Cv/bio
Geoff Smith, Sculptor
June, 1940 – June, 2009
Geoff Smith made sculpture non-stop for forty years – after graduating in 1969 with a Master of Arts from the University of Vermont. During those forty years, his work was exhibited, purchased, and commissioned for private collections, public exhibitions, major corporations and art institutions in more than fifteen states across the nation.
Geoff worked in a variety of media, including steel, stone, wood, fiberglass, clay and bronze. Throughout his long career, he lived and had studios in Vermont, Philadelphia, Virginia, Maine, and Kentucky. Geoff preferred to produce large-scale sculpture. When asked why, he said: “It is not for the sake of size, but simply because of the way I perceive line resolving itself in space.”
Geoff had homes and studios on the Maine coast in both Portland and Deer Isle for many years, and the sculptures he created there often reflected the influence of maritime forms and shapes that define that region.
Geoff had homes and studios on the Maine coast in both Portland and Deer Isle for many years, and the sculptures he created there often reflected the influence of maritime forms and shapes that define that region.
Geoff was the recipient of three NEA grants awarded through the Vermont Council on the Arts for large-scaled public sculptures; and received an Individual Artist’s Fellowship Award for Sculpture from the Virginia Commission on the Arts. In 1983, Geoff was commissioned to create a large-scale cor-ten steel sculpture, titled “Brooklyn Steel,” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge.
From the time he began making sculpture, Geoff exhibited his work in one-person and group shows in galleries and museums across the eastern and southern United States: Boston and Cambridge, MA; Burlington, Ferrisburg, Manchester, Waitsfield, and Woodstock, VT; Hanover, NH; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Farmville, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Richmond, VA; Washington, DC; Blue Hill, Deer Isle, Portland, and Pownal, ME; Louisville and Lexington, KY.
Geoff's sculpture is included in numerous private collections in the following locations:-- New York; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Maine; California; Florida; New Jersey; Massachusetts; Vermont; Hawaii; Kentucky; Virginia; Washington, DC; New Hampshire; Connecticut; Illinois; and Montreal Canada
Geoff's sculpture is included in numerous private collections in the following locations:-- New York; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Maine; California; Florida; New Jersey; Massachusetts; Vermont; Hawaii; Kentucky; Virginia; Washington, DC; New Hampshire; Connecticut; Illinois; and Montreal Canada
Geoff’s work is represented in many corporate and institutional collections, among them:-- Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME; Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, ME; IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, ME; The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME; Portland International Jetport, Portland, ME; Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO), Philadelphia, PA; The Terramics Property Company, Philadelphia, PA; Rouse and Associates, Philadelphia, PA; Richmond Ballet, Richmond, VA; Markel Insurance Company, Richmond, VA; Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond, VA; Boston Institute of Arts, Boston MA; Millhouse-Bundy Performing and Fine Arts Center, Waitsfield, VT; University of Vermont, Burlington, VT; Bennington College, Bennington, VT.
Sculpture Timeline:
From 1969 – 1987, Geoff lived in Vermont and worked out of studios there.
In 1987, Geoff moved to Philadelphia where he maintained a studio until 1990.
In 1990, Geoff moved to Richmond, Virginia and then to Old Pratts, Virginia where he established studios and made sculpture over a 9-year period.
In 1999, Geoff moved to Portland, Maine and maintained a studio there for 6 years.
In 2005, Geoff moved to Versailles, Kentucky where he made sculpture until his death in 2009.
From 1990 – 2009, Geoff summered on Deer Isle, Maine and maintained a summer studio there.