About the Artist:
Lura Schwarz Smith has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art, emphasis in painting and drawing, from San Francisco State University. She has been producing textile art and mixed media since 1975, originally showing in California galleries throughout the 70s and 80s. Since the 90s she has shown art quilts and received awards at national and international quilt shows. One of her art quilts was named one of the “100 Best American Quilts of the 20th Century.
Over the past years, Lura has turned her focus to oils and pastels, exploring both realistic and more abstract and fractured approaches. Exploring the imagination and inner life through figurative art is a primary interest.
She has had several solo shows of her paintings in Fresno at Vernissage, as well as work shown at the Sorensen Studio Gallery, Fresno; Arte Americas, Fresno; Tree Top Gallery, Mariposa; and Circle Gallery, Madera. She is a member of Yosemite Western Artists and the Mariposa Arts Council. She regularly attends YWA Portrait and Plein Air groups, as well as Zoom life drawing sessions from London Life Drawing during Covid times.
Selected Exhibitions and Shows:
2021
- Yosemite Renaissance Exhibition, Yosemite Gateway Art Center, Oakhurst, CA
- “New Year/New Normal” exhibit, Circle Gallery, Madera, CA
- “Visions of Self” online exhibit hosted by Women’s Voices, Women’s Vision
2020
- Featured artist, YSA group show, Yosemite Gateway Art Center
- “In the Time of Covid,” juried online Artavita virtual exhibition
- Nudes in November (Best in Show award), Sorensen Studios Gallery, Fresno, CA
- Featured Artist January, Vernissage Gallery, Fresno, CA
2019
- Featured Artist December, Vernissage Gallery, Fresno, CA
- Sierra Art Trails Exhibit, Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, CA
- Sierra Art Trails Sneak Preview, K-Jewel Gallery, Fresno, CA
- The Nudes Show (2nd Place Painting Award) Sorensen Studios, Fresno, CA
- Featured Artists (with Kerby Smith) May, Vernissage Gallery, Fresno, CA
- Artists of the Month (with Kerby Smith) April/May, Sculpterra Winery, Paso Robles, CA
- Tri-County YWA art show, Circle Gallery, Madera, CA
- “Yosemite Icons,” invitational show, Upstairs Gallery, Mariposa, CA
- “The Fine Art of Pastel,” juried show, Carnegie Art Center, Turlock, CA
- Animals show, Chris Sorensen Studios, Fresno, CA
- Multiple YWA shows, Circle Gallery, Madera, CA
2018
- Sierra Art Trails Sneak Preview, K-Jewel Gallery, Fresno, CA
- YWA Plein Air exhibit, Sorensen Gallery, Fresno, CA
- “4 Degrees of Separation,” invitational exhibit, Arte Americas Cultural Center, Fresno, CA
2017
- “Union” invitational exhibit, Treetop Gallery, Mariposa Arts Council, Mariposa, CA
- “A Week in the Park” exhibit, Gallery 5, Oakhurst CA
- Yosemite Western Artists Tri-County Art Show, Gallery 5, Oakhurst, CA
2016
- Solo exhibition at The Body Pastiche, Oakhurst, CA
2015
- “Quilted Conversations,” with Kerby Smith, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, CA
- “Quilts=Art=Quilts,” Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, NY
- Valley Children’s Hospital, commissioned work, Madera, CA
- “Dual Perspectives,” with Kerby Smith, Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA
- “The Figure Revealed,” Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, CA
2014
- Muzeo of Anaheim, CA Contemporary Art Quilts (invitational, 2 works)
- “Figure It,” Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH (invitational, 2 works)
- FAVA “The Artist as Quiltmaker XVI,” Oberlin, OH
- Treetop Gallery, Mariposa, CA
- Chris Sorensen Studios and Gallery, Fresno, CA “Nudes in November”
- Quilt Nat’l 13, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
2013
- Quilt National 2013, Dairy Barn, Columbus, OH (plus other venues in the travelling show)
- “Double Vision,” duo show with Kerby Smith, Gallery 1821, Fresno, CA
- Latimer Quilt & Textile Center, solo exhibit, “Drawn to Fabric,” Tillamook, OR
- New Coast Gallery, “Transformations,” Palo Alto, CA
2012
- American Quilters Society Show at Des Moines, IA
- Fibre Arts Design Gallery, Palo Alto, Ca “Anima” & “Small Works
- San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, CA “Quilt National at SJMQT”
- Empty Spools at Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA: Artist in Residence
2011
- Quilt National 2011, Dairy Barn, Columbus, OH (plus other venues in the traveling show)
- Internat’l Quilt Festival, Houston, TX, judged show (with Kerby Smith)
- “Fiber Optics” CFA group show, Bakersfield Museum of Art, CA
- “Text & Texture” CFA group show, Gallery 48, Folsom, CA
2010
- La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, La Conner, WA: solo exhibit
- Quilt Visions 2010, Oceanside Museum of Art, CA (with Kerby Smith)
- PIQF special exhibit (with Kerby Smith) “From Camera to Quilt”
- Creative Force 2010, IQF Houston, Long Beach, other venues
- “Quilts=Art=Quilts” Schweinfurth Museum, Auburn, NY
- The Quilt Show, Episode 702 (with Kerby Smith)
2009
- Chris Sorensen Studio Gallery, Fresno, CA: Canvas, Quilt, Stone: 4 Artists
- Arts Visalia, CA: CA Fiber Artists
- Yosemite Western Artists Tri-County Art show, Oakhurst, CA
2008
- Quilt Visions 08, Oceanside Museum of Art, CA
- Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition III, special 2-artist invitational exhibit
2007
- Taku Gallery, Finland (CFA group show)
- Translations Gallery, Denver, CO (CFA group show)
- Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL (CFA group show)
2006
- “Women in Harmony” 3-artist show, Arts Visalia, Visalia, CA
- International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX
- Los Gatos Museum of Art, Los Gatos, CA (CFA group show)
2005
- Alameda Art Center, Alameda, CA (CFA group show)
- Auburn Art Center, Auburn, CA (CFA group show)
- Pacific International Quilt Festival, “In the Abstract” Invitational Exhibit
2004
- International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX (and 2003, 1999, 1998, 1996)
- “Simply Quilts” HGTV, episode #1016
2003
- AQS Show & Contest, Paducah, KY (and 1998)
2002
- “30 Distinguished Quilt Artists of the World,” Tokyo, Japan
2001
- Quilt Expo Europa VII (and Expos 2000, 1996, 1990) France, Germany
1999
- “100 Best American Quilts of the 20th Century,” IQF, Houston, TX
1980
- Solo show, Elizabeth Fortner Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA