July 2015
La Petite Mort Gallery presents
NEVILLE SMITH: EARLY WORKS
July 17 – 23, 2015 / Vernissage Friday July 17 / 7 – 10pm
Join us & come meet the artist who will be in attendance.
Born in Shawville, Quebec, in 1939, not far from Ottawa. Neville Smith grew up in the nation’s capital.
After high school he worked with the painter Gerald Trottier, before moving to Toronto to study at the
Ontario College of Art. While attending art school Neville worked at Crawley Films as an animator.
After graduating he joined the Canadian Government Exhibition Commission where he spent the
next six years. During that time Neville worked with designers from around the world. In 1967 he was
selected to join the Canadian design team for Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan. For the next 3 years, Smith
worked closely with chief designer Frank Mayrs, both in Canada and Japan. Upon his return to Canada
he formed Some Group Studio with associates, Norman Takeuchi and Morris Danylewich. The studio
received high praise and numerous awards for it’s success in the 1970’s. In 1975 Neville struck out on
his own, offering a personal ‘one on one’ relationship with corporate clients.
Recognized internationally; he is one of Canada’s leaders in graphic design. His career has spanned
five decades and, includes; animation, exhibition and poster design, corporate and visual identification,
illustration, stamp and book design. Smith is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts and
a fellow of The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. His work has appeared in numerous publications on
design, and, in exhibitions worldwide. In addition to national and international design awards;
in 2007 the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, honoured Neville Smith with the prestigious
Les Usherwood Lifetime Achievement Award.
This award is presented to someone that has made a major contribution to the quality of Canadian creativity.