Howard Smith’s oeuvre on view in the US for the first time in decades in collaboration with EMMA

Howard Smith (1928, New Jersey – 2021, Fiskars, Finland) was an American-born artist and designer who spent most of his life in Finland. The exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California aims to raise Smith’s profile in the US, where his diverse body of work has remained relatively little known.

From the 1960s onwards, Smith lived almost exclusively in Finland and made significant contributions to the Finnish visual arts and design. He was known for his bold, graphic design language and vivid colours. Moving seamlessly between disciplines and scales, he brought a design-minded approach to his work across various techniques and materials. At the same time, he drew upon the visual idioms of his paintings and prints in his design practice.

As a designer, Smith is best known for his work for Vallila and Arabia. The patterns he designed for Vallila in the late 1960s and later quickly became among the most famous items of the company, and some of these printed fabrics are still in production. Among the work he did for Arabia, the most famous are his ceramic collections and figurines. 

The exhibition at Palm Springs Art Museum presents a wide selection of Howard Smith’s works, both in terms of time and technique. Works on display span from the 1960s to the early 2000s. EMMA has contributed to the exhibition by offering its expertise on Smith’s artistic legacy and his deep connection to the Finnish art scene. EMMA’s collection includes Smith’s screenprints as well as major public artworks.  

Smith’s printed fabrics are on display currently at EMMA in an exhibition Draped – Art of Printed Fabrics. A solo exhibition of Howard Smith’s work will also be presented at EMMA in the coming years.