Thick layers of color, scraped and spread with a palette knife, form the faces that have come to define Harold Smith’s art. A self‑taught artist and retired teacher who spent more than three decades in education before turning to art full‑time, Smith has earned acclaim for his bold, expressive paintings that center Black identity and masculinity while challenging traditional visual narratives. Just as importantly, he has become a vital leader in Kansas City’s Black art community—organizing exhibits, creating opportunities, and nurturing fellow artists so their work is seen and valued.
Smith describes himself as a Kansas City–based visual artist whose internationally exhibited and collected work spans painting, collage, mixed media, performance, video, sound, and assemblage. His art focuses on the complexity of Black masculinity in America—what he calls “the simultaneously complementary and contradictory internal and external narratives” Black men navigate to survive and flourish. His Man of Color series takes on that theme directly, examining how Black men see themselves versus how society sees them, while his Pain and Privilege series “explores the intersection of power, privilege, pain, and identity in the Black American experience.”
His exhibitions reveal an artist in constant conversation with his culture and community. From national venues and international showings in France to local anchors like the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Lawrence Arts Center, and Charlotte Street Foundation, Smith’s work continues expanding its reach.
His most recent body of work, Around the Way Folk, Saints in Uncommon Places, debuted at the Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka. The series reimagines iconic works from art history—such as Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring—with people from his own Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood. “Basically, it’s an exploration of people I consider saints,” he told KCUR. “It’s also a look at Black, blue-collar communities… an examination of the culture that still exists there.”
Smith now works from his basement studio at home, grounding his creativity in the same community where his story began.
From the Classroom to the Gallery
Smith began drawing as a child growing up in Kansas City, Kansas. He was largely self-taught, learning through observation and practice, with his first exhibit staged at the Kansas City Public Library in the 1990s. Over time, his art evolved from traditional realism to an abstract visual language defined by texture, rhythm, and cultural symbolism.
In 2021, Smith was selected as one of only ten artists for The Studios, a prestigious residency that supports promising mid-career artists. Though his tenure there has since ended, the honor affirmed his status as a leading creative force and gave him space to experiment and mentor others.
He continues to curate exhibitions that expand visibility for Black artists. In early 2024, he curated We Are Enough at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, bringing together 56 artists—from emerging creators to seasoned innovators—to spotlight Kansas City’s artistic diversity. “These are people who have found that within them was enough to overcome the challenges life threw their way,” Smith said at the time. “They still hung on to their artistic dreams.”
Art That Lives in Community
Smith’s work isn’t confined to gallery walls. His community-based approach recently included UrbanKore, a one‑day exhibition that transformed local businesses in Kansas City, Kansas, into pop‑up art venues featuring work by Black artists including Deante Howard, Mahlon Cathey, Warren “Stylez” Harvey, Claude Harris III, and Daisha Maria-Breona.
“It’s about bringing visibility to artists and to the community,” he said. “We’re showing that powerful art doesn’t just live downtown — it lives everywhere people create.”
By activating spaces that residents use every day, Smith helps ensure that art is accessible, relevant, and rooted in community identity.
Mentor, Maker, Messenger
Mentorship has become one of Smith’s defining roles. Younger artists regularly visit his studio for advice, encouragement, and critique. “People reach out, and I try to guide them however I can,” he said. “I tell them to read, to apply for grants, to give themselves grace to find their own style. The more you know, the deeper your art will be.”
His guidance carries the weight of lived experience. Smith understands the economic and cultural barriers Black artists face—limited access to collectors, gallery representation, and buyers who relate to their narratives. “Selling art is tough,” he said plainly. “People buy what they can connect to, and that can narrow your audience.”
Yet he refuses to compromise his vision. His canvases remain unapologetically centered on Black identity—on faces, language, and expressions that affirm belonging. “I paint what I feel, what I live,” he said.
That authenticity resonates across Kansas City’s creative ecosystem. Artists he’s mentored have gone on to exhibit across the metro, curate their own shows, and use art as a form of healing and empowerment.
Redefining Kansas City’s Art Scene
Through his studio practice and his efforts to uplift other artists, Smith has become a respected voice in Kansas City’s arts community—a bridge between generations and neighborhoods.
He challenges the notion that great art only comes from coastal cities. “People act like all the great art is in New York or Los Angeles,” he said. “But KC has its own art scene, and it’s more than good enough.”
