Pippy Houldsworth Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Exhibitions
  • Artists
  • Fairs
  • News
  • Viewing room
  • Contact
Menu

Painting with Light: The Photography of Ming Smith

Past viewing_room
21 May - 25 July 2020
  • Painting with Light: The Photography of Ming Smith

    21 May-25 July 2020
  • Painting with Light, The Photography of Ming Smith

    Painting with Light

    The Photography of Ming Smith

    Pippy Houldsworth Gallery is delighted to present Painting with Light: The Photography of Ming Smith, a survey of New York-based artist, Ming Smith.

     

    Containing works from the start of the 1970s to the present day, including a number of never before seen archival prints, the exhibition explores the painterly quality of Ming Smith’s photographic work.

     

    From photographs taken in the New York neighbourhoods of Coney Island and Harlem, to the cities of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Gambela, Ethiopia, the exhibition reflects the diversity of Smith’s personal experience, the openness of her perspective and her embrace of subjectivity as a fundamental conceptual choice.

     

     

    contact gallery

  • Smith’s use of the blur is a characteristic technique, often evoking a transcendent quality through soft hazy strokes of light and dark. Signifying an intentional rejection of her medium as a form of documentation, the blur highlights a dynamic and reciprocal relationship with her subjects. 

  • 'One thing evident in Ming’s work (in conjunction with a total commitment to rendering black life) is her unmatched mastery... 'One thing evident in Ming’s work (in conjunction with a total commitment to rendering black life) is her unmatched mastery...

    'One thing evident in Ming’s work (in conjunction with a total commitment to rendering black life) is her unmatched mastery of slow shutter speed photography. Ming is the absolute master of the blur.' 

    Arthur Jafa, A series of utterly improbably, yet extraordinary renditions, 2018 

  • Building on her painterly photographic language of black and white, at times Smith applies literal strokes of paint - abstract marks made with vibrant colour heighten or transform the emotional resonance of an image.

  • Ming Smith, Trio in Gambela, Gambela, Ethiopia c.1973, c.2000-3 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Abidjan Children, 1972, 2000 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, America Seen Through Stars and Stripes (Painted), 1976, c.2000 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Trio in Gambela, Gambela, Ethiopia, 1973, 2003
  •  'I wanted to capture the spirituality, the humanity of black people, my love for the culture'

    Ming Smith, The Observer, 2020

  • Ming Smith, Beauty, Coney Island, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Coney Island Couple, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Father and Child, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Young Boy with Straw Hat, Coney Island, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Homebound, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Flying High, Coney Island, 1976 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Beauty, Coney Island, 1976
  • The works presented affirm the tenderness, respect and wonder with which Smith approaches each of her subjects. Community and family, with a particular focus on black family life, is at the heart of Smith's practice that celebrates its beauty and complexity.

  • 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020 'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.' Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020

    'Her work shows me how to pull poetry and spirituality out of the mundane.'

    Tyler Mitchell, The Observer, 2020

  •  

    ‘Smith’s evocative pictures summon up dreamlike states to tease out complex emotions and ideas deeply embedded in the places and consciousness of her subjects.’

     

    Maurice Berger, The New York Times, 2017

    • Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
      Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
    • Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
      Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
  • 'Oh no, it’s all discovery, it’s all improvisation. It’s like when jazz musicians solo. They improvise, and photography is definitely that, for me.'

    Ming Smith, Document Journal, 2019

  • Ming Smith, Betty Carter, 1973 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, New Year's Eve with Betty Carter at The Bottom Line, 1978 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Jazz Piano, 1979 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, George Coleman at Merton Simpson's Gallery, 2012 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, David Murray in the Wings, Padova, Italy, 1978 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith  Loft Jazz with Max Roach, 1981  vintage silver gelatin print, unique  20.3 x 25.4 cm, 8 x 10 in (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ming Smith, Betty Carter, 1973
  • About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There... About Ming Smith Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There...

    About Ming Smith

    Ming Smith grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New York in the early 1970s. There she worked with a wide network of fellow artists, musicians and dancers. She was the first, and for many years, the only woman member of the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of African American photographers based in New York. The group formed with the joint aim to challenge negative representations of black communities and to develop photography as an artistic practice. In 1975 she was the first African American woman photographer to have work acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Throughout her career she has travelled extensively, capturing life in America, Africa, Europe and East Asia.

  • The artist’s work has been presented in exhibitions including Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, Tate Modern, London (2017), touring to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, (2018); Brooklyn Museum, New York (2018); The Broad, Los Angeles (2019); De Young Museum, San Francisco (2020); We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women 1965-85, Brooklyn Museum, New York (2017); Arthur Jafa: A Series of Utterly Improbably, Yet Extraordinary Renditions, Serpentine Galleries, London (2017), touring to Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2019); Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010). A comprehensive monograph will be published by Aperture towards the end of the 2020. Smith will be included in Just Above Midtown, Museum of Modern Art New York (2022).

     

    Smith’s work is held in the collections of Brooklyn Museum, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts; Philadelphia Museum of Art; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York; Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Washington; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

     

  • Press

    • Twin

      Twin

      22 July 2020

      A chat with Ming Smith - the photographer whose work is soft, intimate & bathed in community through its documentation of the black American experience. By Isabella Davey

    • Artnet News

      Artnet News

      7 July 2020

      Photographer Ming Smith's dreamlike portraits of everyday life from Harlem to Ethiopia are the subject of a tender new online show - see them here. By Caroline Goldstein

    • this is tomorrow

      this is tomorrow

      5 July 2020

      Review by Sheena Carrington

    • The New York Review of Books

      The New York Review of Books

      July 2020

      Sun Ra: 'I'm Everything and Nothing'. By Namwali Serpell

    • i-D Magazine

      i-D Magazine

      2 July 2020

      Ming Smith's Life in Photos. By Ryan White

    • Culture Type

      Culture Type

      30 June 2020

      On view: 'Painting with Light: The Photography of Ming Smith' at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London. By Victoria L. Valentine

    • LOVE

      LOVE

      23 June 2020

      How Ming Smith's powerful photographs documented an ongoing struggle. By Isabella Rose Celeste Davey

    • The British Journal of Photography

      The British Journal of Photography

      11 June 2020

      Ming Smith: 'Light is Everything' by Hannah Abel-Hirsh

    • Artforum

      Artforum

      8 June 2020

      Critics' Picks. By Ian Bourland

    • The Financial Times

      The Financial Times

      30 May 2020

      In her images, family, culture and spirituality are illuminated through an evocative mix of blurred movement and double exposure. By Chris Allnutt

    • The Observer

      The Observer

      17 May 2020

      Photographer Ming Smith has been making pioneering work since the 1970s. Finally she is receiving the acclaim she deserves. By Candice Pires

    • The Observer

      The Observer

      17 May 2020

      In 1978, Ming Smith was the first African American female photographer to have work bought by MoMA. Her shots of black culture are enjoying a revival.

    • The New York Times

      The New York Times

      13 April 2020

      For decades, the art world ignored artists of color - an institutional neglect it's now trying to correct. But in the 1960s and '70s, in Los Angeles and New York, three galleries led the way in showing the work of black artists, many of whom are now among the most influential of our time. By M.H. Miller

    • Document

      Document

      16 May 2019

      Ming Smith speaks on representation, improvisation, and photography as a form of survival. By David Aaron Brake

    • Cultured Magazine

      Cultured Magazine

      18 September 2018

      By Rebecca Bengal

    • Aperture Magazine

      Aperture Magazine

      2015

      Routinely excluded from the mainstream art world, in the 1960s, a group of African American photographers formed a collective to promote and exhibit their work. For one promising young artist, the experience was transformative. By LeRonn P. Brooks

