Wesley Smith

Biography

Professor Smith has taught Ceramics  courses from 2006 to present and 2d/3d Design Foundations from 2018 to present at the University of North Dakota.   He received his BFA in Ceramics from the University of Tennessee and his MFA in Ceramics from Texas Tech University.  His recent credits include:  work shown at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in conjunction with 50 Bowls 50 States 50 Woodfires,  has had his work in numerous national and international juried shows as well as having his work in the digital publication “Coronavirus Change the World:  A Collection of Art Around the Globe.”  Currently, Professor Smith’s artwork revolves around the influences of popular and specifically TV culture.  Cars, automotive parts, animals, science, science fiction, mainstream and B sci-fi movies, toys, tools and technology are all part of his visual influence.  These are basic to his thought and design process but they basically function as visual building blocks for reference to what he wants to communicate.  Often the sci-fi and toy references are an allusion to childhood.  The imaginative nature of this visual culture is the part of his work he pushes forward working to engage the viewer in a genera of wonder, illusion and sometimes overload finding comfort in the nostalgia of  these visual cultures.  These manifest in both functional/semi-functional and sculptural forms.