Exibitions | Mark Smith Art

Current Exhibition

The Hope Suite--May 25th - December 22nd, 2022

2310 San Gabriel St., Austin, Texas

Open 11am-4 pm, Wednesday through Sunday

This series of 44 works was created between 2008-2014. The originals are monotype, photography, collage and mixed media on archival rag papers.

Key Dates

Thursday, October 6th, 6 pm to 7 pm: Artist's Gallery Talk

Artist's Statement

My show—“The Hope Suite”—at the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin has special meaning for me, because of the way it combines inspiration with history. The works displayed—44 works on paper—were inspired initially by the election of the first Black president of the U. S., Barack Obama. It is ironic that these works are exhibited in a former plantation manor that has deep roots in Austin’s history of African-American enslavement.

Each of the 24” x 18” works on paper contains the word “hope” in one of 44 world languages. My idea is to utilize the universal language of art to build bridges between diverse cultures; i.e., bridges, instead of walls. I hope they can provide a note of peace and a unifying feeling in a challenging and divided world. Viewers can see on the Map of Hope that we all live and die under the same blue sky, and can write a note of hope to add to The Bowl of Hope.