Harold Smith

And I could see you comin' home after work late
You're in the kitchen, tryin' to fix us a hot plate
You just workin' with the scraps you was given
And Mama made miracles every Thanksgivin'
- Tupac Amaru Shakur (Dear Mama)

My works explore blacktacularity, that overlooked phenonemon where black people in America have created their own subculture, tropes, slang, mannerisms, cuisine, music, spirituality, and life itself from the scraps of social and economic equality thrown at us from the dinner table of white privilege in America.

I explore this through the prism of my life experience coming of age in the 70’s, just before deindustrialization and Reaganomics wreaked havoc on the black middle class.

I approach this with an unconventional approach to materiality and composition that seeks to create unconventional combinations and perspectives reflective of the unconventional nature of blacktacularity itself.

I believe these works and the story they tell are important because blacktacularity in the 70’s set the stage for black excellence we see today.

izza blacktacular thang baby…just like the rekkasto

Harold D. Smith, Jr.

9.27.2024


Selected Exhibitions

2024, Dr. Blackenstein's Black Shack of Arts and Sciences, Studios Inc
2024, Buttonwood Gallery
2024, Summer Exhibition, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art
2023, Untitled, Habitat Gallery, Kansas City
2023, Let Me Tell You, Lawrence Arts Center
2023 Summer Invitational, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City
2023 21c Hotel Museum, Kansas City
2022 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards, H & R Block Artspace
2022 Insight, University of Nebraska-Omaha
2021 Who We Are (Group), Charlotte Street
2021 Testament (Group), Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
2021 All Things Being Equal: Selections from the Nerman Collection, KCAI GALLERY: Center for Contemporary Practice
2021 The Reparations Exhibit, Natasha Ria Art Gallery
2020 Untitled (Collect Level), Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2020 Untitled, Charlotte Street Foundation Gallery, Kansas City (Group)
2020, True Colors, Carter Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2020 El-Scari Harvey Art Gallery, Center for Spiritual Living, Kansas City (Individual)
2020 The Black Gaze, Stockdale Gallery, William Jewell College
2019 Can You See Me?, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City
2019 Purpose, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Individual)
2018, Cultural Legacy: What's Going On, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2018 Louisiana Tricentennial Exhibition, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans (Group)
2017/18 Black Space/Black Art, Traveling Exhibit, Kansas City (Group)
2017 Reflections of Monk III, Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, New York, (Group)
2016 Bear Witness, Johnson County Public Library, Shawnee Mission, (Group)
2016 Reflecting The Times, Box Gallery, Kansas City (Group)
2016 INSPIRED: 20 Years of African American Art , Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, (Group)
2015 Vernissage de Portraits de Harold Smith , Le Moulin du logis, Angouleme,France
2014 Colors of Life, Cognac Blues Passions, Cognac, France
2013 Convergence: Jazz and the Visual Arts, University of Maryland, David Driskell Center (Traveling Group Exhibition)
2012 Reflections of Monk, Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, New York, (Group)
2011 Colors of Jazz, American Jazz Museum, Kansas City
2009 Untitled, Faso Gallery, Kansas City, (Group)
2008 Future Primitive Jazz, Montanaro Gallery, Rhode Island, Group
2007 Plantation Lullabies, Nobis Gallery, Newark (Group)
2006 Tribal Masks And Jazzstracts, Montanaro Gallery, Rhode
2001 Kansas City, KS Public Library

Films:

Natasha Portrait of an Urban Poet, 2011, screened at Westport Coffeehouse, Maysles Cinema (NYC)
The Gospel According to Glenn North, 2017, screened at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Penn Valley Community College
A Time To Sew: The Art of Sonie Ruffin, (in production)

Selected Writings:

