Bio
Debra Smith was born in Kansas City in 1971 and raised in Hannibal, Missouri.
Pursuing her interest in fashion and textiles, Debra Smith studied at the Italian Academy of Fashion & Design; Lorenzo de Medici in Florence Italy before receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute with a major in Fiber in 1993 and an Associate Degree in Applied Science from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2002.
Breaking all stereotypes associated with textiles, from ideas of craft to that of “women’s work” Smith’s pieced images have a strong language that is much more similar to that of painting.
In 2012 Smith was honored as one of the Women to Watch 2012: Focus on Fiber & Textiles from The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
Her work has been shown internationally over the past two decades, including solo & group exhibitions:
The Thread You Fallow, Daum Museum, Sedalia, MO.(2016)
New American Paintings: Elmhurst Art Museum, Midwest Edition, Elmhurst, IL. (2016)
Rijswijk Textile Biennial, Rijswijk Museum, The Netherlands (2015)
Look&Listen, DUSK, Saint Chamas, France (2015)
Spring Revival, Markel Fine Art, NYC (2013)
Release of Time, Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM (2012)
In-between Spaces/ New work, Roswell Museum & Art Center, Roswell, NM (2010),
Looking to The Left, Julie Saul Gallery, NYC (2008),
Sense of Presence, Davidson Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (2004)
After living in Brooklyn, NY, for over a decade, Smith returned to her native Midwestern roots in 2004. She now lives in Kansas City, where she continues to create art from vintage textiles.
Solo Exhibitions
2019 Seeking Balance, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO (upcoming)
2017 Following The Thread, Markel Fine Art, New York, NY
2017 Recent Work, Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2017 Recent Work, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO (details)
2016 The Thread You Follow, Daum Museum, Sedalia, MO
2016 Women’s Work: Points of View, Volland Store Art Center, KS
2015 Shifting Territory, Solo, Markel Fine Art, New York, NY
2014 New Work, Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2014 Shifting Territory, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO (details)
2013 Release of Time, Post & Beam Gallery, Berkley, CA
2012 In-between Spaces, Isaac’s Gallery, Roswell, NM
2011 New Work, Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2010 New Work, Roswell Museum & Art Center, Roswell, NM
2009 Textile Show, Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2008 Looking to the Left, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY
2008 New Work, Olsen-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2008 Looking to the Left, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2005 New Work, Pearl Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 Summer Show, Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO (details)
2017 Fellows Show, Studios INC., Kansas City, MO
2016 Elmhurst Art Museum, New American Paintings: Midwest Edition, Elmhurst, IL
2016 Mirror Mirrored, Washington Project for The Arts, DC
2015 Materialities: Contemporary Textile Art, Sandra J. Blain Gallery at Arromont, TN
2015 Rijswijk Textile Biennial, Rijswijk Museum, The Netherlands
2015 Look&Listen, DUSK, Saint Chamas, France
2014 DUSK Open Studios Exhibit, Pencil Factory, Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
2013 Spring Revival: a group exhibition, Markel Fine Art, New York, NY
2012 Women of Focus on Fiber 2012, UMKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2012 Women to Watch 2012, KC Jewish Museum, Kansas City, MO
2011 Push, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2011 Somewhere, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2011 Group Show, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2010 Fellows Show, Isaac’s Gallery, Roswell, NM
2010 Selections from The Kansas City Collection, Cocoon Gallery, Kansas City MO
2010 Kansas City Flat Files, H&R Block Art Space, Kansas City, MO
2010 Group Show, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2009 Group Show, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2008 Kansas City Flat Files, H&R Block Art Space, Kansas City, MO
2007 Group Show, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2006 New Work, Olson-Larsen Gallery, West Des Moines, IA
2005 Kansas City Flat Files, H&R Block Art Space, Kansas City, MO
2005 Group Show, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2004 Group Show, Davidson Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2004 Open Studio, Williamsburg Art Tour, Brooklyn, NY
2003 New Work, Pencil Factory, Brooklyn, NY
2002 Celestial Navigation, Convergence, Vancouver, BC
Projects
2018 New American Paintings, No. 137, Midwest Issue
2015 Rijswijk Textile Biennial, Rijswijk Museum, The Netherlands
2015 New American Paintings, No. 119, Pg.128-131
2011 Studio Assistant for Jason Pollen, Penland School of Art & Craft
2009 R.A.I.R., Roswell Artist in Residence Program (Sept. 2009-Sept. 2010)
2008 Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop & Retreat, Kansas City, MO
2008 Featured lecturer at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
2007 Featured lecturer for the New York Textile Society, New York, NY
Selected Press
2018 Mirror Mirrored, A Contemporary Artos Edition of 25 Grimms Tales. Page 284
2015 RIJSWIJK Textile Biennale Catalog, Page 74-77
2015 Textiles Around The World, (book) by Ellen Baker, page 45
2015 New American Paintings #119, (book) pages 128-131
2014 Elizabeth Kirsch, Kansas City Star, Debra M Smith, September 18, page 16
2014 Kate Hackman, The Kansas City Collection, 2014-2015, pages 30-31
2012 Vanessa Kahin, In-Between Spaces, VISION Magazine, (cover), Page 4
2010 Blair Schulman. KCArtistLink, Artist Profile / Meet Our Artists
2010 Dana Self, The Kansas City Collection, 2009-2010, pages 36-37
2008 Elizabeth Kirsch, Kansas City Star, Debra M Smith, Looking to the Left
2007 Nancy Corwin, Surface Design Journal, “Uncovering the Surface: SDA Conference Exhibitions” i
Selected Honors & Awards
2014 One of 160 artists from 26 countries chosen to be in new publication TextileART Around the World
2013 Award winner at: In.ter.face, 17th International Surface Design Exhibition, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, TX
2012 Women to Watch 2012: Focus on Fiber, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
2010 The Kansas City Collection, a competitive juried art collection organized by The Collectors Fund, Kansas City, MO