BIOGRAPHY

John Noel Smith was born in Dublin in 1952, and attended Dun Laoghaire School of Art followed by postgraduate studies at der Universität der Künste Berlin. He lived in Berlin for twenty-two years where he was an important member of its vibrant art community, returning to Ireland in 2002.

Smith’s abstract compositions are characterised by a robust and deliberate application of paint and the use of motifs, including knots and the Ogham alphabet.

He has exhibited internationally since 1980. Selected recent exhibitions include Multipolar, Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin (2020), Multipolar, Irish Embassy Berlin, Germany (2019) Malerei, Galerie Bartsch, Munich, Germany, Malerei, Galerie Born, Berlin, Germany (2019) Moving Lines, Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland (2017) and  Selected Works 1993-2015, Wexford County Hall, Wexford, Ireland (2016).

His work forms part of important public, private and corporate collections, including Dublin City Gallery – The Hugh Lane, Ireland, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, IMMA, Dublin, Ireland, Berlinische Galerie Museum of Modern Art, Photography & Architecture, Berlin, Germany, Senatskanzlei Kulturelle Angelegenheiten, Berlin, The Arts Council of Ireland, The Office of Public Works, Wexford County Council,  Wexford, and The National Self-Portrait Collection, Limerick, Ireland.

Smith is a member of Aosdána.