Howard Smith Retrospective in Palm Springs, CA
Palm Springs Art Museum is showcasing the work of Howard Smith for the first time in the United States since the 1980s.
We are thrilled to announce that Howard Smiths first retrospective exhibition in the US has been opened for the public. The aim of the exhibition is to bring Smith’s art to the attention of the general public in his country of birth, where he has until now been known mainly to a smaller group of art and design connoisseurs.
The exhibition is curated by Steven Wolf and produced in collaboration with Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland. It has been made possible with the kind support of Mimi & Steve Fisher, Jim Gaudineer & Tony Padilla, Bonnie Serkin & Will Emery and the Consulate General of Finland, Los Angeles. The exhibition will be on view until the February 23, 2026.
https://www.psmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/howard-smith
© Kati Sointukangas
Howard Smith, an African-American artist, designer and collector was born April 17, 1928 in Moorestown, New Jersey, USA. Throughout his career he lived in Finland with exception of 1976-1984 after being invited to teach at Scripps College at Claremont, California, USA.
In his early adulthood, Smith served with U.S. occupying forces in post-war Japan, Korea, and Germany. After his service, he briefly studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Smith came to Finland in 1962 when he co-organized an international youth exhibition of American artists.
Within a year he mounted the first show of his own at Matti Viherjuuri’s Galleria Pinx. Attracted to the signature 'less is more' Finnish design aesthetic, tradition of able craft and the hand-wroutht object, he soon won respect of wide circle of Finnish artists, architects and designers among them Kaj Frank, Aarno Ruusuvuori, Juhani Pallasmaa, Yrjö Sotamaa, and the Nurmesniemi’s, Antti and Vuokko.
curriculum vitae
Howard Smith worked with paper, pigments, wood, clay, textiles and metal. He designed for industry—e.g. printed textiles for Vallila, tableware and interior items for Arabia (the esteemed ceramics factory in Helsinki). He planned interior designs for corporate offices, public buildings and cruise ships. He especially enjoyed recycling items like scrap metal, used cardboard, castoff clothing–which he took and created into whimsical compositions.
Howard Smith’s work -displays an exuberance and generosity characteristic too of the man. It is immediately recognisable for bold gestures in line, plane and mass, its rich colors and its contrapuntal contrasts in material and form. Much of what he called ‘glyphs’ vibrant figures that often suggest the human form in posture of celebration.
Howard Smith was awarded the Finnish State Design Prize in 2001 and the State Artist's Pension in 2003. His works can be found in several museum collections in Finland and in USA E.g. Finlands National Gallery Ateneum Art Museum, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Museum of African-American Art Los Angeles and Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The great paradox of his final years was that, after opening the eyes of so many through his work and varied collections, he was blinded by glaucoma. Undaunted, he continued to work by sense of touch.
Howard Smith died at home in Fiskars, Finland February 4, 2021 aged 92.
