Ben Smith (1941-2021) was an Atlanta artist who occupies a distinctive place in the history of Southern printmaking. Although he worked in drawing, sculpture, and collage throughout his career, he is best remembered for his monumental woodcut prints that pushed the traditionally intimate medium of woodcut to an almost architectural scale. Some of his prints measure up to 15 feet long, an extraordinary size for a relief print. Creating works of that scale required carving massive woodblocks by hand and printing them with exceptional technical skill.
Although Smith’s subjects often seem mystical, his work is firmly rooted in the expressive qualities of the woodcut itself. The rough woodgrain, the contrast between ink colors and paper, and the physical act of carving all become part of the image. Rather than hiding the medium, Smith embraced its inherent boldness and captures the woodblock’s unique texture in each of his works. His prints possess a gestural quality that evokes the German Expressionists, yet they remain distinctly his own style in their monumental scale and symbolic storytelling.
Smith studied at the Atlanta College of Art, earned his B.F.A. in 1964, and later became a respected instructor there and at the Chastain Arts Center, where he taught figure drawing and painting for over 20 years.