Harold Smith on the Art of Blackness: More than Sustenance, Soul Food Speaks to the Power of the Human Spirit, June 2023, KC Studio
“Distinctly Human, portraits by Kwanza Humphrey,” The Gallery at HJ’s Community Center, June 2023, KC Studio
Abstractions That ‘Absorb One’s Anguishing’, May 2023, KC Studio
At KCI, Jazz Meets Visual Art in Willie Cole’s ‘Ornithology, Jan 2023, KC Studio
Honors: Amber “Flutienastiness” Underwood, Nov 2022, KC Studio
Telling the Story of African American Music, September 2022, KC Studio
The American Jazz Museum at 25: ‘The Realization of a Dream’, September 2022, KC Studio
The Art of Courage, August 2022, KC Studio
‘Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow’ : National WWI Museum and Memorial, June 2022, KC Studio
Shinique Smith: STARGAZERS, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Jade Powers Named Curator of Contemporary Art at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, May 2022, KC Studio
‘This Is Not Easy Viewing’, May 2022, KC Studio
Vivian Wilson Bluett: Expressions of Blue, Natasha Ria Art Gallery, March 2022, KC Studio
The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure, American Jazz Museum, February 2022, KC Studio
Diallo Javonne French: Honest Musical Moments, January 2022, KC Studio
Honors: Rodney Thompson, November 2021, KC Studio
Dr. Adrianna Marshall: A Passionate Advocate for Arts Education in Public Schools, September 2021, KC Studio
Honors: Tyree Johnson, September 2021, KC Studio
Testimony: The Misrepresentation of Black Men and Boys, A Conversation Series, August 2021, KC Studio
Gallery of the Moment: A Sistine Chapel of Black Joy, May 2021, KC Studio
Kansas City Black Artists Directory, May 2021, KC Studio
What Black Artists Want: A Manifesto, June 2021, KC Studio
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art Acquires Kobe Urn by KCAI Alum Roberto Lugo, March 2021, KC Studio
Artist to Watch: Clarissa Knighten, March 2021, KC Studio
Honors: Vivian Wilson Bluett, January 2021, KC Studio
Arts News: Jazz Age Lives on at Lonnie’s Reno Club, January 2021, KC Studio
London Williams & Izsys Archer: In Truth, Black Angels, Haw Contemporary, January 2021, KC Studio
Sheila Pree Bright: #1960Now, , November 2020, KC Studio
Kemper Museum Presents Dawoud Bey Photographs from the Bill and Christy Gautreaux Collection, November 2020, KC Studio
Real Black: A spectrum of the Black present, UMKC Gallery of Art, October 2020, KC Studio
Kwanza Humphrey: The Human Experience, Bunker Center for the Arts, September 2020, KC Studio
The Challenges of Black Gallery Ownership in Kansas City, July 2020, KC Studio
Honors: Emiel Cleaver, May 2020, KC Studio
Building a More Open, Inclusive and Diverse Arts Scene, May 2020, KC Studio
Artist Pages: 25 Kemper Watchers Pick 25 Favorites, September 2019, KC Studio, (Contributing Writer)
Artist Pages: The Art of Black Hair Braiding, July 2019, KC Studio
Glyneisha Johnson: Bo? oz?m, Haw Contemporary Crossroads, June 2019,
Honors: Sheri Purpose Hall, May 2019, KC Studio
Bold and Confrontational Display Reflects the Collective Consciousness of the Black Experience, April 2019, KC Studios
An Interview with Jade Powers, November 2018, KC Studio
Championing Kansas City’s Black Arts Scene, April 2018, KC Studio
Artist Pages: Black Art in Kansas City, April 2018, KC Studio
An Ode to True Black Manhood, March 2018, KC Studio
Selected Press:
Kansas City Artist Harold Smith is Racking Up the Recognition, Including a Prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Elisabeth Kirsch, , November 2022
“So Fresh,” Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, KCUR, June 2022
Kansas City artist Harold Smith is everywhere these days — including on the TV show ‘Bel-Air’, KCUR, March 2022
Art As Reparations: This Painter Is Cutting His Prices For People Who Live East Of Troost In Kansas City, KCUR, May 2021
Harold D. Smith, Jr.: Can You See Me?, Elisabeth Kirsch, , September 2019
This Kansas City Artist Paints To Make Black Men More Visible, KCUR, August 2019
Harold Smith: Art As a Platform for Activism, Alice Thorson, KC Studio (online), May 2017
Last Glance: Harold Smith, May 2015, KC Studio
Le blues aux couleurs de la vie, Francoise Digel, Angouleme Sudquest, June 2014
Harold Smith la sacra fiamma del jazz, JazzColors Magazine, 2013
Music, Life, History Meld in Art, Alice Thorson, Kansas City Star, April 2011
Jazzin’ Up Art, Marilyn Bellemore, Newport This Week, April 2006
Interview with Harold Smith, VERGE (online), Meana Kasi, July 2001
Intimate Images Explore Racism, Injustice, Kansas City Star, Caprice Stapley, June 2001
Books:
McGarvey, E. & Weiss, J. (2013). 2pac v. Biggie : an illustrated history of rap's greatest battle. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press.
Koppelman, S. & Franks, A. (2008). Collecting and the Internet : essays on the pursuit of old passions through new technologies. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co.

