Galen Odell-Smedley (b. 1988, Berkeley, CA) asserts a craft ethos in his multithreaded practice. Slow, considered processes reflect a desire for material intimacy. His sculptural systems, speculative objects, installations, and performative exchanges envision platforms for unlikely ways of knowing. His inquiries are directed efforts to teach, to imagine how we might collectively shift inertias, and to invent tools that pose and solve problems.
Galen holds an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Studio Art from Skidmore College. Recent recognition includes the International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, the John W. Kurtich Foundation Travel Scholarship, and the Saratoga Arts Council Community Arts Grant. He has exhibited at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lithium Gallery, Belger Crane Yard Studios, Hyde Park Art Center, Tang Teaching Museum, (e)merge Fair, Schacht Gallery, Cooley Gallery, Schick Gallery, SACI Gallery, Buttondown Gallery, and House of Creative Soul, among others. Galen currently lives and works in Chicago.