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, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, and 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 audiovisual work. By combining physical materials with digital technologies, Smith creates sculptural works that extend into immersive and time-based experiences.
Her work explores themes of gender, religion, the working class, and the absurdity of human behavior. Her projects vary in scale according to their concept and location. Smith also maintains a strong commitment to community and public art, having created two large-scale sculptures for public spaces: one at Josephine Sculpture Park in Frankfort, Kentucky, and another at Seaside Sculpture Park in Jacksonville, Florida.
