Artist CV
BARBARA LEE SMITH
www.barbaraleesmith.com
EDUCATION
Northern Illinois University, MFA Mixed Media 1979
Douglass College, Rutgers University, BS 1959
Further study:
Governor’s State University IL 1976
College of DuPage IL1974-76
Smithsonian Institution 1973
AWARDS, HONORS & POSITIONS HELD
University Fellow, Northern Illinois University 1977-78
Honorary Member, The Embroiderers’ Guild, London, UK Honorary Member, DuPage Textile Art Guild, IL
Residencies:
The Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL 2000, 1998,
1997, 1996, 1994
Named Distinguished Resident, The Ragdale Foundation 2002- present
Brisons Veor, St. Just, Cornwall, UK 2004
Senior Resident: Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland 1996 Commencement Speaker, Oregon College of Art and Craft 2002 Archives of American Artists, Smithsonian Institution 2009 Margaret K. Williams Arts Career Award, Pierce County, WA Arts Commission 2009
Board of Trustees, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue WA 2012-2015
MUSEUM & UNIVERSITY COLLECTIONS
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Indianapolis, IN Museum of Art
Tacoma, WA Art Museum, the Aloha Collection
Racine, WI Art Museum
American Embassy, Lima, Peru (Art in Embassies)
American Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka (Art in Embassies) Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Embroiderers’ Guild Museum, Manchester, England
Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Moraine Valley Community College, IL
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business
Tacoma Community College, WA
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Minneapolis, Textile Arts Center (May, June)
2016 Vashon Island (WA) Allied Arts (October)
2016 Tacoma Community College (Jan-Feb)
2014 Gravers Lane Gallery, Philadelphia
2014 Intersections: Recent Work Visions Art Museum, San Diego 2011 Pull of the Moon, Gregg Museum, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
2010 Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe
2009 Snyderman/Works Gallery, Philadelphia
2008 Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe
2006 Tacoma Community College
2006 Knitting and Stitching Shows (Birmingham, London, Dublin, Harrogate UK)
2005 University of Nebraska, Lincoln
2002 Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe
2000, 1996 Orie Gallery, Tokyo
1997 The Source Fine Art, Kansas City
1994 Ginza-Eye Gallery, Tokyo
1994 Peden Gallery II, Raleigh, NC
1985 Ariel Gallery, Naperville, IL
1983 Kretzman Gallery, Concordia University, River Forest, IL 1982 Art in Fiber Gallery, Washington, DC
1979 Crescent City Guild Gallery, New Orleans
1979 Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI
1978 Hays Art Center, Hays KS
1978 Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
1977 Public Museum, Kenosha, WI
1976 All of the Above Gallery, Chicago
1975 Chicago Public Library
1975 College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL
TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
The Source Fine Arts, Kansas City 2000
SouthWest Craft Center, San Antonio 1997
The Farrell Collection, Washington DC 1993
Interwoven Designs Gallery, St. Louis 1989
Textile Arts Center, Chicago 1987
Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis 1978
THREE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
Insights, Barbican Centre, London and Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, England 1999
Fiber Invitational, Baylor University, Waco, TX 1996
Three Fiber Artists, Lee Gallery, Washington DC 1986
New Artists, New Approaches, Gayle Willson Gallery, Southampton, NY 1985
INVITATIONAL GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Connections, Selections from the Permanent Collection, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2016 and continuing
Flight Patterns, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 2014-2015 and Georgia State University, 2015
Bellevue Arts Museum, Fiber Biennial 2012
Korea Quilt Festival, Seoul 2012
Sense of Place, Philadelphia Art Alliance 2012
Mighty Tacoma, Tacoma Art Museum 2010-11
Reflections on Water, Nash Gallery, U. of Minn. 2011
Beijing Art Salon, China, represented by Jane Sauer Gallery
2006 Bellevue Arts Museum , On Mapping
Fiber Biennale, Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia 2006, 2008 Material Difference: Soft Sculpture and Wall Works, Chicago Cultural Center 2006
Baskets: Beyond Structure, Jane Sauer Thirteen Moons Gallery Santa Fe
50th Anniversary Exhibition, Northwest Designer Craftsmen, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA; Contemporary Craft
