Board Skills and Arts Development grant
- 2014: Goldsmiths International Postgraduate Scholarship
- 2014: Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant
Works
| Title | Details | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capture | Assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body and supported by the UNSW Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, Solid State & Elemental Analysis Unit. | 2021 | |
| Earth Return | mudmind (care of Ama Josephine Budge & April Lin 林森) Commissioned for Medium Earth by The Art Gallery of New South Wales | 2020 | View online |
| Lithic Coda | Commissioned by Prototype Care Packages | 2020 | Watch online |
| Lithic Choreographies | An International Art Space commission for spaced 3: north by southeast. Produced with the support of Baltic Art Center | 2019 | |
| E.1027 | Commissioned by Whitechapel Gallery, London | 2016–19 |
Publications
- Frames of Reference with texts by Post Brothers and Jan Verwoert, 128 pages, 28 full colour pages, softcover with French flaps, July 2014. Broken Dimanche Press (ISBN 978-3-943196-34-4) and Künstlerhaus Bethanien (ISBN 978-3-941230-31-6).