Born in Puerto Rico in 1955
Lives in Hartford, Connecticut
Education
1977Syracuse University Art School, Syracuse, NY; BFA
1976Sir John Cass Art School, London
Syracuse Abroad, Florence, Italy
One-Person Exhibitions
2014Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
Feature, Inc.
2011Feature Inc., New York
2010“We Are the Dollars and Cents,” Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT (catalogue)
2008“The Cartin Collection @ Ars Libri (Part 2 of 6: Cary Smith),” Ars Libri, Boston
2007“The Battle of Evermore,” Feature Inc., New York
2000“Stripe Paintings,” Derek Eller Gallery, New York
1999“One Line Drawings,” Derek Eller Gallery, New York
1997“Supper’s Ready,” Derek Eller Gallery, New York
Galerie Paal, Munich
1995Galerie Paal, Munich
1994“In the Woods,” Salvatore Ala, New York
1993“I Paintings,” Roger Ramsay, Chicago
1992“Views or Mirrors,” Rubin Spangle, New York
1991Linda Cathcart, Santa Monica, CA
1990Koury Wingate, New York
“Works on Paper,” Koury Wingate, New York
1989Galerie Six Friedrich, Munich
Lawrence Oliver, Philadelphia
Ezra and Cecil Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
1988Koury Wingate, New Yorkk
1987Julian Pretto, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013“Ice Water Flyswatter,” Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Philadelphia
“Julian Pretto Gallery,” Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY; co-organized by John Zinsser
“The Goddess,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Pages, Pages,” Dan Devening Projects + Editions, Chicago
“Andrew Masullo and Cary Smith, Recent Work,” Philip Slein Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2012“Paperrazzi2,” Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, New York
“Punt,” Feature Inc., New York
2011“Grey Full,” Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York; curated by Geoffrey Young
“Major Grey,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“self-referral nonobjective,” Feature Inc., New York
“bodybraingame,” Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago
“Unfinished Paintings,” LACE, Los Angeles; curated by Kristin Calabrese and Joshua Aster
“New Paper Works,” Devening Projects + Editions, Chicago
2010“Wall-to-Wall,” Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles
“The Jewel Thief,” The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY;
curated by Ian Berry and Jessica Stockholder
“Strategic Abstraction,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2009“Populate This Form,” Feature Inc., New York
“The Great Impression,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2008“It’s Gouache & Gouache Only,” Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York and Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York
“Rose Colored Glasses,” Gavin Brown’s Enterprise @ Passerby, New York
2007“LeWitt x 2: Selections from the LeWitt Collection,” Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI;
curated by Dean Swanson
“It’s Gouache & Gouache Only,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2006“Twice Drawn” (Part 2), Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College,
Saratoga Springs, NY (catalogue)
“Likeness: Portraits from All Angles,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick,” Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles; curated by Geoffrey Young
“MetLife,” Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York; curated by Geoffrey Young
2005“Three To Get Ready,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2004“Pencil Me In,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Tastes Like Chicken,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Pick Up Lines,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Finesse,” Catharine Clarke Gallery. San Francisco
2003“Selections from the Collection of Sol Lewitt,” New Britain Museum, New Britain, CT
“In the Making: Contemporary Drawings from the Kramarsky Collection,” University Gallery,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
“August Confessions,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2002“Anna Appleby, Mala Breuer, Wes Mills, Cary Smith,” Galerie Susan Albrecht, Munich
“Loss & Ardor,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Group Show,” Farm Art Space, Missoula, MT
“Acquiring Taste,” Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
2001“Boomerang: Collector’s Choice,” Exit Art, New York
“August Confessions,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2000“Punk and Bloat,” Molloy College Art Gallery, Rockville Center, NY
“To Detail,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Contemporary American Drawings from the Kramarsky Collection,” Pollock Gallery, Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, TX
1999“Die Kunst Der Linie,” Landes Museum, Linz, Austria
1998Summer group show, Derek Eller, New York
1997“All the Things You Are,” Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
“Benefit Exhibition,” Pat Hearn Gallery, New York
1996“Lee Bontecou, Helmut Federle, Lee Lozano, Robert Moskowitz, Cary Smith, Myron Stout, Robert Therrien,”
Lawrence Markey, New York
“Radikale Malerei: Butz, Fruhtrunk, Knoebel, Mangold, Paal, Smith, Uglow, Westfall,” Galerie Paal, Munich
“The Julian Pretto Collection,” Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
“Acquiring Art in the ’90s,” Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
1995Pamela Auchincloss, New York
