For over three decades, Charlotte and surrounding communities have benefited from Emily and Zach Smith’s tireless dedication to improving the cultural infrastructure of our region. Through their patronage and extensive service on various boards including the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, The Mint Museum, Opera Carolina, and Penland School of Crafts, to name a few, their investment in our community has touched the lives of countless individuals.
This intimate display of works illuminates a decidedly more personal side of the couple’s relationship to art––one that has enriched and informed their life together. The small landscape painting on view here by North Carolina artist Claude Howell (1915 - 1997) was selected jointly even before their marriage. It was an auspicious beginning for lives that would be bound by a devotion to family, community, and the arts.
As for their own personal taste in visual art, the Smiths confess a shared love of color. Works by Pop artists Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Wayne Thiebaud play alongside geometric abstractions by Peter Halley, Sol Lewitt, and Sean Scully––vibrant color binding each creative voice into the collectors’ unified vision. This exhibition is organized by The Mint Museum.
