The Patchogue Arts Council would like to invite you to a special event honoring the life and career of British artist Richard Smith. 

What:   Richard Smith Memorial

When:   Saturday, July 2, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Where: Patchogue Arts Gallery, 20 Terry St., Suite 116, Patchogue, NY 11772

Cost:   Free and open to the public

A world-renowned artist, Smith had a long, prosperous career with solo exhibitions at the Tate Gallery (1975), the Jewish Museum (1968), and the Whitechapel Gallery (1966), among many others. He represented Britain in the Venice Biennale (1966, 1970), as well as the Sao Paulo Binnale (1968), where he took grand prize. His artwork is in the public collections of many esteemed art institutions including the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The one-day event will feature a selection of artwork from Richard’s 60-year oeuvre and will be held at the Patchogue Arts Gallery, 20 Terry Street, Suite 116, on Saturday, July 2, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

Richard Smith was born in Letchworth, Hertfordshire in 1931 and studied art the Luton School of Art (1948 – 1950), St. Albans School of Art (1952 – 1954), and the Royal College of Art (1954 – 1957). Despite his formalist ideals, the artist often drew inspiration from mass produced media and popular imagery as seen in commercial packaging and advertising. A recipient of the prestigious Harkness Fellowship, Smith traveled to America for the first time in 1959. In the early 1960s, he moved away from the traditional rectangular canvas, extending his paintings into the three-dimensional space. In the early 1970s, Smith moved away from the conventional stretcher bars, opting to fasten his canvases to structures of aluminum tubing. These ‘kite paintings’ as they became known as, allowed the artist to further explore the boundaries of the painted surface.

New York in 1978. Richard left the city and relocated to Patchogue in the late 1990s, where he continued to produce innovative works of art that were exhibiting globally as well as locally. Smith participated in the first Patchogue Arts Biennial in 2009, and was honored in the inaugural exhibit of the Patchogue Arts Gallery with a solo exhibition 2012. Most recently, Smith’s work was included in the 2015 PAC MAC Festival. Richard Smith passed away in April 2016 and will be missed by many in the Patchogue community and around the world.

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Earlier this month, we lost British artist Richard Smith. Richard had a long, prosperous career, with solo exhibitions at the Tate Gallery (1975), the Jewish Museum (1968), and Whitechapel Gallery (1966). His artwork is in the public collections of many renowned art institutions including the British Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Richard moved to New York in 1978 and settled in Patchogue in the late 1990s. We had the pleasure of exhibiting his work several times over the years in the 2009 Patchogue Arts Biennial, in a 2012 solo exhibition, and as part of the 2015 PAC MAC Festival. Richard will be missed by many around the world and will always have a special place here in Patchogue.

Thank you for everything, Richard.

There is also an obituary archive which can be used on Genealogy Bank.