Dowd-Smyth's work is playful, absurdist and mythic, she advocates a DIY approach, the act of making prior to theory. Predominantly a sculptor, Rosie concerns herself with (in)direct bodily gesture and an implication of movement which continuously refers back to physical presence and her own hand within the work. Pinning down Rosie’s work is hard, just as you think you have it she wrong foots you and goes charging off in strange but equally hilarious directions. The humour in the work is also tinged with melancholy – it makes us look at the weirdness of the world, our own ridiculousness and our unspoken fears and helps us laugh heartily at ourselves and our culture.
Rosie Dowd-Smyth (b. 1994, U.K)
Education
(Current) Glasgow School of Art, MFA
Goldsmiths University of London, BA(hons) Fine art (first class), 2017
Warwickshire College, UAL Foundation in Art and Design, 2014
Warwickshire College, BTEC Art and Design, 2013
Exhibitions
2019 AIR Gallery, All work and all play, Altrincham, Manchester
2018 Boecho Gallery, Cibotempo, Barnes, London
2018 ASA studios, ASA Open Studios, Messehallen, Hamburg
2018 ASA Studios, To Remain Useful, Messehallen, Hamburg
2017 ASA Studios, ASA Open Studios, Messehallen, Hamburg
2017 Goldsmiths, BAFA Degree Show, New Cross, London
2017 Laurie Grove Baths, Gala, New Cross, London
2017 Ian Gulland Lecture Theatre, Grease without Sand, New Cross, London
2016 1 Octavius Street Gallery, Swallow my Tiny Face, Deptford, London
2016 Buster Mantis, Sex Toy Still Life with Lauren Martinson, Deptford, London
2016 Trundley Road, Mi Casa es su Casa, Deptford, London
2016 Galerie der HFBK, Carapace, Mundsburg, Hamburg
2015 Harts Lane Gallery, Stupidity, New Cross, London
2015 Harts Lane Gallery, Backwash, New Cross, London
Residencies
May - July 2019 Can Serrat, El Bruc, Barcelona
September 2017- September 2018 ASA HFBK Hamburg
Teaching
2020 Guest Lecturer at Wayne State University, Michigan on Surrealist Landscapes
2019 Associate Lecturer on BA Fine art and Contemporary Cultures at Warwickshire College
2019 Workshop leader on UAL Art and Design Foundation Course at Warwickshire College
Awards
2020 Hope Scott Scholarship Award
2017 ASA Residency Award, granted by Goldsmiths University of London and HFBK Hamburg
Publications
Nothing Personal, 2021
Multi Species Research Group, 2019
By All Means, 2018