Biography

Linda Smock was born in Wichita, Kansas, to a family that blended North and South American traditions. She travelled extensively throughout the Western hemisphere, living in various parts of the United States, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and the Caribbean. Frequent opportunities to live with her Venezuelan relatives intensified and strengthened the connection to her maternal heritage. Directly influenced by painters in her family, she developed a passion for art at an early age. The mobile lifestyle and the variety of educational institutions that Smock experienced (or endured), exposed her to many different perceptions of history and culture. The wide range of regional artistic styles, many outside of established western conventions, broadened her definition of art. The scarcity of art supplies often meant seeking alternate solutions, sometimes using materials from local sources and incorporating traditional techniques. Smock treasures many of those memories as inspiration for her art and as a reference in the use of diverse mediums. She has worked in a wide variety of art forms, including painting and printmaking, but sculpture has become her preferred form of expression. Her work focuses primarily on the human figure, its encapsulated emotions, and the origins and universality of the spirit. Smock is particularly drawn to the art of death masks, an obscure tradition that is rarely practiced in these times. The creative process grew into a constant and a lifelong exploration took a more formal direction in recent years. Smock received a double Associate degree in Studio Arts and Art History from Central New Mexico Community College. She was a recipient of the Ernest Garcia Emerging Artist Award, and has exhibited work in various galleries in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She will receive her BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in sculpture from the Institute of American Indian Arts in the spring of 2018.