The Work of John Smith
Exhibit open: March 19, 2026 - September 5, 2026
“These little words... mean so much... you embodied this man. You made him so big! And the back of this book is my favorite. Thank you so much for bringing him to life for me and everyone else”.
This was a sentiment shared with me by Crystal Smith, one of the latest messages in our text thread that goes back over a year. This is in reference to a catalog and exhibit that I helped put together with Crystal’s help, called CYCLE: The Art of John Smith. John was Crystal's father, who was a prolific artist and walked on in 2022.
When I first started working at Chachalu, one of the first things I noticed in my new office was a stack of paintings done on pizza boxes. They were scenes painted in red, black, white, and yellow, depicting dip-net fishing and Indigenous people on the land. The powerful quality of the work, along with the paintings being on pizza boxes, intrigued me to no end. I desired to create an exhibit featuring John’s life and his work. Depicting people, Indigenous culture, and memories on an object that is a staple of take-out food and one that cannot be put into a cardboard recycling bin, it must be thrown away. The tensions and uniqueness of this intrigued me to no end.
I reached out to Crystal a few years later, who was in a place emotionally to begin to share about her father and go through his belongings that were in a storage unit in Portland. We spent a lot of time talking, and Crystal told many stories about this quirky, funny, and eccentric man named John.
Many years' worth of drawings and paintings range from realism to abstraction, from landscape to animals, from external influences to internal thoughts. Many of the paintings have little messages on the back, either sharing when it was made, the inspiration behind it, additional thoughts, a poem that goes with the imagery, or collages of images collected throughout John’s life.
Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon were two places John would bounce back and forth between quite a bit, living at one location but frequently visiting the other. Elements of Rat Fink and street living in these cities manifested in his work, drawing on experiences and influences considered subversive and mischievous. For a time, he lived a wild life, one of liquor and drugs. After tragically witnessing a girlfriend of his die from an overdose, he stopped partaking in those substances and directed his energies towards creating artwork, riding his bike, and caring for Crystal and her daughter, Mia.
John interacted with the world uniquely. Riding a bike allows you to interact with and move through a place in different ways. There is a connection to body and place, pumping your legs as fast or slow as you please. You can ride along free beside a red-winged blackbird, slow down to play with a painted turtle or meander wherever as you please. Though John was alone a lot, I imagine he was never lonely, always busy in realizing - What's the next place I'm going to stop? And what do I want to see? And what do I want to experience? How should I finish this painting? What artwork do I want to work on now? Moving through Oakland and Portland on these everyday adventures, feeling exhaustion and rejuvenation at the same time. He would stamp the memorials of these daily travels as he carried his bike up through apartment stairwells, bumping the tires against walls along the way.
The way John lived, moved, and interacted within and between Oakland and Portland, along with being a Grand Ronde tribal member, helped shape who he was. Those internal thoughts, feelings, and memories were then transposed onto paper and cardboard through ink, paint, and collage, allowing us a glimpse into his world. John embodied so much of place and culture. I am so grateful to have been able to have a hand in making an exhibit and catalog that Crystal feels truly honors him.
Articles are written by Grand Ronde Tribal staff and partners and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde or The Tribal Council. The content of an article is the intellectual property of the author. You may not reuse, republish, or reprint such content without written consent.
All Information posted is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Should you decide to act upon any information in these articles, you do so at your own risk.
While the information on this website has been verified to the best of our abilities, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes or errors.
We reserve the right to change this policy at any given time.
