Image: Howard Smith, unnamed (detail), 1970s. EMMA Collection © Paula Virta / EMMA
EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art will present a retrospective exhibition of Howard Smith (1928–2021) from 5 September 2026 to 7 February 2027. Titled 'Howard Smith', the show is described by the museum as a tribute to the versatile career of a distinctive artist whose open-minded visual expression influenced the Finnish art and design scene. It will be installed on the museum’s second floor.
Smith, who was originally from New Jersey and, in the museum’s Finnish text, lived and worked in Finland for most of his life, became known for what EMMA calls a curious approach to art. Across a career that the museum characterizes as a continuous exploration of materials, forms and techniques, he worked in ceramics, textile art, sculpture, papercut, collage and drawing. The retrospective also reflects the breadth of his practice beyond the studio: Smith created numerous public artworks in urban spaces, extending his designs into everyday environments.
The exhibition positions Smith not only as an artist, but also as a designer with a wide presence in Finnish life. Alongside his art practice, he designed fabrics for Vallila and ceramics for Arabia. EMMA notes that these design classics have found their way into many Finnish homes and into everyday use, underlining the extent to which Smith’s work moved between art, design and domestic culture.
According to the museum, 'Howard Smith' is part of EMMA’s series highlighting both the classics of modernism and its reformers. The exhibition is framed as a long-awaited solo presentation of an artist whose contribution to Finnish art and design has been significant. EMMA also states that the show emphasizes multiculturalism as part of Finland’s art history.
The museum singles out Smith as a rare example of an African American artist who played a central role in shaping Finland’s visual culture. That framing places the retrospective within EMMA’s broader effort to revisit modernism through artists whose work expanded its established narratives, while also acknowledging the cross-cultural dimensions of Finnish visual history.
EMMA’s opening invitation, which is subtitled ‘Retrospective 1965–2010’, states that the exhibition presents around 90 works from 1965 to 2010 and adds commissioned pieces by visual artist Sasha Huber (born 1975) and fashion designer Ervin Latimer (born 1988) made in homage to Smith’s legacy. The same invitation sets the vernissage for Friday 4 September 2026, from 6 to 9 pm, the evening before the public opening, and says the event forms part of the Helsinki Design Week programme; the exhibition is curated by EMMA’s Tuomas Laulainen, with opening words from museum director Krist Gruijthuijsen.
