JOSHUA SMITH (b. 1976, Japan)

'Untitled (Skateboard Deck) #190', 2009

One-of-a-Kind Mixed Media on Skateboard Deck

Mixed Media (Oil, Spray and Enamel Paint) on Skateboard Deck. Limited edition of 200 UNIQUE hand-painted works. SIGNED with a unique Josh Smith stencil and hand-numbered '190' in black marker on verso. Manufacturer's mark to verso 'Mekanism'. This unique work is number 190 from the edition of 200 variable examples produced by Mekanism, Paris. Dimensions: 31-1/2" x 7-1/2". Published and produced by Mekanism Skateboards, Paris, France. BRAND NEW.

PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from Mekanism Skateboards, Paris, France in September 2009.

Painted on a skateboard, 'Skateboard Deck' demonstrates the breadth of Smith's practice and his concern for deploying a range of surfaces and objects in his work. This piece incorporates a unique Josh Smith stencil, a feature of many of his works. Gesturing to adolescent messiness, the painterly marks of abstract expressionism, urban graffiti, 'Skateboard Deck' neatly encapsulates Smith's playful approach to painting.

For this skateboard project New York City based artist Josh Smith was given total creative freedom. In response, Josh decided to oil paint 200 boards into one cohesive yet divisible collection. The result is 200 completely unique decks covered in oil, spray paint, and enamel. Instead of a signature, Josh made a custom stencil for the top graphic.

See: http://radcollector.com/news/2009/02/09/mekanism-x-josh-smith/
        https://hypebeast.com/2009/2/josh-smith-x-mekanism-art-project

Josh Smith is an artist based in New York. Smith's works explore ideas of authorship and originality. He is perhaps best known for paintings featuring his name written large, the letters of which fluctuate between signifiers of the name and abstracted forms.

"I have always been aware of my name and how it sounds. In printmaking classes I started using it to see it reversed. It is embarrassing to see a painting of my name and it humbles me as I work. I have to paint around that feeling and continually compensate for it. The name paintings are like pre-fab buildings. You can build the painting around it. As an abstract painting, it serves as a vehicle and obstacle to prod the paintings forward."

                     —Josh Smith, as quoted in "The Journal", interview with Josh Smith, 2010

Smith's work has been presented in numerous solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany (2016); Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma, Rome (2015); the Zabludowicz Collection, London (2013); The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, Connecticut (2011); Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva (2009); De Hallen Haarlem, Haarlem, The Netherlands (2009-2010); Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna (2008); and SculptureCenter, Long Island City, New York (2004).

Smith's work has also been included in important group exhibitions such as Painting 2.0: Expression in the Information Age, which opened at the Museum Brandhorst, Munich, and subsequently traveled to the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna (2015-2016); The Forever Now: Contemporary Painting in an Atemporal World, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2014-2015); The Painting Factory: Abstraction after Warhol, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2012); ILLUMInations, the central exhibition at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011); Le Printemps de Septembre festival in Toulouse, France (2011); and The Generational: Younger Than Jesus at the New Museum, New York (2009). 

As of November 8, 2017, Josh Smith has joined the David Zwirner Gallery, New York, London and Hong Kong.

In late 2021, Josh Smith collaborated with Givenchy's Matthew M. Williams for Givenchy’s Spring 2022 runway show in March. In designer Matthew M. Williams’s collaboration with Josh Smith, Smith’s psychedelic, vibrant paintings are interpreted into a range of garments for Givenchy SS22.

SELECT RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2024 
'Josh Smith: Life Drawing', The Drawing Center, New York, NY (6/21 - 9/15)
'Josh Smith: Studio News', Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Vienna, Austria (5/24 - 7/20)

2023 
'Josh Smith: 17 Pike Street', WWW.WILLSHOTT, New York, NY
'Josh Smith: Living with Depression', David Zwirner Gallery, Paris, France
'Tropic of Cancer' (group exhibition), Pace Gallery, Palm Beach, FL

2022 
'Josh Smith: Keyhole', Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium

2021 
'Undercurrents: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art' (group exhibition), Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN

2020 
'Josh Smith: Spectre', David Zwirner Gallery, London, UK
'Josh Smith: Spectre', David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY
'Vanessa Woods & Josh Smith: Vestiges', Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
'Josh Smith: Life', Galerie Eva Presenhuber Rämistrasse, Zurich, Switzerland
'Spot On: Josh Smith', Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Germany

2019 
'Josh Smith: Finding Emo', Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium
'Josh Smith: Emo Jungle', David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY

2018 
'Josh Smith', Galerie Eva Presenhuber, New York, NY
'Josh Smith: I Will Carry The Weight', Massimo De Carlo, London, UK

2017 
'Josh Smith: You Walk on Ahead, Go as Fast as You Want. I'll Follow Along Slowly. I Know the Road Well.', STANDARD, Oslo, Norway

2016 
'Josh Smith', Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium
'Josh Smith', Bonner Kunstverein, Bonn, Germany

2015 
'Josh Smith / Dieter Roth', Cahiers d'Art, Paris, France
'Josh Smith: Sculpture', Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
'Josh Smith', Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma (MACRO) Testaccio, Rome, Italy

2014
'Forever Now: Painting in the New Millennium' (group exhibition), Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY

2013
'Josh Smith', Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
'For The Time Being' (group exhibition), Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
'Josh Smith: 24 Hours', Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland

2012
'The Slide Show' (group exhibition), Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain (FRAC), Dijon, France
'Mix/Remix' (group exhibition), Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
'The Painting Factory: Abstraction After Andy Warhol' (group exhibition), Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles, CA
'Josh Smith', Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland

2011
'Josh Smith', Le Printemps de Septembre - a Toulouse, Espace EDF-Bazacle, Toulouse, France
'Josh Smith: The American Dream', The Brant Foundation, Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT
'Josh Smith: Human Target', Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
'Untitled (painting)' (group exhibition), Luhring Augustine, New York, NY

2010
'ALPHA OMEGA – Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection' (group exhibition), DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
'Josh Smith and Sophie von Hellerman', Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium

2009
'Josh Smith: Who Am I', De Hallen Haarlem, Haarlem, The Netherlands
'Josh Smith: On the Water', Deitch Studios, Long Island City, NY
'Josh Smith and Sophie von Hellerman', Le Consortium, Dijon, France
'Josh Smith', Hiromi Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
'Josh Smith', Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
'Younger Than Jesus' (group exhibition), New Museum, New York, NY
'Josh Smith: Currents', Luhring Augustine, New York, NY
'Josh Smith: I'm Not You', Air de Paris, Paris, France

2008
'Josh Smith: Hidden Darts', Museum Moderner Kunst (MUMOK), Vienna, Austria
'Josh Smith: Collages', Galerie Catherine Bastide, Brussels, Belgium
'Josh Smith: Zurich Abstraction', Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland
'Josh Smith / Josh Fish', Hard Hat, Geneva, Switzerland