Portrait of George Smyth
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George Smyth

About the Artist

Solo, Juried, and Invited Shows October 2015: Glen Echo Park Stone Tower Gallery - The Extras: From the Streets July - August 2015: Howard County Arts Council - dual show with Michelle Rogers March - April 2015: River Gallery - Annual Juried Community Show, Galesville, MD April - May 2015: Columbia Art Center Galleries - Portraits and Profiles November - December 2014: Eternal Photographs - Media Arts Gallery, Technical Center Building, Montgomery College, Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD 20850 - Reception 12 November 6-8pm October – December 2014: Art Maryland 2014, Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Rd, Ellicott City, MD, selected by Julia Marciari-Alexander, Executive Director of the Walters Art Museum August - September 2014: Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture Labor Day Art Show, Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd; Glen Echo, MD - Reception 29 August 6-9pm June 2014: Columbia Art Center Galleries, 6100 Foreland Garth, Columbia, MD - Things that Scare Me May - June 2014: Photoworks Forty Years: Here & Now, Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd; Glen Echo, MD March - May 2014: Silver Visions with Barry Schmetter, D. B. Stovall, and Scott Davis, River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD January - February 2014: The Ice House, Berkley Springs, WV, Vision of the Ages, an exhibit of photography by modern practitioners of historic processes curated by Rip Smith January - February 2014: Popcorn Gallery, Glen Echo Park, MD - solo show, The Extras November 2013 - January 2014: Second Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibit curated by Nona R. Martin, manager of Public Programs, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Amy E. Raehse, executive director and curator, Goya Contemporary Art Gallery, and Faheem Majeed, visiting director of Undergraduate Studies, Art and Design Department, University of Illinois at Chicago - awarded Honorable Mention October - December 2013: Grayscale, curated by Jesse Cohen at the artdc Gallery September - October 2013: Maryland Art Place Regional Juried Exhibition, curated by Kristen Hileman, Curator of Contemporary Art and Department Head at the Baltimore Museum of Art July - September 2013: The Frederick Camera Clique 27th Annual Regional Juried Competition, curated by Scott Speck and Leo Howard Lubow June - July 2013: Juried Mid-Atlantic Photo/Video Exhibition at Artisphere, curated by Frank Goodyear, curator of photographs,National Portrait Gallery and Kaitlin Booher, assistant curator of photography and media arts, Corcoran Gallery of Art June 2013: artdc Gallery, The Chemical View, curated by Barry Schmetter January - February 2013: Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA - solo show, The Extras and The Braddock Project June 2012: Glenview Mansion, Rockville, MD - solo show, The Braddock Project April - May 2012: Photoworks - Alternative Visions -- An Alternative Process Photography Exhibition curated by Barbara Maloney October 2011: 4th Annual FotoWeekDC August - October 2011: Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibition at the University of Maryland University College, curated by Helen Frederick, professor, George Mason University. May - June 2011: Focal Point: Fine Art and Creative Photography National Juried Exhibition, Maryland Federation of Art, Laurie Snyder, Chair of Photography, Maryland Institute College of Art April - May 2011: Slayton House, Columbia, MD - solo show, The Extras March - April 2011: FotoDC FLASH, Crystal City, VA, Discover Series Photographer November 2010 - January 2011: Montpelier Arts Center, winner of the 2010-2012 Library Gallery Competition juried by John Ruppert, Chairman of the Art Department of the University of Maryland - solo show, The Extras January 2010: Focal Resolution, climate/gallery, Long Island City, New York, selected as Featured Artist by Bonni Benrubi,Bonni Benrubi Gallery March - May, 2009: How You See It, VisArts Center, Rockville, MD, curated by Frank Goodyear, Associate Curator of Photographs, National Portrait Gallery

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Artist's Statement

My work is about stories, both true and fictional. By using historic processes to create my darkroom prints, tales emerge and take on their own life. The viewer can then take that image and move forward in their way of choosing.

Featured Work

Photos

It is not possible to get into someone else’s mind. It’s hard enough to get into our own. Is the person acting other than we understand considered to be crazy or enlightened? Or both? Or is there a difference? We spend our lives building filters to ensure that we fit in. When communion with the unknown becomes so important that those filters are dropped, we separate ourselves from everyone else and concentrate on the task at hand.
We were both waiting. I was waiting to see what she would do, and she was waiting for her cigarette to finish. Cars drove past, people walked by, and we both kept our positions, waiting. Had I known what she was thinking it would not have been quite so interesting, the possibilities forced no constraints on my imagination. With all of the mystery she offered when I first saw her, she blew her last puff and went back inside.
Traveling in Spain a number of years ago I entered a small town near Gredos. There was a small town center with a few people, and I wandered through it quite quickly. Continuing onward I came across this couple, who had decided to slow things down, and collected the image.
Braddock has numerous buildings that are scheduled for demolition, and of course no longer has numerous buildings that have been taken down. In this particular instance it appears that all has been removed around this building. Despite the look, I believe that this building is currently being used.
There is not a lot of activity in Braddock. As I wander the streets I do see people, but it is not the hustle and bustle to which I am accustomed. This is a mixed blessing. Too much activity can lead to the craziness I see each day, but this is a downtown area that could certainly benefit from a little such craziness. I saw this man twice as I walked the streets and wondered where he was going. Had he left work? Did he have a job? It got me thinking that the next time I go to Braddock, which will probably be in June, I should take an inventory of the businesses that exist in the city. As I continue my documentation it will be interesting to see what survives and what comes to an end over the next decade.
There are plenty of buildings that are marked to be taken down in Braddock, and this is done by painting a number on the door. I am not sure whether this particular house is to be destroyed, but the shuttered windows have been painted in such a way that brings a smile. This has been done to several houses in the area, and I am unsure who did this and whether it has more meaning than a blank canvas having been available.