"The Artists of Tomorrow.....Today"
David Smith created this company to distribute and promote what he coined as "The Artists of Tomorrow... Today!" He seeks out artists who use new art techniques, offering styles that you won't find anywhere else.
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"There is an abundance of talent that is unrecognized in the art world, due mostly to the shortsighted, stuck-in-their-ways gallery community. There is a belief that if it hasn't been done before, it isn't art. Well, we the artists and publishers have proven them wrong over and over. When I hear from an artist that no galleries will take them, I become very interested. It is either because they do suck, or they are so innovative that stuffy old galleries don't get it. Well, I get it, and I seem to have good taste in art, probably because I knew nothing about what art was 'supposed' to be."
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"I think it's funny when I start an artist, I am told by a gallery that the artist and art aren't good enough. Then years after I make them famous, the same galleries are trying hard to find any artists now copying the style of the artist that created it. I guess to show how innovative they are years after we started the movement. I guess ego overpowers good business decisions."
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David Smith has decided to step down from his position managing the galleries he owns to concentrate on helping undiscovered artists showcase their work effectively and at a considerably lower price than they can find anywhere else. He is committed to establishing their internet presence and leveraging new technology to update the current archaic art market. "We are one of the few industries where filling out paper forms on carbon paper for purchases is still the norm," Smith says. "I also realize that many who work in the art industry are scared of technology because they just don’t understand it. It’s funny—they’ll spend all day on Facebook, but when it comes to using tech to sell or display art, they run like rabbits. I want to help the industry modernize before it goes extinct."
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​David Smith has decided to focus solely on helping artists achieve their dreams by establishing their internet presence and leveraging new technology to update the current archaic art market. "We are one of the few industries where filling out paper forms on carbon paper for purchases is still the norm," Smith says. "I also realize that many who work in the art industry are scared of technology because they just don’t understand it. It’s funny—they’ll spend all day on Facebook, but when it comes to using tech to sell or display art, they run like rabbits. I want to help the industry modernize before it goes extinct."
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David Smith has discovered and
kicked off the gallery careers of:
Michael Godard
Chris DeRubeis
Patrick Guyton
Michael "Romero" Duran
Matt Beyrer
Ashton Howard (with Chris DeRubeis)
Kre8
Josh Roman (with Chris DeRubeis)
Ugonzo
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And has Published or distributed
Christian Lassen
Craig Tracy
History
David Smith has focused on one thing over the past two decades: innovation. We have put all of our energy into finding the most innovative artists who have created their own genre of art, to guarantee that you won’t find anything else like it anywhere else. Despite the constantly changing world of art, one thing has remained the same: Artist Group Ink continues to bring you the most captivating art in the industry. David Smith has never succumbed to the influence of traditional art; he's a visionary and has found a way to share that vision with all of us.
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Michael Godard, "The Rock Star of the Art World," was my first discovery. I remember calling him and saying, "We are going to make a lot of money!" When he asked why I thought that, I replied, "Because other artists are refusing to show in the same gallery, one even said, 'I won't show my art with crap like that!'" One year later, we were doing $10 million in sales and had sold 36,000 limited edition prints... I guess the public must have really bad taste!
Smith sold his 56% ownership of Michael Godard Fine Art to Michael Godard at the end of 2006, they had 12 corporate or licensed galleries in North America.
From Rock Star to Metal
In 2007, David Smith met Chris DeRubeis. DeRubeis was a struggling artist that had developed his own unique style of art he called Abstract Sensualism®. When Smith saw DeRubeis's works at an art Expo in 2007, he asked Chris "You can't get in galleries can you?" when DeRubeis confirmed it, Smith stated "Its because you are too far ahead of your time. Let me do this". Thus began a partnership that has gone more than 15 years. Smith moved to Maui and took over a gallery called Avalon and began selling DeRubeis's works. It went so well Smith called Chris to ask him if he can change the name of the gallery to "DeRubeis Fine Art of Metal". This really kicked off DeRubeis, and soon Smith began picking up so many accounts he had to leave Maui and come back to the mainland just to help Chris keep up. the was May of 2008. Three months before the 2008 Financial Crisis began.
Forget that for now, the Art World had no preparation for these two maniacs!
Now Metal to Heavy Metal
In 2008 when hiring an art assistant for DeRubeis, Patrick Guyton walked into his life. Guyton is one of the most talented artists on the planet. He know practically every art style ever used. Beyond knowing it, he has mastered most. Smith signed him immediately. the first two art shows they did sold almost all of the Art, and things looked bright. His self created Gilded Modernism® using Silver Gold or Copper Leaf put him on the map.
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Since this time Guyton and Smith's sense of adventure has taken them world wide and Guyton's originals have sold for more than a quarter million dollars. They have ridden Dirt Bikes and Harleys all over the world, while selling the fantastic work of Patrick Guyton.
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