Neil Wheelock Deforest Smith

hechyeomoyeo - 헤쳐모여

Artist & Art Director

Neil Wheelock Deforest Smith is an artist living abroad in Asia. Though American, he began his art career when someone discovered him drawing on Korean traditional paper and using copy machines to make art in Seoul. Since 2023 he has had solo exhibitions in various parts of Seoul. His work has been in gallery group shows with Ai WeiWei, Lee Ufan, Kingscribbler, Anish Kapoor, and Peter Leon.

His creative focus is centered on intuitive and spontaneous pictorial storytelling, “immediate abstraction,” an exploration of mediums and their effect on content, and found materials earning his artwork the label of “쓰레기 예술” or “garbage art” in Korea.

He is also one of the founding member of 헤쳐모여 – an Asia-based art collective which host inclusive, community building exhibitions and events.