Richard Reitz Smith
Artist statement
Each instance I step to a creative threshold, I want to seize the opportunity softly with admiration for storytelling. Be it a painting, drawing, print, or book, each is the beginning to a story. When viewed in succession, they weave a luscious tale. My work is evidence of the intervals discovered in the creative process — the documentation of a journey. My experiences have taught me to notice and appreciate symbolism. In nature, a leaf in the Spring means something different from a leaf in the Autumn. With subtle sophistication, textural intrigue, and visual surprise, my work emulates these murmurings and filters in memories and the discovery of greater meaning in something small as well as something specific or personal in the universal. Longing for that contented moment where creation meets craft, my process is to unveil a story through exploration, introspection and the use of implied time of sequential images which steadily reveal a tale of relationships. Even if it is ugly and painful, I believe in beauty — its power and its poetry — because I know there is a story waiting to evolve.
Biography
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania farming in a small village nestled in a valley of the Appalachian foothills, Richard Reitz Smith was surrounded by the seasonal effects of nature. The hills simultaneously protected from the outside world, yet kept him from it. The sky was that connection, a source of wonderment; a constant connection to the world beyond the crest of the hills, but ever-changing. In studying nature, Smith found truths of a transcendental vein that he has applied to life.
Since moving to Maine in 2002 from New York City, the Penobscot Bay area has been an accessible source of inspiration. Motifs of the sea, sky, and rocky landscape now echo in his work as well as those remembered from his childhood.
Richard holds a BFA in painting and illustration from Carnegie Mellon University with a minor in graphic design. After developing products for Crayola and Liquitex, he earned an MFA in graphic design (Tyler School of Art- Temple University). Most recently he was the founding Chair of the Book Arts program at Maine Media College where he offered workshops in letterpress, bookbinding, and paper creation. He has also taught at other higher ed institutions nationally and offers workshops internationally. His work is included in private and public collections including University of Oxford Bodleian Library, Yale University Beinecke Special Collections Library, Colby College Special Collections Library, Bowdoin College Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, and more.
Website: coroflot.com/reitzsmith
Email: richardreitzsmith@gmail.com
Instagram: @richardreitzsmith
Link to class/workshop page:
https://www.facebook.com/richardreitzsmith
“Drib & Drabs, Fits & Spurts” artist book is made of ink wash drawings created in 2011. It is a drumleaf binding casebound in black silk bookcloth. The one-of-a-kind book measures 6”w x 9”h x .5” d closed, Not for Sale.
“Turn of the Tide” is a series of drawings created with pigmented methyl cellulose and paired with stanzas from a poem by the artist. The book has a drumleaf binding and letterpress type. Created in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic. One of a kind in the Colby College Special Collections Library.
“External Forces” is an experimental artist book created with an oversized brush on large sheets of paper(38” x 26”), the ink is expressively painted in broad, flowing strokes. When folded down the scale of the marks is magnified and contrasted to the handwritten text. Using two sheets of paper folded to 13.5 x 10. The book measures 79” wide x 26” high when flat. The covers are on the interior and acts as a spine to allow the pages to stand as an accordion. 2021
“Progression - Ode to Sam Gilliam” is an installation piece created with monotypes on paper. Depending on the display area it can fit into a two foot cubic space. The paper is folded in polygon swirls to revel multiple colors and patterns inspired by the artist’s mentor. Created in 2022 and exhibited at USM Wishcamper Center’s “Progression” exhibtion. Not for Sale.
“Like Catching Water in a Net” is a gridded series of monotypes created around the theme of how water is an elusive element and have wonderful and destructive effects. Each print measures 18”w x 24” high. The overall display is 118”wide x 50”high.
“Telling the Bees” - An excerpt from “Telling the Bees” by John Greenleaf Whittier was the inspiration for this book which is a concertina accordion binding housed in a clamshell presentation case of hand-stenciled book cloth. The pages are combinations of monoprints, stencils, and photo transfers. Type is handset Cheltenham italic. Created in 2024. Not For sale. Size: In case measures 8.5” w x 11” h x 2.5” d Suggested display 24” w x 11”h x 2.5 d “Memories of Sedona“ is a hybrid binding inspired by Hedi Kyle’s Crown Book and
“Memories of Sedona“ is a hybrid binding inspired by Hedi Kyle’s Crown Book and a variation on a Keith Smith sewn pattern. It is a series of monoprints and letterpress poetry that reflects the blue sky and the red-brown sand and landscape. Created in 2023. Size: In case measures: 7” x 11.5” x 3”. $675 - one of a kind.
“When COVID Came to Town” Updated and expanded in 2024-25 from a 2020-22 series of monotype prints created using water-based acrylic ink overprinted with archival inkjet photography on paper. There are 3 framed matrices: small- 13”h x 10”w x 1”d, medium- 13”h x 20”w x 1”d, and large- 27”h x 20”w x 1”d. This work is a gridded memory of family photos and those taken by the artist over top the monotype patterns.
“Dream Sequence - A Book is Time-based Media” is a series of hand-made images that have been converted to electronic images and re-interrupted as a sequential chain that can be viewed as a wall installation or in slow time based media - a book in various sizes. Created in 2024 with imagery from the past decade. The journey plays with gestalt design and psychology of the images as they reflect forward and backward imply time and memory
“Come Summer“ is a one of kind artist book made from a series of monoprints depicting rustling green leaves. Letterpress printed woodtype letters playfully spell out “summer” along the accordion. Created in 2025. Cover is gelplate-printed bookcloth. Size closed: 8.5w x 11.5h x .5d. Size open: 6’7.5”ft w x 11.5h - lying flat Standing Accordion - 4’6”ft w x 11.5 h x 10”d. $775.