Ksmit478@vols.utk.edu
Kayla Jean Smith is a multidisciplinary artist born in Jacksonville, Florida. She earned her
Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Florida, specializing in sculpture and
printmaking, and is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville. Smith has exhibited nationally and internationally at the Museum of Contemporary Art
Jacksonville, Woman Made Gallery out of Chicago, and at the 9th Annual Contemporary Cast
Iron Art Conference in Berlin, Germany.
Her practice spans traditional and emerging processes, including steel fabrication, metal
casting, woodworking, printmaking, oil painting, digital fabrication, and audio/visual work. By
integrating physical materials with digital technologies, Smith expands the sculptural field into
immersive and time-based experiences.
Her work centers on conceptual themes of gender, religion, the working class, and the absurdity
of human behavior. Smith’s projects vary in scale depending on their conceptual framework and
site. She maintains a strong commitment to community and public art, having constructed two
large-scale sculptures installed in public spaces, one at Josephine Sculpture Park in Frankfort,
Kentucky, and another at Seaside Sculpture Park in Jacksonville, Florida.