Museum, Portland; Bellevue Arts Museum (traveling 2004-6)
(catalog)
Recent Acquisitions, Indianapolis Museum of Art 2000
9th Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland 1998 (catalog) Embroidery Now, Denver Art Museum 1977
Art Embroidery: A wide focus on new territories, (traveling 2004-05, England and France) (catalog)
20th Anniversary Exhibition, Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco 2004
Crossing Borders, Highland Park, IL Arts Center 2004
Prism, Mall Galleries, Trafalgar Square, London 2004
Natural Elements: Sculptural Expressions, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 2003 (catalog)
Survey Fiber, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia 2002 (CD catalog)
Pertaining to Line, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia 2000 (catalog)
Embroidery 2000, Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ 2000
Faculty Exhibition, Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2000 (catalog)
Surface-Strength-Structure, Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia PA 1999 (catalog)
SOFA NY and SOFA Chicago, 1996-2008 (catalogs)
Art PalmBeach3, represented by Jane Sauer Gallery 2009
New Traditions, Worcester MA Center for Crafts 1999
50th Anniversary Traveling Collection, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, MS 1998 Lin Majuscule, 1st Linen and Flax Biennial of Upper-Normandy, France 1996 (catalog)
Lin (traveling) Hotel des Archeveques de Sens, Paris, Museum of Textile, Ecomuseum of the Region Fourmies-Trelon, Fourmies, France 1996
Artists in Residence, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Hoffman Gallery, Portland 1996
A Textured Language: Honoring 20 Years of Fiberarts Magazine, Blue Spiral I Gallery, Asheville, NC 1996 (catalog)
The Essential Textile: A National Exhibition of Unconventional Fiber Art, The Guilford, CT, Handcraft Center, 1995
Shaw Cramer Gallery, Vineyard Haven, MA 1995
Homage: Inspirational Leaders in Regional Fiber Arts, 1920s-1980s Art St. Louis, MO 1995
Artists and Architects: Influence and Collaboration, Chicago AIA, Prairie Avenue Gallery, Chicago 1995
DMC-HIA Euro Fair, Maastrict, the Netherlands 1995
Au Fils Du Temps, (traveling) Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Yokohama 1994 (catalog)
Small Works, Gallery at Studio B., Lancaster, OH 1994 Celebrating the Stitch (traveling) USA, Canada, UK, Japan 1992-95 (book and catalog)
Uncommon Threads, Atlanta 1994
Needle Expressions (traveling) 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992 (juried)
(catalogs)
Inspirations: Artists working in fiber find inspiration in architectural forms, O’Connor Gallery, Rosary College, River Forest, IL 1992 Expanding the Medium: Works by the Art Quilt Network/New York, Rockville, MD Arts Place 1992
Thread Dimension, North Arts Center, Atlanta 1990
Tapestry Today, Holthaus Gallery, Pt. Washington, NY 1989 Redefining the American Quilt, Pennsylvania State University 1987 Celebration in Embroidery, Carnegie Centre, Dunedin, New Zealand 1986
Fiber II, The Mindscape Collection, Chicago 1985
Made in Chicago, Festival of the Arts 1985
Fiber I: Concepts and Constructions, The Mindscape Collection, Chicago, 1984
6th Annual National Textile Invitational, Weber State College, Ogden, UT 1982
Fibers for Architectural Spaces, Houston 1981
Well Bred Threads, Columbia College, SC 1981
The Enchanted Object, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Asso. MI 1979 Textiles, Art Gallery, Southampton, England and Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, England 1977
Illinois Craftsmen 1975, Illinois State Museum, Springfield 1975
REPRESENTED BY:
Gravers Lane Gallery, Philadelphia PA
Carol Rubenstein and Associates, Philadelphia
ARTS RELATED EMPLOYMENT
International
Visiting Professor, Department of Design and Embroidery, Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2000-2005
Stik Plus, the Netherlands (workshops and lectures) 2004,
2002, 2000, 1999, 2014
Netherlands Textile Museum, Tillburg, (lecture and workshop) 2000 Visiting Lecturer, Windsor College, England 1991, 1995, 2000, 2004
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Design and Embroidery, Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 1999
Swiss-Bernina of Japan, Tutor, 1994, 1999-2005
Designer/Consultant for Aid to Artisans, Central Yucatan, Mexico 1991
Canadian Embroiderers Guild, London, Ontario (workshops, lectures, judging exhibition)
Embroiderers Guild UK, First International Tutor in England and Scotland (taught and lectured) 1991
Association of New Zealand Embroiderers (teach and lecture)
1990
Australian Embroiderers Guilds (teach and lecture) 1990 Association of New Zealand Embroiderers, (teach and lecture) 1987
Brescia College, University of Western Ontario (workshop) 1979, 1983
Ontario Crafts Council, Chatham College (teach, lecture,
judging exhibition) 1975
National (Selected)
Self-Employed Studio Artist since 1979
Lectures: SOFA-Chicago 2004, 2005
Visiting Artist, U Mass/Dartmouth 1997
Visiting Artist, Southwest Craft Center, San Antonio 1997, 1995 Visiting Artist, Colorado State University 1995
Workshop Instructor/Lecturer (Selected)
Split Rock, University of Minnesota 1999
Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland 1995, 1991
Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN 1991, 1983, 1977 Council of American Embroiderers Study Retreats 1988, 1985
Council of American Embroiderers Annual Seminars (instructor) 1986, 1983, 1980, 1979, 1977, 1976, 1974
Artist in Residence, College of DuPage, IL 1977
Part-time faculty, College of DuPage, IL 1974-78
Juror: Tacoma Community College Summer Show 2005, 2003 Juror: Fiberart International, Pittsburgh, PA 2004
Juror: Beadworks, The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH 1998
Juror: Fiber Focus, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 1995
Juror: Betty Park Critical Writing Award, Surface Design Journal 1994
Juror: Texas Fiber Artists State Exhibition, San Antonio 1994 Juror: Needle Expressions 1984
CURATORIAL
Traces, Gregg Museum of Art and Design, North Carolina State University 2011, Exhibition of 40 works by 12 artists
Celebrating the Stitch: Midwest Artists, Textile Arts Center, Chicago 1991
Celebrating the Stitch, Exhibition of 140 works of contemporary embroidery (traveling) Newton, MA Arts Center, Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Traveled to 11 venues in USA, Canada, UK and Japan
The US and Us. Exhibit sponsored by the Association of New Zealand Embroiderers, toured New Zealand 1996-97
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Abbott Laboratories, N. Chicago, IL
Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL
American Express, Chicago
American Investors Life Insurance
American Medical Association, Chicago
American National Bank
Aquilacorp, Kansas City
Baker, Knapp and Tubbs, Chicago
Beatrice Foods Inc.
Borg-Warner Corporation
Citicorp, New York City and Brussels, Belgium
Chicago Board of Education
Controller of the Currency, Chicago
Dow Chemical Co.
Duff and Phelps, Chicago
Enterprise Savings and Loan
Evanston Hospital, IL
Gildorn Savings and Loan, Chicago
Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup WA
Itabashi Housing Loan Bank, Tokyo
Lakeside Bank, Chicago
Lincoln Marriott, Dallas, TX
Madeira UK Ltd., Thirsk, England
Marshall Fields, Chicago
MacNeal Memorial Hospital, Berwyn IL
Mercy Hospital, Chicago
Mirabella Retirement Community, Seattle
Mitsubishi Financial Services, Tokyo
Naperville, IL National Bank
National Boulevard Bank, Chicago
Northern Trust Bank, Chicago
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago
Packaging Corporation of America
Pittsburgh, PA National Bank
Renwick Gallery, Washington DC
Resurrection Health Care, Chicago
Ramada Hotels
Rockwell Industries
Salvation Army Headquarters, Dallas TX
Schuyler, Roche and Zwerner, Chicago
St. Anthony's Hospital, Gig Harbor WA
Swiss-Bernina Headquarters, Switzerland
Universal Access, Chicago
Washington National Insurance Company, Evanston IL West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park IL
VOLUNTER & ART-RELATED POSITIONS
Board of Trustees, Bellevue Arts Museum 2012- 2015 Hand to Hand project that encouraged donations of books on craft to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt in response to the Iraq wars, 2002
Editorial Committee, Surface Design Journal 2002-2011
Tacoma Community College, % for Art Awards Committee 2004 Tacoma Community College, Gallery Board 2004-2006
DuPage Textile Art Guild, Founding President
Design Review Commission, Village of Oak Park, IL 1982-86 Community Design Commission, Oak Park, IL 1982-86
Textile Arts Center, Chicago, Board of Directors 1986-87
Textile Arts Center, Advisory Board 1984-85
Friends of Fiber Arts International, Professional Board
Editorial Advisory Board and Contributing Editor, The Working Craftsman 1974-78
American Crafts Council, Illinois Representative 1974-80
PUBLICATIONS, BOOKS & ONLINE
