A Painter’s Journey

   Justin Todd Smith is a painter and conceptual artist based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

   Raised on a cattle farm by a sculptor father and photographer mother, he began his formal education in the arts studying at School of Visual Arts in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles to study theatric and film production at The Strasburg Institute. During his time in L.A. he was commissioned to replicate several master renaissance works, working in trompe l’oeil on furniture along with murals for private and public dealers.

    In 1993 Justin was invited as the first resident-guest artist at Kunsthaus Rheinania in Cologne, Germany and was instrumental in the demolition and renovation of their Tower Gallery.  It was here he learned to take risks in his art by breaking from old style and techniques, discovering new ways to express and paint by embracing more abstract concepts.

  While touring Europe, he worked as an artisan and commercial artist, painting en plein air at l’atelier de La Gardy selling to tourists between St.Remy and Avignon, France. Then outside Geneva where he progressed his skills in conceptual 3D design via masonry, carpentry and continued painting his designs on furniture.

   Justin returned to the States in 1996 moving to Raleigh, NC where he produced a small but dramatic body of work by painting on both sides of the canvas, building custom reversible frames for each piece. Several of which sold to private collections affording him the opportunity to move back to NYC.

    “Either you make NYC work for you or you end up working for NYC”, Justin travelled the latter path spending the next decade managing several iconic bars, as a sales consultant for a private REIT fund and completed his BA in English:Writing and BFA in Painting from Hunter College.  He painted sporadically and rarely ever showed his work.  Burnt out by the quality of life he left New York City.

    Moving to Charlottesville he utilized his skills to renovate and restored the historic “Rock Store” in Woods Mill, Virginia, between Lynchburg and Charlottesville and opened a unique curiosity/antique shop with a fine art gallery “ebb&flow”, showcasing some of the better local artists and artisans.  In 2022 the Lord called on him to close shop and dedicate himself exclusively to his own painting.

   Throughout his travels he’d won best in show and honorable mentions in group shows in CT, Koln, Raleigh, and NYC. He was art editor of The Carrillon Magazine at The Canterbury School and was invited as sole juror of ARTEL’s 26th annual Cinco Banderas Expo in Pensacola, Florida where he recognized a genuine joy in lifting up other artists and inspired the opening of his own gallery.

Justin is a passionate numismatist whose love for art, history, and economies has greatly impacted and influenced his work.