Ry Smith

Ry started a lifetime interest in art when at age 10, he set up his own darkroom to process his photographs. He has kept all of these photos and sometimes, even today, he uses them for inspiration. Ry uses every art tool available to contemporary artists – from unique printing processes to the computer - as he explores new design ideas. Traditional oil and acrylic painting techniques are also part of his unique tool-kit.

Ry has degrees from Princeton and Stanford. For much of his life he has worked as an inventor and product designer. Simple solutions have always been his goal – reducing things to essentials. Reflecting this, the inner workings of his many product designs were as beautiful as their industrial design for which he won awards.

This same sensibility can be seen in his images, a honing of complexity to simplicity, a way of seeing that emphasizes design, shape and color. Ry’s background gives him both an enthusiasm for and an intimate understanding of technology and art. His final destination, the images he creates, moves beyond consideration of the tools he uses to an expression on paper or canvas, of what he sees and feels.

Smith occasionally creates images for organizations. Click to view the Los Altos Community Foundation Annual Report with Smith's image on the cover.

  Click   to view Ry Smith's images displayed on the Stanford Investment Group site.