Continuing with our artist profiles of artists both living and working in the Hamptons, our next artist is Ned Smyth, who lives in Shelter Island.

Shelter Island - Ned Smyth was born in New York City and raised in both Italy and New Jersey as his father, Craig Hugh Smyth, was the director of the Institute of Fine Arts at the NYU Art History Graduate School and also served as Director of Itatti (Harvard's Institute of Renaissance study in Italy). Ned graduated with a B.A. from Kenyon College in Ohio. Following a raft of informative years as a young artist in the early 1970s working as an assistant at 112 Greene Street, he met up with the likes of Gordon Matta-Clark and others who inform his work to this day. His commissions include Anchorage Vault Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, NY; Arcades, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Sculpture Garden, NYC; Upper Room, Battery Park City, NYC. He has lived on the East End since 1994. His wife, Rima Mardoyan-Smyth, is an artist as well, who just had a recent show at Guild Hall in East Hampton.

Artist Ned Smyth in his Shelter Island studio. Photo by Eileen Casey

When speaking with Smyth at his Shelter Island studio he related that "I have always honored the history of art, and been involved and intrigued by the history of churches and museums which I have visited throughout the world. The commitment to each architectural and artistic detail had and has a tremendous influence on me."

Further elaborating that with a foucs on athletics, "I never took formal art classes until college - I was raised in 'art school' and exposed to art history everyday given the creativity that existed in my own family." Smyth does believe that "What makes someone is who shows them and that every artist should not limit themselves to any one geographic area - show in New York, show in Europe. Artists become disciplined over time."

Discussing his good fortune and the role that sheer luck can play in any artist's career Smyth relayed that "I was hitchhiking to New York to get to SoHo [from Colorado] and I get a ride from the bass player for Philip Glass. He drops me off in SoHo and there is a restaurant in front of me with a sign in the window for a busboy. I head in and discover the restaurant is owned by Gordon Matta Clark - I get a job - advancing to cook/chef and am immediately enveloped into a world of artists and gallery owners who really believed it and acted on the camaraderie of creative minds."

"Destinations" - 2002, P.S. 156, Brooklyn, New York.

Continuing "There was a gallery - 112 Greene Street - that offered a special, alternative space for artists to exhibit in SoHo at that time. I had my first shows there. This was an alternative for artists who were not represented by Leo Castelli or the few other larger galleries that existed then" Smyth indicated again the role of happenstance and luck that plays an important part in every artist's career.

Reminiscing about numerous artists and galleries Smyth was fortunate enough to be associated with during his career, he simply stated "You have to try and get your 'break' in early, be prepared and put all your best efforts into it."

"Studio Installation 1 of 2" - 2004, New Jersey Transit Station, Port Imperial, New Jersey.

When did you start making art and what medium(s) do you consider to be your roots in art?

Ned Smyth: I first started making art seriously my sophomore year in college. I was immediately interested in materials and texture. I was cutting plywood into eight feet by two inch strips and stacking it. It made a rough 2-D surface with all the laminations making random linear imagery. When I came to New York City, I started using cement in all its forms.

What is it about the Hamptons that brought you here and enticed you to stay, work, and pursue your art here as opposed to some place else?

NS: After 24 years in NYC it was too difficult to make art in my studio in Tribeca. We spent five years exploring a 50-mile radius of the city. We tried a few locations but settled in Sag Harbor. The Hamptons was a beautiful place near NYC that was very much connected to the international art world. It was a way to get away from the compression of the city and still be connected. Of course, because of this special environment, it influenced my work.

How do you support yourself as an artist?

NS: Since the late 1970s, early 1980s, I have lived off my work.

"Destinations" 2002, P.S. 156, Brooklyn, New York.

Why live and work in the Hamptons as opposed to elsewhere?

NS: Originally, I never thought I was interested in living by water. Only after being here for 14 years do I realize how important it is to be living on an island for my work. In fact, moving my studio to Shelter Island reinforced this.

What local environmental or historical aspects of the Hamptons do you relate to that may be reflected in your medium?

NS: I'm particularly taken by the bay and its beaches. It is also very important to me that the East End is a glacial moraine. The glacier plowed south pushing the world class topsoil of the Hamptoms. It also carved through the mountains of the northeast as it moved south, bringing all the sand stones and boulders. The rocks exposed on the bay beaches are geological testimony of the millions of years of history of the forming and changing of the earth. Each stone has an incredible history of being compressed, pushed up into mountains, broken and worn down by wind and rain and carried to Long Island by the glacier.

"World Park" - 2005, Marriott Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

What artists do you feel have influenced you and your work?

NS: It took a long time for me to work through the influence of the history of art and architecture. During my formative years in New York City, I was very taken with minimalism. I worked with Gordon Matta Clark, cutting many of his early works like "Splitting." Gordon and I were part of the first group of artists showed by Holly Solomon. Through the gallery, I met artists and we developed a decorative movement, but I think it really all started as a teenager, where I saw Romanesque and Byzantine churchs in Italy - a powerful gut feeling architecture with gold mosaic images.

"Balance of Life" - 1998, Iowa State University at Ames for Animal Science.

What advice would you give an emerging artist?

NS: Do it only if you have to - if you have no other choice, and trust yourself.

What gives you an edge (if any)?

NS: My ability to see and feel things, my sense of order, and my sense of honor for thoughts and things.

What are you working on now, and are you involved in any upcoming shows or exhibitions?

NS: I'm working on a show at the Salomon Warehouse in East Hampton in June and a large commission for a new science building in New York City.

 • To view more of Ned Smyth's work, visit the following website at www.nedsmyth.com, or email at nedsmyth@nedsmyth.comptonlinet.