Jeff Smith: biography

Jeff Smith is a self-taught sculptor and master woodworker. He grew up on a farm where he learned basic carpentry and made things out of whatever was there. Now he finds his materials in various places—in the streets, on train tracks, in dumpsters, on the beach, and in empty buildings. In the early 1990s, while an Artist in Residence at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln Massachusetts, he developed a technique of using upcycled wood and found materials to create rolling sculptures. These works roll on wheels; they invite play and interaction. He has also created more than 100 small diptychs out of found materials. These “compacts” are composed of a mirror on one side and a lens on the other, letting light through from the outside to the inside. 

Smith has designed and built numerous architectural spaces—offices, restaurants, and bars—using entirely upcycled materials. His designs include restaurants—The Beehive in Boston and the Wellington Room in Portsmouth New Hampshire—and offices for Joseph Kennard Architects and Stoltz Design in Boston, as well as the Argot Network in New York. Since the late 1980s, Smith has worked as an art director, carpenter, prop master, fabricator, and special effects technician in film and video. He has worked on MTV features for bands such as Aerosmith, and films for artist William Wegman. Smith’s multi-talents also include teaching, writing, cartooning, and publishing. Exhibitions include Virtual Democracy, FPAC Gallery, Boston, 2004; Lighten Up - Humor in Art, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, 2001; and American Emergency Safety Co., Boston Underground Film Festival, 2000 among others. His kinetic sculpture can be seen in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcasting and film from Boston University College of Communication, 1992. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston.