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BIO

Casey Jex Smith grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he received a B.F.A. from Brigham Young University in 2003 before going on to complete an M.F.A. in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005. His work has shown nationally and internationally, including solo shows in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, and Utah. Smith currently resides in San Jose.

STATEMENT

My art addresses personal identity and finding meaning in between three seemingly disparate worlds; religion, sci-fi/fantasy, and "high-art". My work blends appropriated imagery and ideas from illustrated Bibles, Dungeons & Dragons manuals, Durer etchings, Agnes Martin paintings, Mormon architecture, NASA photos, The Lord of the Rings, and Sunday School flannel-board cut-outs into semi-cohesive narratives. This work attempts to legitimize how I spend my time by visually placing art, religion, and high-geekdom on the same hierarchical strata. This blending and prioritizing is a reflection of how I function in the world. Frodo's ring is a metaphor for spiritual weakness, a temple becomes a repository for wooden Frank Stellas, Big Foot is the Bible's Cain, and a James Turrell installation is a meditation on the Holy Ghost.

PRESS

CASEY JEX SMITH, East Bay Express JAN 2011
Review of "Double Dare" at Swarm Gallery by DeWitt Chang.

CASEY JEX SMITH, The Lo-Down: News from the Lower East Side, OCT 2010
"Dungeons and Dragons in an LES Gallery" by Ashlie Cotton.

JOHN CASEY + CASEY JEX SMITH, ParisArt.com, APRIL 2010
Review of their 2 person show at Galerie Polaris in Paris (review in French)

CASEY JEX SMITH, artnet.com.fr, MAR 2010
"Parcours Marais Dessin" Review by Joel Riff (review in French)

CASEY JEX SMITH, motleyvision.org, MAR 2010
"Couple Creators: Casey Jex Smith / Amanda Michelle Smith", Review by Theric Jepson.

CASEY JEX SMITH, ereview.org, MAR 2010
"Reverse Subliminal Messagin" by Jessica Brier.

CASEY JEX SMITH, examiner.com, 12 MAR 2010
"Swarm Gallery" by Buck O'Brien

CASEY JEX SMITH, fecalface.com, FEB 2010
"Blesofsky, Smith, & Anderson @ Swarm Gallery" by John Trippe.

CASEY JEX SMITH, beautifuldecay.com, JAN 2010
"Casey Jex Mith" by Brendan Monroe.

CASEY JEX SMITH, Rhizome, JULY 2008
"Drawn Out Processes" by Marisa Olson.

CASEY JEX SMIITH, Time Out Chicago, Issue 175, July 2008.
"Casey Jex Smith" by Lauren Weinberg.

CASEY JEX SMITH, Oakbook 9 SEPT 2008
"Art, Religion, Success"
by Theo Konrad Auer