The Austonian Art Collection: Austin Artist Shawn Smith in the Smithsonian Renwick Craft Invitational 2011

Shawn Smith, the Austin artist who created the Fuentes Ficticias sculptures installed on the 10^th floor lawn of The Austonian, will be included in the Smithsonian Museum’s “History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011” exhibit curated by Nicholas R. Bell, Curator of Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C.

The Renwick Craft Invitational 2011 is the fifth in a biennial exhibition series that honors the creativity and talent of craft artists working today. The exhibition of handmade art will last from March 25 to July 31, 2011.

Smith explores “digital identity, color, colliding systems of information, labor, technology, and science” when creating his intricate, pixilated abstract sculptures. Smith reflects these concepts back to the “symbiotic connections between the hand and the ‘thing.’ ”

Smith is one of more than 60 local and regional artists included in the collection of The Austonian, a luxury condo (link to www.theaustonian.com) community in downtown Austin. For information about Smith’s artwork, visit http://shawnsmithart.com/.