Tyler K. Smith

ARTIST BIO

Tyler K. Smith is an artist, set/exhibit designer, and educator. After attending IU’s Graduate School and the Skowhegan School, he taught sculpture in Cortona, Italy, with the UGA Studies Abroad Program.

Originally from Hoboken, he won a New Jersey State Council Fellowship and exhibited at the 55 Mercer Street Gallery in NYC. He also began a career in theater and film as an art director and SFX artist. His studio/art history teaching credits include Rhode Island School of Design, MIU, Nova Southeastern University, and Broward College.

Currently, he’s the resident set designer for the Florida Children’s Theatre and exhibit designer for the World’s Aids Museum. Previous exhibit venues include the BOCA Museum and the George Waters Gallery in Elmira, New York.

In His Words

As the Florida Children’s Theatre’s resident set designer, my duties include scenic work, from faux textures to backdrops. For a faux surface, I’ll pour multiple colors into my tray, dip my brush/roller across the colors, and marbleize them onto the set piece. Over the years, my brushes and trays have accumulated the layered, color signatures from dozens of productions.

The Paint Tray Diaries are the result of this spontaneous process. The raw colors in the freshly prepared tray are captured with my phone before I start painting. I love how these 2D color abstractions are the indirect results of a utilitarian process.