Residencies
Studios Inc, Studio Residency, 2022-2025
MacDowell Fellowship Residency, 2022
Art Omi, 2023

Awards

Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award, 2022
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2022
James Baldwin Fellowship, MacDowell, 2023

Other Media

Bel-Air (Television), NBC/Peacock, Seasons 1 and 2, 2022-2023
Queen Sugar (Television), Own Network, 1 episode, 2022

A.A., Kansas City Kansas Community College
B.A., Union College
M.A.T, Webster University
Doctoral Studies, North Central University

Kansas City Artist Harold Smith is Racking Up the Recognition, Including a Prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Elisabeth Kirsch, www.kcstudio.com, November 2022
“So Fresh,” Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, KCUR, June 2022
Kansas City artist Harold Smith is everywhere these days — including on the TV show ‘Bel-Air’, KCUR, March 2022
Art As Reparations: This Painter Is Cutting His Prices For People Who Live East Of Troost In Kansas City, KCUR, May 2021
Harold D. Smith, Jr.: Can You See Me?, Elisabeth Kirsch, www.kcstudio.com, September 2019
This Kansas City Artist Paints To Make Black Men More Visible, KCUR, August 2019
Harold Smith: Art As a Platform for Activism, Alice Thorson, KC Studio (online), May 2017
Last Glance: Harold Smith, May 2015, KC Studio
Le blues aux couleurs de la vie, Francoise Digel, Angouleme Sudquest, June 2014
Harold Smith la sacra fiamma del jazz, JazzColors Magazine, 2013
Music, Life, History Meld in Art, Alice Thorson, Kansas City Star, April 2011
Jazzin’ Up Art, Marilyn Bellemore, Newport This Week, April 2006
Interview with Harold Smith, VERGE (online), Meana Kasi, July 2001
Intimate Images Explore Racism, Injustice, Kansas City Star, Caprice Stapley, June 2001
Books:
McGarvey, E. & Weiss, J. (2013). 2pac v. Biggie : an illustrated history of rap's greatest battle. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press.
Koppelman, S. & Franks, A. (2008). Collecting and the Internet : essays on the pursuit of old passions through new technologies. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co.

Teacher 1986-2021

Selected Exhibitions2024, Dr. Blackenstein's Black Shack of Arts and Sciences, Studios Inc
2024, Buttonwood Gallery
2024, Summer Exhibition, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art
2023, Untitled, Habitat Gallery, Kansas City
2023, Let Me Tell You, Lawrence Arts Center
2023 Summer Invitational, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City
2023 21c Hotel Museum, Kansas City
2022 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards, H & R Block Artspace
2022 Insight, University of Nebraska-Omaha
2021 Who We Are (Group), Charlotte Street
2021 Testament (Group), Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
2021 All Things Being Equal: Selections from the Nerman Collection, KCAI GALLERY: Center for Contemporary Practice
2021 The Reparations Exhibit, Natasha Ria Art Gallery
2020 Untitled (Collect Level), Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2020 Untitled, Charlotte Street Foundation Gallery, Kansas City (Group)
2020, True Colors, Carter Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2020 El-Scari Harvey Art Gallery, Center for Spiritual Living, Kansas City (Individual)
2020 The Black Gaze, Stockdale Gallery, William Jewell College
2019 Can You See Me?, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City
2019 Purpose, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Individual)
2018, Cultural Legacy: What's Going On, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City (Group)
2018 Louisiana Tricentennial Exhibition, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans (Group)
2017/18 Black Space/Black Art, Traveling Exhibit, Kansas City (Group)
2017 Reflections of Monk III, Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, New York, (Group)
2016 Bear Witness, Johnson County Public Library, Shawnee Mission, (Group)
2016 Reflecting The Times, Box Gallery, Kansas City (Group)
2016 INSPIRED: 20 Years of African American Art , Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, (Group)
2015 Vernissage de Portraits de Harold Smith , Le Moulin du logis, Angouleme,France
2014 Colors of Life, Cognac Blues Passions, Cognac, France
2013 Convergence: Jazz and the Visual Arts, University of Maryland, David Driskell Center (Traveling Group Exhibition)
2012 Reflections of Monk, Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba, New York, (Group)
2011 Colors of Jazz, American Jazz Museum, Kansas City
2009 Untitled, Faso Gallery, Kansas City, (Group)
2008 Future Primitive Jazz, Montanaro Gallery, Rhode Island, Group
2007 Plantation Lullabies, Nobis Gallery, Newark (Group)
2006 Tribal Masks And Jazzstracts, Montanaro Gallery, Rhode
2001 Kansas City, KS Public Library

david park, emil nolde, william pope l., bay area figuratives, alma thomas

african american, black, expressionism, jazz, blues, urban