Rooney and Lee, Artistry in Fiber Vol. 1, Schiffer Publishers 2017 Atkinson, Craft for the Modern World: The Renwick Collection 2015 Flight Patterns, An Exhibition of Fiber Art curated by Dorothy Moye, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 2014-2015 Intersections: Recent Work of Barbara Lee Smith, Visions Art Museum, San Diego 2014
Pull of the Moon, 2011Monograph with essay by curator LynnJones Ennis, Gregg Museum, NCSU
Traces, Exhibition catalog, curatorial essay and artist profiles, NCSU 2011
Going Out, Going In: The Language of Landscape with essays by Rick Snyderman and Carla Seaquist in conjunction with solo exhibition at Snyderman/Works Galleries 2009
Barbara Lee Smith, Monograph 2006 with essays by Patricia Malarcher and Lynda Lowe
The Fiberarts Design Books #s 1, 2, 4 and 5, 1980, 1983, 1991, 2004
A Common Thread: US Embassy, Colombo (catalog) 2005
100th Anniversary Exhibition catalog: Joshibi College of Art and Design, Tokyo 2003
Morrell, Contemporary Embroidery: Exciting and Innovating Textile Art, London, Studio Vista 1994
Wood, Everyday Encounters, Belmont, CA (work illustrated) 1995 Smith, Celebrating the Stitch: Contemporary Embroidery of North America, Taunton Press 1991
Fanning, The Complete Book of Machine Embroidery, Chilton 1986
Lambert, Staepelaere and Fry, Color and Fiber, Schiffer Publishers 1986
Feisner, Needlepoint and Beyond, Scribners 1980
Appel, The Fiber Craft Sampler, Chilton 1979
Belfer, Weaving: Design and Expression, Davis 1978
Michaels-Paque, A Creative and Conceptual Analysis of Textiles 1976
MAGAZINES
Barbara Lee Smith: Water-Washed Light, Fiberarts, Summer 2006 Jane Friedman, Making Connections, American Style, Oct. 2004 Janneken Smucker, Review. Philadelphia’s Month of Fiber, Fiberarts 9/10 2004
Ruta Saliklis, Review. Natural Elements: Sculptural Expressions, Fiberarts 2003
Barbara Lee Smith: Visual Artist, World Traveler, Ragdale Foundation Newsletter 2002
Review: Embroidery 2000: A Wealth of Creative Expression, Fiberarts 2001
Profile, Shenshoku-Alpha, Japan 2001
Judy Weisman, Fiber in Philadelphia, James Renwick Alliance Quarterly 1999
Review, Lodz Triennial, Textiel Forum (Europe) 1999
Gallery of Embroiderers: Barbara Lee Smith, Layers of Meaning, Embroidery, UK 1999
Camille Cook, Lodz Triennial, Fiberarts, Summer, 1998
Aaron Fine, Beadworks: A New Exhibition, Interweave Beadwork, Fall, 1997
Tilleke Schwarz, De Droomboten van Barbara Lee Smith (The Dreamboats), Texteil Plus, the Netherlands October 1995 Interview, Needle Art Magazine, Tokyo 1995
Cover Art, The Flying Needle, February 1993
Working on a Wide Canvas: The Art of Barbara Lee Smith, Madeira News, UK Fall, 1992
Needle Expressions ’90: The Traveling Show, The Flying Needle Feb. 1991
Barbara Lee Smith, Threads (New Zealand) April, 1991
Patricia Malarcher, Embroidery: State of the Art, Fiberarts, Nov/Dec 1991
Judith Schonbak, Review. Exhibiting the Thread Dimension,
Fiberarts 1991
Cover art. Threads (New Zealand) 1986
Textile Trends: Collecting in Chicago, Fiberarts 11/12/1985
Jane Lucas, Barbara Smith: Views from Within, Fiberarts Sept/Oct 1983
Loraine Meyer, Barbara Lee Smith, Fiber Artist, Needle Arts, Fall,1983
Robbie Fanning, B.L.S. Open Chain, July 1983
Objects of Play, Review. School Art 1/19/1979
Newspapers: Betty Freudenheim, Review. Uniting Tapestry and Technology, The
New York Times, Sunday 10/15/1989
Jacqueline Hall, Review. Fabric the medium for brilliant creativity, Columbus, OH Dispatch 6/12/94
Blue Greenberg, Review. Stitched with a godly touch. Durham, NC The Herald Sun, 1/30/1994
Mary Breslin, Weave World (profile), Forest Park Review,
11/9/1994
What a Stitch, Kirkland, WA Eastside Week 6/23/93
Renee Enna, Exhibit celebrates fabric of art, Pioneer Press, IL
9/9/1992
Mary Houlihan-Skilton, Stitching in a New Light (profile), Chicago Sun-Times, Sunday 7/26/1992
Roberta Morgan, ‘Expanding the Medium’: quality quilts at R.A.P. (review), The Rockville MD Gazette, 8/5/1992
Susan Phinney, The New Art of Crafts, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/11/1992
The Bridge is Embroidery, Kerrville, TX Mountain Sun 9/23/92 Profile. Auckland, New Zealand Herald 1990
Melisse Laing, Workshop participants have designs on words, Longview, WA Daily News 9/23/1988
Eve Dumavich, Colorful Threads trap feelings in fabric (profile), Tacoma WA News Tribune 5/31/1986
Marie Irvine (review) Weber State National Invitational, Craft Range, 5/6/1982
Fiber as Structure, Review. Artweek 12/11/1982
Marion Beam, Stitcher’s Studios, Flying Needle, May 1978
Carla Kelson, Something Different, Chicago Magazine, Nov 1976 Author: Celebrating the Stitch: Contemporary Embroidery of North America.
