Jesse Leroy SMITH

Jesse Leroy SMITH
1966

Smith was born in London, but has lived in Cornwall since 2001. His studies were at East Ham Polytechnic (1983-4), Norwich School of Art (1985-88, BA Hons) and then at the RA (1989-92, Postgraduate Diploma).

Jesse has travelled and exhibited widely - UK, USA, Germany - and has been greatly influenced by travels to Norway, Ireland, Turkey, Greece, Nepal and Italy. In 2007 his work was selected for Art Now Cornwall at the Tate St Ives. In 2010 he and fellow artist Richard BALLINGER worked as art tutors on a Norwegian cruise ship, and took great inspiration from visits to museums and working art colonies along the way. Briefly he has also served as chairman of the NSA (2009), but stood down due to lack of time.

Much of his subject matter has been in documenting family life (in his paintings) and especially the lives of his children and their manifest characters. Locally he is represented by Goldfish Fine Art, St Ives, Edgar Modern in Bath, and the Jill George Gallery in Soho, London.

The artist is a tutor on the course programme of the Newlyn School of Art, Chywoone Hill, Newlyn. 

In 2012 he was part of a four-artist collaboration TAap-Chuan Xin with Sam BASSETTRichard BALLINGER and Chris PRIEST, exhibiting at Cornwall Contempory, Queens Square, Penzance.

Leroy Smith was the curator of 'Edge of Dark', an exhibition of work by fellow members of NSA, planned for April 2020 at Tremenheere Gallery. This was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic until October 2020.

In April 2022, in collaboration with Creative Youth Network, he co-curated 'Unstable Monuments Bristol', a project to support emerging artists.

media

Painter in oils and multi-media

works and access

Works incl: Leopard (2006) (exh at Tate St Ives)

exhibitions

Tate St Ives, Art Now Cornwall, Feb-May (selected group show)

Cornwall contemporary, TAap - Chuan Xin, 2012

Open Studios Cornwall 2013

2016: Unstable Monuments, Old Bakery Studios, Truro (8/9 April)

Open Studios Cornwall 2016

2016: Newlyn Art Gallery - Newlyn School of Art Tutors Fundraising Exhibition (24 Oct-2 Nov)

2016: 'Picturing the Mines', Falmouth Art Gallery (5-18 Nov)

2019: 'Force Majeure', Tremenheere Gallery, Gulval, Penzance (25 May-23 June)

2019: BOSS, PZ Gallery, Penzance (13-20 Sept)

2020: 'Edge of Dark', Tremenheere Gallery, Gulval, Penzance (10 Oct-1 Nov)

2023: 'Rapture at Tremenheere', Tremenheere Gallery, Gulval, Penzance (7-12 June)

 

memberships

NSA 2009 list

references

www.nsanewlyn.com

Tate St Ives (2007) Artists' Guide to Art Now Cornwall (on-line, past exhibitions)

Tutors' notes, Newlyn Art School (on-line 2011) www.newlynartschool.co.uk

Cornwall Today (Apr 2016) 'In Praise of Collaboration' by Alex Wade

Cornwall Today (Oct 2020) 'Edge of Darkness' by Mercedes Smith