Taylor Alaina Liebenstein Smith (b. 1993) is a U.S.-born, French-nationalized visual artist currently based in Oslo, Norway. She understands the climate crisis as a crisis of perception, leading to a general loss of meaning and human capacity for affect. With this in mind, she collaborates with scientists, poets, dancers, architects and other species, in search of an appropriate interdisciplinary language with which to address the impacts of climate change. Having worked with researchers in the natural sciences since 2014, she also attempts to deconstruct perceived boundaries between artistic and scientific knowledge.
Materially, her practice explores the poetic intersections between analog and biological media. She incorporates microbial biofilms, permafrost, and more into film and video, photography, installation, performance, sound, printmaking and text. She holds an MFA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, an MA in Cultural Mediation from the École du Louvre in Paris and both a BFA in Painting and a BA in Art History from Boston University. Her work has been exhibited in France, Norway, Finland, Germany, Spain, and the U.S, including at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, Atelier Nord in Oslo, and the KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre in Finland. Her works are also included in the French National Collections.
1: From the project A familiar veil: microscopic image of an aquatic biofilm, marine biology research station, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Concarneau, France, 2022
2: From the project A familiar veil: analog photographic series (workshop participants touching an aquatic biofilm), 2023
3: A feeling of longing that freezes and thaws, solo exhibition, Atelier Nord, 2025. Image: István Virag/ Kunstdok
4: A feeling of longing that freezes and thaws, 16mm film, 2025
5: A familiar veil, video triptych, digital 4K with sound, 40”, 2021-2023
Portrait (with projector) photo credits Andrejs Strokin