Newton CT, The Taunton Press 1991
Forward, Threads of Experience: Fabric and Thread Imagery by Deidre Scherer, Papier Mache Press 2003
Catalog Essay, Renie Breskin Adams 2002
Needle and Thread: Old Tools, New Magic, Surface Design Journal, Summer 2007
Audrey Walker:The Textured Figure. Surface Design Journal, Summer 2006
The Presence of Absence, Surface Design Journal, Winter 2005 Review: Selvedge Magazine, Surface Design Journal, Spring 2005 Review: Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit, Fiberarts, Summer 2004 Review: Jac Scott, Textile Perspectives in Mixed-Media Sculpture, Fiberarts, 11/12 2004
Beadwork of Laura Willitts, Surface Design Journal , Summer 2003 Found in Translation: Three Artists from Japan, Fiberarts 11/12 2001
A Spiritual Collection: Fiberarts, 9/10 2001
Judith Scott: Finding a Voice, Fiberarts, Summer, 2001
Profile: Lynda Lowe, Surface Design Journal, Winter, 2001 Textured Time, Surface Design Journal Spring, 1999
In Praise of Amateurs, Fiberarts Commentary 3/4 1999
A Brief History of Mine, Fiberarts 9/10 1999
Deceived by Ornament, Surface Design Journal Winter, 1998 Reviews: Art Textiles of the World: Great Britain and Japan, Laury, Imagery on Fabric, Fiberarts, Summer, 1998
Collaborating with Nature: From Photo to Fiber, Surface Design Journal Spring, 1997
Visual Journals: Ways of Seeing, Fiberarts 11/12 1997
Reviews: Wells, Creative Bead Weaving and Contemporary Beads and Beadwork, Loveland Co Museum catalog, Surface Design Journal, Summer 1997
Mending Lives: Art and Healing, Fiberarts 1996, reprinted in Social Issues Resources Series, Renaissance Electronic Database CD The Weight of Shadows: Noriko Narahira’s Reinvented Lace, Surface Design Journal 1996
Essential Stitches: Marks of Memory, Magic and Meaning, Surface Design Journal Fall, 1995
Art and Illness, Fiberarts 1995, reprinted in Social Issues Resources series
Three Years on the Road and Some Thoughts on Embroidery,
Flying Needle, May 1995
Review: The New Beadwork, by Moss and Scherer, Fiberarts 3/4 1994
Connecting Threads, Craft Arts International, Australia Volume #27, 1993
Review: Flowers for Embroidery, Box, Threads USA 1993
The New Embroidery: Tradition and Innovation, Surface Design Journal Summer, 1992
A Song Without Words, Embroidery UK 1990
Paints, Brushes and Stitches: Artists at the Sewing Machine, Threads USA Dec. 1991
On Creativity, Threads NZ 1988
Four Embroiderers: Small and Large Scale, Fiberarts 9/10 1989 Creativity: It’s the Work that Counts (also cover photo) Flying Needle, Nov. 1987
Creativity, Threads NZ 1987
On Design and Creativity, Handwoven 11/12 1984
Guest Column on Design, Open Chain, July 1984
Restorations: A Personal Approach to Design, Flying Needle, August 1980
Book Columnist, The Working Craftsman 1976-78
On Mixing Media, Flying Needle, Winter, 1976