  • Exhibition List

    • Ming Smith, Self Portrait (Total), 1986
      Ming Smith, Self Portrait (Total), 1986
    • Ming Smith, Beauty, Coney Island, 1976
      Ming Smith, Beauty, Coney Island, 1976
    • Ming Smith, Coney Island Couple, 1976
      Ming Smith, Coney Island Couple, 1976
    • Ming Smith, Flying High, Coney Island, 1976
      Ming Smith, Flying High, Coney Island, 1976
    • Ming Smith, Young Boy with Straw Hat, Coney Island, 1976
      Ming Smith, Young Boy with Straw Hat, Coney Island, 1976
    • Ming Smith, Symmetry on the Ivory Coast, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 1972
      Ming Smith, Symmetry on the Ivory Coast, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 1972
    • Ming Smith, Abidjan Children 1972, 2003
      Ming Smith, Abidjan Children 1972, 2003
    • Ming Smith, Child Porter, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 1972
      Ming Smith, Child Porter, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 1972
    • Ming Smith, Trio in Gambela, Gambela, Ethiopia c.1973, c.2000-3
      Ming Smith, Trio in Gambela, Gambela, Ethiopia c.1973, c.2000-3
    • Ming Smith, Cicatrice Cosmetique, Gambela, Ethiopia, 1973
      Ming Smith, Cicatrice Cosmetique, Gambela, Ethiopia, 1973
    • Ming Smith, Ethiopian Girls, 1973
      Ming Smith, Ethiopian Girls, 1973
    • Ming Smith, Ethiopian Crew, 1973
      Ming Smith, Ethiopian Crew, 1973
    • Ming Smith, Three Ethiopian Men, 1973
      Ming Smith, Three Ethiopian Men, 1973
    • Ming Smith, America Seen Through Stars and Stripes (Painted), 1976, c.2000
      Ming Smith, America Seen Through Stars and Stripes (Painted), 1976, c.2000
    • Ming Smith, First Sunday I (Grandmother's Pocketbook), 1980
      Ming Smith, First Sunday I (Grandmother's Pocketbook), 1980
    • Ming Smith, Sunday Morning Service, Harlem, 1990
      Ming Smith, Sunday Morning Service, Harlem, 1990
    • Ming Smith, Manhattan Parallels red, 1976, c.2003
      Ming Smith, Manhattan Parallels red, 1976, c.2003
    • Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
      Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
    • Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
      Ming Smith, Farewell to Alvin Ailey, New York, 1989
    • Ming Smith, West Indian Parade, Brooklyn, New York, 1972
      Ming Smith, West Indian Parade, Brooklyn, New York, 1972
    • Ming Smith, Flower Lady, 1996
      Ming Smith, Flower Lady, 1996
    • Ming Smith, Homeboy with Snack, Harlem, New York, 1976
      Ming Smith, Homeboy with Snack, Harlem, New York, 1976
    • Ming Smith, Hot Pants, Harlem, New York, 1973
      Ming Smith, Hot Pants, Harlem, New York, 1973
    • Ming Smith, Oolong's Nightmare, Save The Children (for Marvin Gaye), New York City, New York, 1979
      Ming Smith, Oolong's Nightmare, Save The Children (for Marvin Gaye), New York City, New York, 1979
    • Ming Smith, Lou Draper's Pick, 1973
      Ming Smith, Lou Draper's Pick, 1973
    • Ming Smith, Betty Carter, 1973
      Ming Smith, Betty Carter, 1973
    • Ming Smith, David Murray in the Wings, Padova, Italy, 1978
      Ming Smith, David Murray in the Wings, Padova, Italy, 1978
    • Ming Smith, George Coleman at Merton Simpson's Gallery, 2012
      Ming Smith, George Coleman at Merton Simpson's Gallery, 2012
    • Ming Smith, Loft Jazz with Max Roach, 1981
      Ming Smith, Loft Jazz with Max Roach, 1981
Privacy Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2022 Pippy Houldsworth Gallery
Online Viewing Rooms by Artlogic
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Vimeo, opens in a new tab.
Youtube, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences