in 1978, Smith became the first Black female photographer to be included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Smith became a photographer when she was given a camera at a young age. She was the first female member of Kamoinge, a collective of Black photographers that documented Black life in 1960s New York, and was the first Black woman photographer in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Smith's practice is a tale of five decades spent examining liminal spaces in daily life—moments in which figures blur, atmospheres alter, and souls manifest. Her photographic approach, marked by experimentation, adventure and attention to detail, is both scientific and celestial. Smith’s dedication to music, dance, and theater is evident throughout her work. Her documentation of many Black cultural figures, such as Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Nina Simone and Tina Turner, suggests her secondary roles as anthropologist, historian, and poet.
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Alberta Wright, ca. 1993
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Aunt Stella, ca. 1990
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Dwight Bird, ca. 1990
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Eco! (Rome, Italy), ca. 1990
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Meditation, ca. 1990
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Untitled, ca. 1989
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Don Cherry, ca. 1980
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Ooloong's Nightmare, Save the Children (New York, NY), ca. 1979
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Professor William T. Boatner (New York, NY), ca. 1979
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Untitled, ca. 1970
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Sparkling Jazzy Jazz, ca 1980
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Million Youth March (Harlem, New York), 1998
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Million Youth March, Raised Fists (Harlem, New York), 1998
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First Sunday – Grandmother's Pocketbook (August Wilson Series), (Pittsburgh, PA), 1991
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Hakone, Japan, 1991
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Hill District (August Moon Series), 1991
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Nuns on the Square (August Moon Series), 1991
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Right Side of the News (Osaka, Japan), 1991
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Shadow People , 1991
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Balance, 1989
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Celebration (Rome, Italy), 1989
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Holiday Parade (Rome, Italy)., 1989
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Self Portrait, 1989
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Self-Portrait as Josephine (New York), 1986
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Billy Higgins (Jazz Series), 1984
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Sunday Light Jazz Concerto #1 (Jazz Series), 1984
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Sunday Light Jazz Concerto #2 (Jazz Series), 1984
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Sunday Light Jazz Concerto #3 (Jazz Series), 1984
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Sunday Light Jazz Concerto #4 (Jazz Series), 1984
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Cascading Light (New York, NY), 1980
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Cat Lady, 1980
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Ferry Point, 1980
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James Brown (New York, NY), 1980
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Love Note (New York, NY), 1980
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Opera House Baroque, 1980
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Amusement Park, 1979
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Art Watch, 1979
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For Brassai (Paris, France), 1979
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Jerry (Paris, France), 1979
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Red Hot Jazz, 1979
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The Window Overlooking Wheatland Street Was My First Dreaming Place (Columbus, Ohio), 1979
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Tom (Paris, France), 1979
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Roxbury Interior (Boston, MA), 1978
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Star of Hope, 1978
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Sun Ra Space I (New York), 1978
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Sun Ra Space II (New York), 1978
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Survivor, 1978
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Male Nude (New York), 1977
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Mother and Child, 1977
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My Father's Tears (San Miguel de Allende, Mexico), 1977
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Man Strolling (Coney Island Series), 1976
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Pas de Deux (Brooklyn), 1976
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Romance Man (Paris, France), 1975
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Two by Young Ooloong (Columbus, Ohio), 1975
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Luxembourg Gardens (Paris), 1974
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Oshun Prayer (New York, NY), 1973
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Outside Payphone (New York, NY), 1973
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Posing Bear, 1973
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Young Boy and Harlem Marching Band (Harlem, NY), 1973
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Harlem Boy (Harlem, NY), 1972
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Harlem Sight (Harlem, NY), 1972
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Kites Inside (Columbus, Ohio), 1972
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Prelude to Middle Passage (Île de Gorée, Senegal), 1972
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Setting out to Sea (Hoboken, NJ), 1972
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Two Pals (Hoboken, NJ), 1972
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West Indian Day Parade (Brooklyn, New York), 1972
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Young Hoboken Sisters (Hoboken, NJ), 1972
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Watching for Katherine Dunham, ca. 1988
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Steel Mill (August Moon Series)
Ming Smith was born in Detroit and lives and works in Harlem, New York. She received her BS from Howard University in 1973.
Smith became a photographer when she was given a camera at a young age. She was the first female member of Kamoinge, a collective of Black photographers that documented Black life in 1960s New York, and was the first Black woman photographer in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Smith's practice is a tale of five decades spent examining liminal spaces in daily life—moments in which figures blur, atmospheres alter, and souls manifest. Her photographic approach, marked by experimentation, adventure and attention to detail, is both scientific and celestial. Smith’s dedication to music, dance, and theater is evident throughout her work. Her documentation of many Black cultural figures, such as Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Nina Simone and Tina Turner, suggests her secondary roles as anthropologist, historian, and poet.
