Dublin Arts Council (DAC) and City of Dublin Parks & Recreation are hosting public artist Todd Smith for a two-week residency in Dublin from July 17-30, 2022. The purpose of the residency is for the commissioned replacement of the Exuviae sculptures which will be installed in Dublin’s Coffman Park as part of the Dublin Art in Public Places permanent collection. The original Exuviae were installed in 2008 and have garnered much popularity, adoration and interest from the community.
Within the past two years, two of the original sculptures have been deinstalled due to damage from weather and natural forces. In addition to the new sculptures, one original will be refurbished and installed on the Dublin Arts Council grounds.
Community members will have multiple opportunities to observe, learn, and engage with Smith’s creative practice. The public will be invited to register and participate in a tape-casting workshop led by Smith, observe the artist’s fabrication of new sculptures at the Dublin Arts Center, activation of Riverside Crossing Park’s pavilion with a pop-up Exuvia exhibition and a pop-up gallery exhibition, artist talk and reception at the Dublin Arts Center.
Exuviae Residency Schedule
July 18-29
Smith fabricates sculptures in ceramics studio
Public welcome to view, 1-4pm Monday through Friday
Dublin Arts Council, 7125 Riverside Dr., Dublin, Ohio
July 23
Pop-up Exuvia exhibition 10:30am – 12:30pm
Meet the artist and see two of the original Exuvia sculptures
Riverside Crossing Park Pavilion (east)
6635 Riverside Dr., Dublin
July 23 – NOTE: COMMUNITY WORKSHOP IS FULL
Public Tape Casting Workshop, 1 – 3pm
30 participants only. Free of charge.
Sign up for the wait-list here.
Cast body parts and combine them to make unusual forms. All ages.
Dublin City Hall and Council Chamber
5555 Perimeter Dr., Dublin
July 29:
Artist talk & pop-up exhibition – celebration and reception, 7-9pm
Dublin Arts Council gallery and grounds
7125 Riverside Dr.
For questions about the residency, please contact Dublin Arts Council, 614-889-7444.
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Art and artist background
The original Exuviae were brought to Dublin in 2008 through Titration2: Park Fiction, the second phase of Dublin Arts Council’s on-loan outdoor sculpture exhibition series. The Park Fiction theme illustrated the whimsy and human connection to the outdoor recreational spaces in our midst.
Smith’s artwork is directly influenced by cicadas, whose large broods emerge from the ground every 17 years, attach themselves to trees and molt their exoskeletons. The artist wraps himself in cellophane and packing tape to create a cast, which is covered in fiberglass cloth and resin to form his own exoskeleton, purposely creating shells (Exuvia) that play with reality.
While at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., Smith refined his drawing and painting skills during the day. At night, Smith climbed the trees and buildings on and around campus. In his junior year, he decided to create artworks that presented the world-from-the-trees perspective that he had experienced on his nightly climbs.
In 2007, Smith was awarded the Work Exchange Fellowship position at the Mary Anderson Center for the Arts in Floyds Knobs, Ind. In this 400-acre nature sanctuary, Smith began his Dailyclimb project, through which he climbed a tree every day and journaled his experiences in a blog.
Smith graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., in 2003 with a Bachelor of Art in Studio Fine Arts, earning a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art & Emerging Practices from University at Buffalo SUNY, Buffalo, NY. He currently teaches art at Telluride Mountain School, Telluride, Colo.