Born in Detroit, Michigan, Smulka attended The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan on a full scholarship, studying under Chuck Close, among others. He completed graduate school at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst with an MFA.
Steve Smulka has been included in collections in North and South America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. He is a two-time recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and has been collected by some of America’s largest corporations. He currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“My intention for the paintings is not to be photorealistic but to leave a trace of the artist’s hand and a subtle record of brushstrokes; to create a feeling of space and atmosphere that is more tangible than a photograph. I’m not concerned with just copying a photograph. I always intensify what I see. This careful observation of light and shadow is made more intense by the larger than life-size scale of the painted objects. Finding beauty in the details is one of the main inspirations for my paintings.”
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2022 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2021 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2021 Plus One Gallery London, UK
2019 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2019 Art Miami
2018 HiperRealisme Museo de Tabac Andora
2018 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2018 Plus One Gallery London, UK
2017 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2017 Gallerie de Bellefeuille Montreal, Canada
2016 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2016 Plus One Gallery London, UK
2015 Gallery Henoch NY, NY (solo)
2015 Plus One Gallery London, UK
2015 Quidley & Co. Boston, MA
2014 Gallery Henoch NY, NY
2014 Plus One Gallery London, UK
Included in private and corporate collections on five continents
GRANTS
2009 Pollack-Krasner Foundation
2004 Pollack-Krasner Foundation
EDUCATION
School of Visual Arts N.Y. N.Y.
University of Massachusetts MFA
Studied under: Chuck Close, Malcolm Morley, Richard Artschwager, Robert Mangold, Bob Ryman, Jo Baer, Lucy Lippard
© 2023 STEVE SMULKA