ames M. Smith is a native of St. Louis, and received his BFA from Kansas University and his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. He has taught at universities in the United States and Canada. His work has been exhibited regularly since 1973 and has won numerous awards. Smith’s work is represented in many museums and in both corporate and private collections.

Artist Arthur Osver called Smith both an inspired painter and savvy Alchemist.

“For him, anything and everything can lend itself to the magic of everyday living: paper, cloth, metal. Wood or whatever, undergo a transmutation into images and objects of vivid power and resonance. Their impact on us is to change forever the way we now see the world.”

 

Master of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL,
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS,

Academic Awards

1978            The Ford Foundation Summer Research Fellowship, New York, NY
University of Missouri Research Fellowship, St. Louis, MO

1973-71       Tuition Waiver, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

1972             Reserve Grant for Painting, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

1971             Lockwood Grant Foundation for Painting, University of Kansas,
Lawrence, KS

1970             Ada Bechtel Heuser Grant for Painting, University of Kansas,
Lawrence, KS

Publication Review List

Contemporary American Oil Painting, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House
Tools as Art, Abrams, Inc., The Hechinger Collection.  Peter Hamill
New American Painting, Open Studio Press, Boston, MA
Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
Chicago Sun Times, Chicago, IL
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO
Riverfront Times, St. Louis, MO
Art News, New York, NY
New Art Examiner, Chicago, IL
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Invitational Radio Interview
St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis, MO
ArtNet-Prairie Smoke, Chicago, IL
West End Word, St. Louis, MO

Permanent Collections: (Partial Listing)

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (multiple purchases)
The Byers Museum, Evanston, IL
Racine Art Museum, Racine WI
The Center for Advanced Studies Collection, University Of Illinois, Urbana, IL
International Arts and Artists
Starwood Corporation, Westin Hotel, St. Louis, MO
The Hechinger Collection,Washington, D.C.
Bank of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Equitable Life Assurance Society, Des Moines, IA
Ralston Purina Headquarters, St. Louis, MO
McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters, Chicago, IL
Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Borg-Warner, Inc., Chicago, IL
Helene Curtis, Inc. Chicago, IL (private family collection)
J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, IL
Fagadau Energy, Dallas, TX
Steelcase, St. Louis, MO
PGAV, St. Louis, MO
The Private Bank, St. Louis, MO
THF Realty, St. Louis, MO
EVS Realty Advisors, St. Louis, MO

A more comprehensive list is available upon request.

Selected Exhibitions

2008               Solo Exhibition The Sheldon Art Galleries, The Bellwether Gallery, St. Louis, MO

2011 – 2012    Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2012               Solo Exhibition, Illinois Wesleyan University, The Merwin Gallery, Bloomington, IL

2013               Solo Exhibition, St. Louis University Museum of Art, The Aronson Gallery, St. Louis, MO

2006               Solo Exhibition, Gallery 210, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2005               Solo Exhibition, Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis, MO
Invitational Exhibition, Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2004               Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL
                      Drawing Invitational, The Sheldon Galleries, St. Louis, MO

2003               Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL
                      Solo Exhibition, Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO
                      Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2001               Solo Exhibition, The Sheldon Galleries, St. Louis, MO (Dec. 2000)

2000               The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA     

1999               River Market Regional Exhibition, Kansas City Art Coalition,
juried competition
Dishman Competition 99–National Exhibition, Lamar University,
Beaumont, TX
“Art Forms,” Gallery Manayunk, National Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA,
Award received
49th Annual Art Competition, National Exhibition, Fort Smith, AR,
Award received
Solo Exhibition, Mossa Gallery, St. Louis, MO

1998               Solo Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Critical Mass,” exhibit curated by the St. Louis Art Museum,
St. Louis, MO
Faculty Exhibit, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park,
St. Louis, MO

1997              Group Exhibition, “The City Series,” Cedar Rapids Museum of Art,
Cedar Rapids, IA
                     Exhibition, Ethical Society, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibition, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Group Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL

1996              New Work Exhibition, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Group Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL

1995              New Work Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL
Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
                     Solo Exhibition, St. Louis Community College at Meramec,
St. Louis, MO