About Me

Wendell Smith (b.1972) is a contemporary artist currently living and working in Atlanta GA. His work reflects the rich visual traditions of the Caribbean incorporating Afro elements and folk culture. Educated both in the Caribbean and North America, he moderates conversations between the two regions presenting a narrative of intercultural experiences. He has an undergraduate degree in Literature and Creative Arts from the University of the West Indies (First Class Honors) and is the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship award. He later pursued studies in studio arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design graduating with an MFA in Painting. In addition, he holds an earned Doctorate in Education from Walden University. Smith awards and fellowships include: the Artist Fellowship Grant, Puffin Foundation Emerging Artist Grant, the Archie D. & Bertha H. Walker Fellowship Award, and the Trinidad and Tobago Support 

Alliance Grant. He has completed residency fellowships at: Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, Vermont Studio Center, and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. His work 

has been exhibited most notably at: Museum of the Americas, Arlington, VA; King Tisdell Cottage Black History Museum, Savannah, GA; the University of Alabama, Huntsville, Al; Duke University, Durham, NC; Pinnacle Gallery SCAD, Savannah, GA; Jepson Center for the Arts, Savannah, GA; and the African American Cultural Center, Charlotte, NC. 

Born of Caribbean heritage, the work unearths the complex origins of its space where different worlds collide and have had to reckon with the dominance of the West. As a result, my culture and all the associated imagery are used to frame this experience. Memory, as a central factor, is shaped both by my own personal narratives and the ancestral past of my cultural identity. The journey motif is used to reflect the process of time and the idea of it. Visual images shift between reality and the abstract. They take the shape of folk elements, ordinary and historical characters. The work probes the questions of existence, my relationship to both the interior (psychological) and exterior (physical) worlds that define my contemporary experiences. As an observer to the drama of human history, I explore those narratives that have brought us to this present. Multi-layering, evident in the work, conveys depth, reflective of history. Intuitive marks construct the emergence of forms, adding spontaneity, movement, and the “visual dance” that becomes a metaphor for the final statement of reclamation.