bio
"I’ve been making things for most of my life.
I sometimes see the things I make as stories, or as moments in time. They are my reflections of divine chuckles or the frustrated stutter. Mystery has always been a source for my work, from the long shadows of film noir to the burning giraffes of surrealism…my heroes range from Dorthea Tanning, Gregory Gillespie to Chucho Valdez, my influences are everything I’ve lived and most of what I don’t know. Making an object, with the intent of making art, usually gives me the sense of seeing other meanings. Sometimes this can only be a dialogue with an already understood idea and myself. I use my life experience, as a lens to focus my vision on areas I feel should be looked at, and pose questions I feel should be considered. I do not think art can change society. I think art can sensitize. My working method is fairly simple: Gathering, Arranging, and Execution."
Eduardo Smissen, 2008
EDUARDO SMISSEN - Born 1944, East Los Angeles, California
The artist's Cuban father migrated to the U.S. in the 1930's. His mother was born in and grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mexican-born parents. They met in Los Angeles at the end of the Depression years and were married three months later. Both parents worked very hard to make ends meet, even after Eduardo Lorenzo Mario Smissen was born five years later.
An only child, Smissen was often left alone. He spent a great deal of his youth sitting under tables drawing pictures, a source of comfort and security. The more he drew, the better he, got, and first his family, then his peers and eventually his art teachers began to encourage his talent.
In 1964 Smissen found himself in France. While in Europe, he studied art at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and L'Acadamie des Beaux Arts in Brussels. He returned to his family in the U.S. in 1966
Smissen subsequently moved to Hollywood, California. Got married, had a child and got a divorce. He has lived and worked throughout California, the Northwest and Europe - he lived on the Costa Brava of Spain for five years - and returned to Northern California in 1985.
He lived in Elk, on the Mendocino County Coast with his wife and two younger children until he died in February 2015.
He is greatly missed…
Education
Studied at a number of American and European art institutions,
including
L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris
L’Academie des Beaux Arts, Brussels
Art Center School, Los Angeles
Work can be seen @
The Artists’ Collective in Elk, CA
10am - 4 pm
https://www.artists-collective.net/eduardosmissen
Selected Exhibits
2023 — Partners Gallery, Mendocino, CA
2022— Artist’s Collective in Elk, Elk CA
2018 — Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA
2014 — Mendocino College Gallery, Ukiah, CA
2008 — Voodoo Pink Gallery, Mendocino, CA
2006 — Nancy Garner Gallery, Mendocino, CA
2006 — SK Gallery, Gualala, CA
2005 — Pangea, Point Arena, CA
2004 — Red Rooster, Mendocino, CA
2003 — Boonville Hotel, Boonville, CA
2002 — North Coast Artists Gallery, Ft. Bragg, CA
2002 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
2001 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
2001 — Studio2, Mendocino, CA
2000 — The Los Gatos Museum of Art, Los Gatos, CA
1999 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1999 — Sharffenberger Cellers Gallery, Boonville, CA
1998 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1998 — Boonville Hotel, Boonville, CA
1998 — Mendocino College Art Gallery, Ukiah, CA
1997 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1996 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1995 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1994 — Pangaea, Pt. Arena, CA
1991 — Tangents Gallery, Ft.Bragg, CA
1991 — Whats Afoot Gallery, Caspar, CA
1988 — Wildwood Gallery , Ft. Bragg, CA
1986 — Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA
1985 — Vulcan Café , Oakland, CA
1984 — Manifred Kluckert Art Gallery, Stauffen, Germany
1983-1984 — Galeria Culip, Cadaqués Spain, Parr Gallery, Cadaqués, Spain
1981 — Silver Spoon, Duvall, WA
1980 — Rosco Louie, Seattle, WA
1975-1978 — Manos Gallery, Duvall, WA
1974 — Curated exhibit Pelican Bay Art Coop, Seattle, WA
1974 — Pelican Bay Art Coop, Seattle, WA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2009 — Sister City Show, Miasa, Japan
2008 — Stuart Kummer Gallery, Gualala, CA
2006 — Partners Gallery, Ft Bragg, CA
2004 — North Coast Artists, Little River, CA
1991 — Tangents Gallery, Ft. Bragg, CA
1991 — Open Studios, Oakland, CA
1988–1990 — North Coast Artists Gallery, Ft. Bragg, CA