1994“New York Abstract Painting,” Salvatore Ala, New York
1993“Paintings,” Salvatore Ala, New York
“The Geometric Tradition in American Art, 1930–1990,” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
1992“Brice Marden, Frank Stella, Agnes Martin, Ellsworth Kelly, Peter Halley, Christian Eckart, Cary Smith,
Stephen Ellis”, Rubin Spangle, New York
“The Colt Four,” Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
1991“Outside America: Going into the ’90s,” Fay Gold, Atlanta; curated by Tricia Collins & Richard Milazzo
“Selections from the Collection: Art of the ’80s,” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
“Post-War Geometric Concepts,” Marilyn Pearl, New York
1990“Small Works,” Koury Wingate, New York
“Geometric Abstraction,” Marc Richards, Santa Monica, CA
“Grids,” Vrej Baghoomian, New York
1989“1989 Biennial Exhibition,” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
“General Idea, Cary Smith, Wolfgang Staehle,” Koury Wingate, New York
“The Spectacle of Chaos,” KAOS Foundation, Chicago; curated by Klaus Ottmann
“The Reinvention of Painting,” Rastovski, New York
1988“Summer, ’88,” Koury Wingate, New York
“James Siena and Cary Smith,” Wolff Gallery, New York
“Meaningful Geometry,” Postmasters, New York
“Four Corners of Abstract Painting 1988,” Jacob Javits Center, New York
1987“Small Works,” Stux, Boston
“Benefit Exhibition,” White Columns, New York
“Bigger and Deffer,” Mission West, New York
“The Four Corners of Abstraction,” White Columns, New York
“Ten Pak,” A.L.G.O., New York
Selected Bibliography
2012New American Paintings, Northeast Issue #98
2011Schmerler, Sarah. “Self-Referral Nonobjective,” Time Out New York, 21 September >link
Johnson, Ken. “Self-Referral Nonobjective,” New York Times, 8 September >link
Viera, Lauren. “Digital bits with real bite,” Chicago Tribune, 9 June >link
Glasschord, Issue #2: Provenance, 15 February 2011 (portfolio)
2008McQuaid, Kate. “Picturing the future at Toale gallery,” Boston Globe, 4 June >link
2006Johnson, Ken. “‘Metlife’ at Morgan Lehman,” Art Guide, New York Times, 10 April
2004Baker, Kenneth. “‘Finesse’ at Catharine Clark,” San Francisco Chronicle, 10 July
Gagnon, Andrienne. “Linear Thinking’ at Catharine Clark,” San Francisco Weekly, 21 July
2000Smith, Roberta. “Cary Smith at Derek Eller,” Art Guide, New York Times, 17 Aprily
1999Cotter, Holland. “Bill De Lottie and Cary Smith,” Art in Review, New York Times, 18 June, E33
1998Mitchell, Charles Dee. “Cary Smith at Derek Eller,” Art in America, May
1997Berger, Laurel. “In Their Sights,” ARTnews, March
Johnson, Ken. “Cary Smith at Derek Eller,” Art Guide, New York Times, 17 October
1995“Cary Smith at Salvatore Ala,” Bijutsu-Techo
1994Saltz, Jerry. “A Year in the Life: Tropic of Painting,” Art in America, October
Schwabsky, Barry. “Cary Smith at Salvatore Ala,” Artforum, April
1993Smith, Roberta. “Shades of a Rebirth for Painting,” New York Times, 18 June
1992Johnson, Ken. “Cary Smith at Rubin Spangle,” Art in America, July
Madoff, Steven Henry. “A New Lost Generation,” ARTnews, April
1991Smith, Roberta. “A Selection of Works from the ’80s at the Whitney,” New York Times, 8 March
1990Collins, Tricia, and Richard Milazzo. “From Kant to Kitsch and Back Again,” Tema Celeste, January/February
Decter, Joshua. “Cary Smith at Koury Wingate,” Arts, September
Goldman, Saundra. “Cary Smith at Koury Wingate,” Tema Celeste, November
Metzger, Rainer. “Cary Smith at Six Friedrich,” Flash Art, March
Shottenkirk, Dena. “Cary Smith at Koury Wingate,” Artforum, September
“Cary Smith at Six Friedrich, Munich,” Spazio Umino, March
1989Danto, Arthur. “The 1989 Whitney Biennial,” The Nation, 5 June
Flam, Jack, “The View from the Cutting Edge,” Wall Street Journal, 10 May
Heartney, Eleanor. “Who’s Afraid of the Whitney Biennial,” ARTnews, Summer
Morgan, Robert. “Lewitt, Staehle, Smith,” Arts, Summer
Ottmann, Klaus. “The Re-Invention of Painting,” Arts, January
Schjeldahl, Peter. “1989 Biennial Exhibition,” 7 Days, 17 May
Westfall, Stephen. “Cary Smith at Koury Wingate,” Flash Art, March/April
Exhibition brochure with text by Stephen Westfall, Lawrence Oliver, Philadelphia
Exhibition brochure with text by Klaus Ottmann, Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
1988Morgan, Robert. “Meaningful Geometry at Postmasters,” Flash Art, May
Smith, Roberta. “Group Shows Revive the Jaded Palette,” New York Times, 17 June
1987Smith, Roberta. “Cary Smith at Julian Pretto,” New York Times, 11 December
Selected Projects, Publications, and Reproductions of Artwork
2013Young, Geoffrey and Cary Smith. Geoffrey Young: You Have No Idea/Cary Smith: Ovals
2007Untitled publication, no. 1 (Spring), Feature Inc., New York (reproduction)
1995Cover magazine, June (reproduction of artwork and artist’s statement)
1991“A Blind Spot,” Tema Celeste, Autumn
1988Paris Review, Winter (cover)
Awards and Grants
2010Connecticut Commission on the Arts Grant
2003Art in Public Spaces Program, Connecticut Commission on the Arts; New Britain Superior Courthouse Rotunda
Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Foundation grant
1994Artist Enhancement Program, Washington National Airport Terminal Building, Washington, DC
1993Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant
1991–2National Endowment for the Arts fellowship
1986Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant
1985Art in Public Spaces Program, Connecticut Commission on the Arts
1983Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant