Featured Sculptor

Ed Smith is currently a professor of art at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a fellow of The Royal British Sculptors Society. His collected works can be found in The Brooklyn Museum, The Hood Museum, The Albright-Knox Museum, and many other public and private collections in the United States and abroad.  He is also the gallery director of Marist Venice Biennale Program. 

His work is primarily involved with mythic and heroic aspects of the artist and man. 

The bronze sculptures of “Bended Knee’ and “Perseus” are full of impulse, portending action, and they elicit story telling. They are on extended loan in memory of his wife, Pamela Smith. They depict something happening. The sculptures seem to be stopped in time, like artifacts struck by lava. They are heroic, recalling the awesome strength of heroes and angels. Smith says, “Art is about … ideas and people,” adding that he’s seen enough of pretty pictures.  “Art should tell the story of how man should live,” and for his inspiration he turns to ancient thought and myth about people’s relationships with their gods. Of the sculptures, Smith writes, “I model the sculptures directly in wax. And the patina choices are very important. I work on them a great deal with the foundry. We go through models, drawings, and tests to get the different colors and then once we know what we are doing we ‘push’ it as much as possible to get to a place where surprises occur.