Biography
Ed Smida is a professional artist living and working in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a figurative sculptor focusing principally on the human form in bronze.
Ed attended university at the Colorado School of Mines and earned degrees in engineering and economics. From there he embarked on a thirty-year career spanning science, operations and finance primarily in the energy industry. The majority of his career was spent working internationally in over twenty-five countries around the world.
In 2012 Ed chose to leave the business world and devote himself full-time to his creative passion. The visual arts have always been a major part of Ed’s life, and the transition into the studio and commercial art world has been tremendously rewarding. He explains that making art is a journey that engages all levels of oneself, and it’s been thrilling for him to layer this creative pulse on top of a lifetime’s worth of experiences.
Ed models his sculptures in a variety of clays and waxes, and casts the majority of his pieces in bronze using the lost wax method. His work with the portrait and figure has been described as expressive, deeply emotional, and thought-provoking. As far as influences, Ed cites European masters such as Rodin, Rosso, and Giacometti, as well as more contemporary American sculptors Stephen De Staebler and George Carlson.
Ed is represented by Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a Member of the National Sculpture Society in New York, and exhibited in their 85th, 86th, and 88th Annual Awards Exhibitions. In 2020 and 2021 Ed exhibited at the Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Portrait Sculptors in London.
Exhibitions & Auctions
2021
FACE2021 Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Portrait Sculptors, London (The Society Prize Commended)
National Sculpture Society’s 88th Annual Awards Exhibition, Brookgreen Gardens
The Pandemic: A Sculptor’s View Exhibition, National Sculpture Society, New York
2020
30th Annual ArtsThrive Art Exhibition & Benefit, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque
Sculpture Created in Self-Isolation Exhibition, National Sculpture Society, New York
FACE2020 Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Portrait Sculptors, London
2019
29th Annual ArtsThrive Art Exhibition & Benefit, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque
National Sculpture Society’s 86th Annual Awards Exhibition, Brookgreen Gardens
Through the Looking Glass Exhibition, The Harwood Museum of Art, Taos
Couse Foundation’s Sixth Biennial Gala and Art Auction, Taos
2018
National Sculpture Society’s 85th Annual Awards Exhibition, Brookgreen Gardens
2017
Couse Foundation’s Fifth Biennial Gala and Art Auction, Taos
2016
Syrian Children’s Benefit, Turner Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe
2013-15
Art Students League of Denver (Various Group Exhibitions), Denver
Gallery
Nedra Matteucci Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico – Visit Website
Article
Fine Art Connoisseur, May/June 2019 – View Article