Selected solo shows include Ming Smith: On the Road, Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York (2024); Ming Smith: Feeling the Future, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX; Traveled to The International African American Museum, Charleston, SC (2023) and Projects: Ming Smith, Curated by Thelma Golden, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2023). Group shows include Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Traveled to Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Cincinnati Art Museum, OH, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (2020-2022); Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, Brooklyn Museum, New York; Traveled to Tate Modern, London, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, The Broad, Los Angeles, de Young Museum, San Francisco, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX (2017-2020); We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85, Brooklyn Museum, New York; Traveled to California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2017) and Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography, organized by Roxana Marcoci, curated by Sarah Meister and Eva Respini, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010). Smith’s work is in prominent collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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Ming Smith: On the Road
2 May - 15 Jun 2024Nicola Vassell is pleased to present Ming Smith: On the Road, a selection of photographs from the artist’s archive that encapsulates the arc of her exploratory impulses as she sought...Read more -
Rested
10 Nov 2021 - 8 Jan 2022Nicola Vassell Gallery is pleased to present Rested, a group exhibition exploring the body in varying degrees of ease, rest or inactivity. On view Nov 10 - Jan 8, Rested...Read more -
Ming Smith: Here For A Reason
29 Jun - 2 Jul 2021Ming Smith: Here For A Reason is a photographic series by Ming Smith introducing Jordan Brand’s largest active WNBA roster— an initiative which unlocks the power, possibility, and strength of...Read more -
Ming Smith: Evidence
20 May - 26 Jun 2021Evidence features a combination of rare, vintage silver gelatin and never-before-exhibited archival prints, spanning the arc of Smith's fifty-year career. The assembled pictures exemplify the artist's keen, enduring eye and...Read more
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Hyperallergic: Ming Smith Moving Through Shadows
Zoë Hopkins , Hyperallergic, May 21, 2024 -
The Guardian: Pioneering Black Photographer Ming Smith
Tim Adams, The Guardian, May 12, 2024 -
Family Style: Ming Smith—A Shine and a Song
Meka Boyle, Family Style, May 3, 2024 -
ArtReview: Ming Smith’s Radical Intuition
Jenny Wu, ArtReview, February 20, 2023 -
Ming Smith and Thelma Golden on the Art of Placemaking
Mara Veitch, Cultured Magazine, February 16, 2023 -
Pioneering Photographer Ming Smith on How She Found Freedom in Her Art, and the Power of Drawing on ‘Goddess Energy’
William Van Meter & Cadillac, Artnet News, February 6, 2023 -
Ming Smith: Projects featured in W Magazine 'All the Must-See Art Shows of 2023 (So Far)'
Maxine Wally , W Magazine, January 12, 2023 -
Ming Smith - Nicola Vassell
Chloe Wyma, Artforum, September 1, 2021 -
The Most Shocking Shifts of the Post-Pandemic Art World
Kelly Crow, The Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2021 -
Ming Smith captures the strength and sisterhood in women’s basketball
Megan Hullander, Document, June 29, 2021 -
Editors’ Picks: 8 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week
Nan Stewart, Artnet, June 28, 2021 -
Jordan Brand Partners With Largest Group of Jumpman WNBA Endorsees, Makes History
D'Shonda Brown, Essence, June 28, 2021 -
Stars and Symbols: Ming Smith At Nicola Vassell Gallery
Alexander R. Bigman, Art in America, June 23, 2021 -
Ming Smith captures the strength and sisterhood of the WNBA for Air Jordan
i-D, June 23, 2021 -
3 Gallery Shows to See Right Now
Martha Schwendener, The New York Times, June 23, 2021 -
JORDAN BRAND WELCOMES 8 MORE WNBA PLAYERS TO ITS ROSTER Marking the label’s largest female lineup ever.
Pauline De Leon, Hypebae, June 22, 2021 -
Electric Images: Ming Smith’s Transcendent Photography
Rachell Morillo, Hyperallergic, June 22, 2021 -
Strength, Fragility, and Beauty in the WNBA A new photo project from Nike’s Jordan Brand captures what makes the players
Devine Blacksher, The Cut, June 21, 2021 -
Ming Smith Photographs Michael Jordan, Women Basketball Players for Nike’s Jordan Brand
Sarah Douglas, ARTnews, June 21, 2021 -
Ming Smith's Lyrical Portrait of Black America
Miss Rosen, Huck, June 8, 2021 -
Your Concise New York Art Guide for June 2021
Cassie Packard and Dessane Lopez Cassell, Hyperallergic, June 8, 2021 -
Exhibition Review
COOPH, June 8, 2021 -
Dream-like states: Ming Smith's black and white photographs - in pictures
The Guardian, May 23, 2021 -
Ming Smith: Evidence Brings the Photographer's Perfect Ethereal Moments to a New Chelsea Gallery
Madison Reid, Vanity Fair, May 20, 2021 -
Ming Smith Brings Studio 54 Nostalgia to Nicola Vassell Gallery
Isiah Magsino, W Magazine, May 20, 2021 -
Nicola Vassell Gallery's inaugural exhibition spans Ming Smith's 50-year-career
Marigold Warner, British Journal of Photography, May 20, 2021 -
A Rare Black-Owned Art Gallery Lands in Chelsea
Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, May 18, 2021 -
On Ming Smith: A Life of Magical Thinking
Nicola Vassell, Gagosian Magazine, March 3, 2021 -
Art Whisperer Nicola Vassell To Open A Space of Her Own
Karen Wong, Cultured Magazine, January 26, 2021 -
Ming Smith’s Pioneering Excavations of Black Femininity
Yxta Maya Murray, The New Yorker, September 23, 2020 -
Ming Smith
Johanna Fateman, The New Yorker -
Ming Smith Evidence
TheGuide.Art
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Art Basel Miami Beach
8 - 10 Dec 2023Nicola Vassell is pleased to present The Blues, the gallery's first presentation in the Galleries sector at Art Basel Miami Beach . The group presentation...Read more -
Frieze Los Angeles
Ming Smith: The Things She Knows 16 - 19 Feb 2023Nicola Vassell Gallery is pleased to present The Things She Knows, a series of rare and new works by the photographer Ming Smith at Frieze...Read more