A Man By Himself - Mike Smart
Installation image courtesy of Municipal Bonds and photographer Shaun Roberts
Presented by Municipal Bonds and co-curator Solange Roberdeau, A MAN BY HIMSELF is an exhibition of 13 works on paper by Art Explorers studio artist Mike Smart.
Mike Smart's drawings are a celebration of first marks. Never sketching in advance, erasing or starting over, his drawings reflect a passion for that first moment of seeing. They are confident and at times awkward; gestural, expressive and alive. Smart is both hearing and vision impaired. The decline of his sight has influenced the characteristic black linework in his drawings, moving him from using a mix of line weights to drawing with thick permanent markers for visibility. When a line drawing is finished, he returns with a brush and colored inks.
This collection of portraits emerged from the active space between what this artist sees and how he feels about what he is looking at—a series rich with humor, curiosity and enthusiasm for observation and narrative.
A Person Holding A Fish With A Boombox, 2023
A Person Playing Guitar (Les Claypool), 2015
A Person Holding A Ball, 2023
Two People, 2015
A Man By Himself, 2015
A Lady Holding Birds (Frida Kahlo), 2017
A MAN BY HIMSELF was on display at Municipal Bonds gallery in San Francisco June 1 - July 21, 2024. Mike’s drawings have been exhibited at Make Studio (Baltimore, MD); San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (CA); Bryn Mawr Hospital (Bryn Mawr, PA); Creative Growth (Oakland, CA); Cobalt Gallery (Fort Bragg, CA); Mendocino Art Center (Mendocino, CA); Municipal Bonds (San Francisco, CA); online by Quickest Flip; and are in private collections in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
One Lady And One Daughter, 2015
Two People (2), 2015
A Person Playing A Saxophone, 2023
Boxing (Muhammad Ali), 2023
A Lady With Flowers, 2015
One Person With Rainbow Hair, 2019
A Musician Holding A House (David Byrne), 2013
Mike Smart at his opening reception, June 1, 2024
All works pen and ink on 90 lb watercolor paper, 14 x 11 inches
Art Explorers is a creative arts program and progressive art studio in Fort Bragg, California, serving developmentally disabled and neurodiverse adults. Founded in 2000, Art Explorers provides space and support for creativity and positive community building through workshops, field trips and a dynamic exhibition program.
