Dawn Marie Smith
Dawn Smith has been painting with oils for over 10 years. She was previously a well known tattoo artist born and raised in the Detroit area. Born to a blue collar tradesman and Italian immigrant father, Dawn’s earliest memories include sleeping in the used tires of a body shop. “my father taught me how to use a brush”, she recalls. “I would watch him swish the enamel paint back and forth onto an old phone book, getting the paint just right to be applied to glass, while he practiced lettering.” That early influence would shape a lifelong art practice where she would pursue art in many forms. Her skill for painting landed her a Lennawee county judicial portrait commission in 2015. Smith has won awards for her paintings and has been featured in several publications including a 2018 feature with Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. Her art is imaginative, stylized, and expressive. Her figurative paintings explore themes of magic and mystery through a study of femininity. Smith’s work often speaks to us about the ideal of feminine beauty with the undertone of a twisted psychology. Sickly and cute, sexy and grotesque, Her work will inspire something visceral in viewers.
"I think of my work as overly indulgent eye candy, tainted by the filth of consumerism and the mesmerizing affect of the internet and social media. I often feel like I’m documenting a psycho-social experiment that explores the way our social environment impacts the psyche. The elements are all swirling around inside my brain like a snail shell, the galaxy, DNA, and the golden ratio."
Curriculum Vitae
Dawn M Smith (Cooke)
Email: Dawnsmithstudios@gmail.com
Website: www.dawnmariesmith.com
Social Media: www.instagram.com/dawnsmith_art
Education
2011 College for Creative Studies, Detroit MI. BFA
2014 Wayne State University, Social Work Program
Exhibitions
2023 “Sacred Feminine - Honoring Women’s Herstory Month”, Ludington Area Center for the Arts, Ludington, MI. Group Exhibition
2023 “Human Figure group Art Show”, Memento Mori Gallery, Lakewood, CO. Group Exhibition
2023 “The Next Big Thing 2023”, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA. Group Exhibition
2023 “First Fridays Solo”, This That and the Odder Things, Ypsilanti, MI. Solo Exhibition
2022 “Women in Art”, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna,. Group Exhibition
2022 “Dangerous Lullabies VIII”, J + K Isacson arts at the Dole Masion, Crystal Lake, IL. Group Exhibition
2022 “Dawn Smith Art”, Red Bluff Gallery, Red Bluff, CA. On-Line Solo Exhibition
2022 “Bees and Biomimicry”, Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2021 “Women in Art”, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Las Laguna Beach, CA. On-Line Group Exhibition
2021 “Tropical”, Gristle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. On-Line Group Exhibition
2021 “Hear Us”, Artashealingfoundation.org. On-Line Group Exhibition
2021 “Resillience”, Kayrod Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2020 “Womvn”, 22 North Gallery, Ypsilanti, MI. Group Exhibition
2020 “Our Changing Climate”, Huron Valley Arts Council, Highland MI. Group Exhibition
2020 “Sight and Sound” Grosse Point War Memorial, Grosse Point Farms, MI. Group Exhibition
2019 “Alumni Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2019 “Embodied”, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor MI. Group Exhibition
2018 “Artworks Detroit, Matrix Human Services” College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition/Benefit Auction
2018 “Small Wonders”, Atomic Gallery, Hamtramck, MI. Group Exhibition
2018 “Ladies Ladies Ladies Art Show”, MF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. Group Exhibition
2017 “Artworks Detroit, Matrix Human Services”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition/Benefit Auction
2017 “Never Again”, Annex Gallery, Highland Park, MI. Group Exhibition
2017 “The Uninvited”, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2016 “Clown Baby”, Café 1923, Hamtramck, MI. Solo Exhibition
2016 “Ladies Ladies Ladies Art Show”, Forget Me Not Tattoo, Brooklyn, NY. Group Exhibition
2016 “Artworks Detroit, Matrix Human Services”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition/Benefit Auction
2016 “Ladder12 Art Auction”, Detroit Artist Market, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition/Benefit Auction
2016 “Peaches”, Pop’s Packing, Hamtramck, MI. Group Exhibition
2015 “Ladies Ladies Ladies Art Show”, Eight of Swords, Brooklyn, NY. Group Exhibition
2015 “Watermellon”, H.A.T.C.H. art Gallery, Hamtramck, MI. Group Exhibition
2013 “Tattooed Topography”, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. Group Exhibition
2012 “Allumni Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2012 “Ladies Ladies Ladies Art Show”, Tattoo Culture, Brooklyn, NY. Group Exhibition
2011 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition 2011 “The Damned Show”, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2011 “The Welcoming Party”, Art Effect Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “Tattoo Art”, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “The Damned Show”, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “Ann Arbor Skate Park Benefit Art Show”, Vault of Midnight, Ann Arbor MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “People and Places Around the World”, Arts League of Michigan, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2010 “The Vaudeville Revue”, Russell Center for Creative Arts, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition and Performance
2009 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition 2009 “The Damned Show”, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2009 “Just Because”, U245 Gallery, Detroit, MI. Solo Exhibition
2008 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2008 “The Damned Show”, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2008 “ A Malformed Heart”, U245 Gallery, Detroit, MI. Solo Exhibition
2008 “Andres Serrano Picks Detroit”, Center Galleries, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2008“Peoples Arts Festival”, Russell Center for Creative Arts, Detroit, MI.
2007 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2007 “The Living Arts”, Detroit Institute of Art, Gala Grand Reopening. Detroit, MI. Performance
2007 “ Current Affair”, Detroit Brewing Company, Detroit MI. Solo Exhibition
2006 “Student Exhibition”, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Group Exhibition
2004 “Rides of Passage”, Woodstock Tattoo Festival, Woodstock, NY. Milk Studios, New York, NY. La Luz De Jesus, Los Angeles, Ca. Work Space Gallery, Osaka, Japan. Group Exhibition
Awards
2020 Honorable Mention, Grosse Point War Memorial, “Sight & Sound”.
2021 Honorable Mention, Kayrod Gallery, “Resilience”.
2019 Second Place Best of Show, College for Creative Studies, “Alumni Exhibition”.
2011 College for Creative Studies Senior Selects Award / Fine Arts Department
2010 Second Place Best of Show in “Ann Arbor Skate Park Benefit Art Show” Vault of Midnight, Ann Arbor MI
2008 Second Place Best of Show in “Andrea Serrano Picks Detroit” Center Galleries, Detroit MI
Publications
May 2023 Issue of ART SEEN Magazine
Online interview 2018 Beautiful Bizarre Magazine
https://beautifulbizarre.net/2018/12/12/interview-the-feminine-symbol-filled-pop-surrealism-of-dawn-cooke/