Oliver Smith

Research and Art Practice

Oliver Smith's craft and design practice is founded on the production of flatware and hollowware using materials and techniques traditional to silversmithing. Launching from this platform are the many and varied areas of his work: unique hand crafted objects, designs for industrial production, commission work, experimental exhibition pieces, and collaborative projects. The multiple levels and layers that Smith's practice operates on in the creation of objects demonstrates the dynamic role of the contemporary craftsperson and designer. Smith began his tertiary studies in the Jewellery & Object Studio at SCA and completed his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1995. This was followed by a period of work experience - modeled on the traditional journeymanship - that saw him work for significant silversmiths and metalworkers in Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Germany and England. Returning to formal study in the Gold & Silversmithing Workshop at The Australian National University School of Art, Smith gained First Class Honours in 2000, and a Master of Philosophy in 2003. The recipient of numerous awards and with a growing international profile, he now combines a vigorous craft and design practice with lecturing at SCA.

Group Exhibitions

F!NK Fostering Design, Australian aluminium design, exhibition featuring products designed by Robert Foster and the many talented designers he has worked with under the F!NK brand, Craft ACT, Canberra, 2008

Collect 2008 Australian Contemporary: Teaware, the international art fair for contemporary objects, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England, 2008

Contemporary Australian Silver & Metalwork Award, Buda 2007: 9th Ernest Leviny Commemorative Exhibition, Buda Historic Home & Garden, Castlemaine, Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, McClelland Art Gallery & Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Gold Treasury Museum, Melbourne, 2007

smart works: design and the handmade, survey exhibition of 40 craftspeople and designers, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2007

Freestyle: new Australian design for living, survey exhibition of 40 outstanding Australian designers by Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design and Museum Victoria, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Object Gallery, Sydney, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, and Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2006

MMM launch, Australia Council of the Arts ‘maker to manufacturer to market’ creative design initiative launch, Object Gallery, Sydney, 2006

Australian Silver 2005, contemporary silversmithing exhibition, Tasmanian Craft Fair, Deloraine, 2005

banquet: a collaboration, interactive installation of craft and gastronomy - chef: Tim Pak Poy, ceramists: Patsy Hely, Anders Ousback, wood artisan: Peter Giles, silversmith: Oliver Smith, presented as part of the Art Gallery of South Australia’s fund-raising dinner ‘An Artful Feast”, AGSA, Adelaide, 2005

oliver smith product launch: the best of craft and industry, release of first production cutlery range, Craft ACT, Canberra, 2004

Still Lives, exhibition and films exploring the role of objects in shaping and revealing identity, Craft ACT, Canberra, 2004

14th Silver Triennial, international silversmithing exhibition held by the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau, Hanau/Solingen/Chemnitz/Gottingen, Germany; Kolding, Denmark; Schoonhoven, Netherlands; Antwerpen, Belgium, 2004

Exhibition Home, craft/art/design in a domestic environment, Apartment 12 Karuah St. Dickson, Craft ACT, Canberra, 2003

Ritual of Tea, exhibition of tea related objects, Jamfactory Gallery, Adelaide and Object Galleries, Sydney, 2002

Defining the Object IV, exhibition of Australian furniture and object design, Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney, 2002

Talente 2001, international contemporary craft exhibition, Munich, Germany, 2001

New Design 2001, exhibition of selected design graduates, Object Galleries, Sydney, 2001

Awards & Grants

2007 IDEA 07 Awards: Home Beautiful Product of the Year - Winner Luxury Tabletop Category
2007 Trophy for the 55th Book Design Award, commissioned by the Australian Publishers Association
2006 Governor General’s Table Bells for Government House and Admiralty House, commissioned by the Australiana Fund
2005 Australia Council for the Arts: Creative Design Initiative: Maker to Manufacturer to Market
2004 Australia Council for the Arts: Craft-in-Site Grant
2003 ArtsACT: Project Funding

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