Artist Bio
Jamie Smith’s monochromatic drawings, wooden wall-hanging sculptures, and installation work incorporate personal and culturally-resonant symbols in an attempt to reckon with the fragility of life, new beginnings, the passage of time and the depths of loss. Jamie is deeply inspired by Aubrey Beardsley, the Art Nouveau Movement, family crests, Toile pattern design, tarot decks, and Delft pottery.
Body Vessel series, for example, ornately decorated vases represent the life-giving potential of the female body—but crucially it is a potential not always realized, and so some are shown full and some empty. Many of the vases are drawn from antique Pomegranate Fertility Vases from the Chinese Qing Dynasty. The egg symbolizes Jamie’s own fertilely journey of freezing her eggs but also the female energy and power of one’s body.
Jamie’s most recent solo show, Mother Time explores her all-consuming personal journey with fertility. She created family crests that have Art Nouveau candles, uteruses, UVF needles, and mating flowers—all woven into intricate borders and patterns. In an installation, the viewer is asked to wear a Toile hospital gown and sit on the Toile love seat—thus entering into the engulfing space of women trying to get pregnant.
Jamie also founded a global community of artist called Thrive Together Network in 2015. Currently, she lives and makes art in East Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Artist CV
EDUCATION
2011 Bachelor of Education, University of British Columbia, (Secondary School, Specialization: Visual Arts)
2008 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, Victoria, (Visual Arts; Minor: Business)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Holding Space, The Kube, Gibsons, BC
2022 Mother Time, Zoë Pawlak Artist Showroom, Vancouver, BC
2014 Confessions, WINDOW Project, Yaletown Roundhouse, Vancouver, BC
2014 Confessions, Crystal Gallery, Whistler, BC
2013 Confessions, Beaumont Gallery, Vancouver, BC
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Sea of Small Change, 1249 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC
2022 February In August, August Studio Pop-Up & Art Show, Vancouver, BC
2021 Culture Crawl Studio Tour, Jamie Smith Studio Show, Vancouver, BC
2020 MAIDEN, Tidal Arts Centre Residency Program & Show, Lund, BC
2019 Culture Crawl Studio Tour, Jamie Smith Studio Show, Vancouver, BC
2017 Canada 150, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2017 Rituals & Remains, Kafka Coffee and Tea, Vancouver, BC
2014 Hidden, Fire Hall Arts Centre, Vancouver, BC
2013 The Postcard Show, Volume 3, Hot Art Wet City, Vancouver, BC
2013 Art Party, Seymour Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2012 Sheikha Manal Young Artist Awards Exhibition - 50 Shortlisted Artworks, Dubai Club, Dubai,UAE
2011 Summerhill Revised, Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC
SELECT TALKS
2022 Artist Salon: Mother Time, Richmond Public Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
2018 Pecha Kucha: Vol. 45, Vogue Theater, Vancouver, BC
2017 Art at Work Symposium, Public Art Richmond, Richmond, BC
2017 Artist Salon: Artist Talk, Richmond Public Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
