Howard Smith

The major monograph Howard Smith celebrates the far-reaching practice of the multifaceted African-American artist, designer, and collector who spent most of his creative life in Finland.

Working with paper, pigments, wood, clay, textiles, and metal, Smith had both fine art and commercial practices. While he designed for industry—planning interior designs for corporate offices, public buildings and a ferry—he especially enjoyed recycling items like scrap metal, used cardboard, and castoff clothing, which he transformed into offbeat compositions. Howard Smith’s work displays an exuberance and generosity characteristic of the man. Immediately recognizable for bold gestures in line, plane, and mass, his creations embrace rich colors and contrasts in material and form. He referred to many of these forms as ‘glyphs,’ vibrant figures that often suggest the human form in posture of celebration.

Exhibition schedule:
Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California
(opening May 2025)
National Nordic Museum, Helsinki, Finland
(dates TBD)

Howard Smith (1928-2021) was a Finland-based African-American artist, designer, and
collector. After serving for US occupying forces in post-war Japan, Korea, and Germany, he studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Unable to foresee a career at home, he went to Finland in 1962 at the height of the Cold War to help organize an exhibition of American artists and was invited to stay on. Attracted to Finland’s signature ‘less is more’ design aesthetic and tradition of table craft, he soon won the respect of Finnish artists, architects, and designers. Within a year he had begun working on architectural commissions and had mounted the first of his many solo exhibitions during a 50-year career.

Smith was awarded the Finnish State Design Prize (2001) and the State Artist’s Pension (2003). His works can be found in museum collections internationally, including Finland’s National Gallery, Helsinki; Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki; EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo; Museum of African-American Art, Los Angeles, CA; and Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.

Howard Smith (1928-2021) was a Finland-based African-American artist, designer, and
collector. After serving for US occupying forces in post-war Japan, Korea, and Germany, he studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Unable to foresee a career at home, he went to Finland in 1962 at the height of the Cold War to help organize an exhibition of American artists and was invited to stay on. Attracted to Finland’s signature ‘less is more’ design aesthetic and tradition of table craft, he soon won the respect of Finnish artists, architects, and designers. Within a year he had begun working on architectural commissions and had mounted the first of his many solo exhibitions during a 50-year career.

Smith was awarded the Finnish State Design Prize (2001) and the State Artist’s Pension (2003). His works can be found in museum collections internationally, including Finland’s National Gallery, Helsinki; Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki; EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo; Museum of African-American Art, Los Angeles, CA; and Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.