I first met A+C writer Geoff Smith at Caroline Collective a few years ago. He was fresh out of college and eager to see what Houston was all about. Looking back I recall him not really having any plans to remain here. Odd, that anyone wouldn’t want to set up shop in our sweltering maze of concrete, right? Somewhere on Geoff’s path, things changed for him and he has become what I see as a vital part of our arts community.
If you’ve stepped foot inside our little magazine’s Houston home at Caroline Collective over the last few years, you’ve undoubtedly met the fiery redhead, smiling his genuine smile while perched behind the reception desk. Geoff held down the fort at CC as Operations Manager since shortly after his arrival in Houston and went on to curate art shows in the coworking space. His June 2012 A+C article Printmaking in Houston: Then and Now was recently picked up by Southeastern Graphics Council International’s Summer 2012 Newsletter, Graphic Impressions. This gives Houston’s printmaking scene some well-deserved international exposure – especially for PrintMatters, Glassell, and Burning Bones Press.
Last spring Geoff assisted in the creation of Brooklyn based artist Dennis McNett’s Wolfbat Art Car at Burning Bones Press and in the spirit of it all, he joined them in the 2012 Houston Art Car Parade. This summer Geoff also participated in Over-head Projections at Caroline Collective in which he screen-printed charcoal onto water and projected through it, letting the image decay throughout the exhibition.
Caroline Collective has surely helped Geoff plant his artistic roots in Houston, but it was his departure from his post there that really shows how he has flourished here. Just a month ago Geoff joined the staff at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston as their new Membership Coordinator. I asked Geoff what his favorite thing about the move from coworking to the CAMH is. He said, “Getting to bring new people into the world of contemporary art.” Cheers to that!
Geoff’s next project will be the upcoming group-curated show Polydactyl: An Exhibition of Prints where he will have 2 intaglio prints on view. The show opens on September 7 at Caroline Collective.
-CANDACE KIZER
Candace is a corporate construction aficionado by day and our Marketing and Social Media Manager by night.
