Stories Untold: Howard Smith–Rediscovering A Lost Black Modernist
Join us for a Modernism Week lecture exploring the fascinating life and work of Howard Smith, a pioneering black artist who rose to prominence in Finland and bridged Nordic and American design. Independent curator Steven Wolf will preview a new book published by Palm Springs Art Museum and Smith’s first-ever United States retrospective, The Art and Design of Howard Smith, opening at the museum in May.
Howard Smith (1928–2021) was a black artist from New Jersey who emigrated to Finland and rose to prominence for his artwork, textiles, and ceramics, which were produced by some of Scandinavia’s biggest design firms during the heyday of post-war Modernism. Smith spent eight years in Southern California during the 70s and the 80s, working through issues of blackness and representation in the waning years of the Black Arts Movement. However, despite solo exhibitions at UCLA, Scripps College, and the Museum of African American Art, he remained an outsider in Los Angeles, a Finnish expatriate living on the margins.
Smith’s story is of a singular artist contending with the grand historical forces of his time: racism, Modernism, cold-war ideology, and the African diaspora. The presentation will be followed by a book signing.