Overview
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Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields is a career survey and solo institutional debut for Miami artist Philip Smith. Curated by art historian Robin Clark, Magnetic Fields presents over 50 works spanning five decades of Smith’s expansive artistic career.
The exhibition unfolds across six gallery spaces at MOCA, with thematically organized environments that revolve entirely around Smith’s multifaceted pictographic language. Extending beyond conventional artistic practices, Smith explores metaphysical and spiritual themes through large-scale, vibrantly chromatic paintings.
Smith’s work traverses a spectrum of influences—from a childhood imbued with mystical and spiritual healing to ancient pictographs—creating a tapestry of personal and collective memory. Iconography derived from biology texts, diagrams, and Cold War spy manuals coexist in his compositions, offering not only a visual feast but also an energetic, intellectual dialogue.
At MOCA, the exhibition traces Smith’s artistic evolution. Early works from the Pictures era showcase his ambitiously-scaled drawings based on found images forming enigmatic, puzzle-like compositions. Another section, “Black Paintings,” draws from his studies of ancient cultures and mystery schools, and then into “Modern Paintings,” which overlay linear patterns with abstract geometries inspired by mid-century painters like Barnett Newman, Mark Tobey, and Jasper Johns.
The latter half of Smith’s career is represented through“ Color Paintings”, which feature crisp graphic imagery carved into bold, monochromatic fields, and “White Paintings” works, where erasures evoke both disappearance and emergence.
The exhibition culminates in Smith’s newest series, “Energy Paintings,” in which monumental canvases are uniquely activated with gestural and chromatic energy. These works synthesize elements from earlier series, radiating a fresh dynamism. Much like the earth’s magnetic field—generated by molten iron at its core and shielding the planet from harmful solar radiation—Smith’s “Energy Paintings” emit their own magnetism. Vibrant lines and cosmological symbols pulse across the canvases, drawing viewers into their powerful, protective embrace.
Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields will remain on view through October 5, 2025.
About the artist
Philip Smith (b. Miami, FL, 1952) is based in Miami. In his work, found images documented by Smith on slide film are used to create metaphysical narratives that explore new areas of consciousness. Art historical references, DNA strands, periodic tables, tarot cards, Cold War spy manuals, advertisements for home goods, and cartoon characters populate his imagery which is both cryptic and personal. While much of his earlier work seems mysteriously encoded, the most recent paintings convey a sense of openness and dynamism. They may be understood as generators of positive energy, or magnetic fields. Smith’s work has been collected by major museums including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Whitney Museum, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Perez Museum Art Museum, Miami. He is the author of a memoir, Walking Through Walls(Simon and Schuster, 2008).
Artist photo credit: Oriol Tarridas
About the curator
Robin Clark is a program director, curator, and educator focused on the imbrications of contemporary art, architecture, and the environment from a global perspective. She has held curatorial positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Saint Louis Art Museum; the Pulitzer Arts Foundation; and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. She led the Artist Initiative collection research program at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she also launched the museum’s first higher education program teaching from collections. Until recently a scholar in residence at the University of California, Berkeley, she currently manages the Parker Foundation art collection loan program in San Francisco, and is a contributor to the Josef Albers catalogue raisonné of paintings forthcoming from Yale University Press.
Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields is a career survey and solo institutional debut for Miami artist Philip Smith. Curated by art historian Robin Clark, Magnetic Fields presents over 50 works spanning five decades of Smith’s expansive artistic career.
The exhibition unfolds across six gallery spaces at MOCA, with thematically organized environments that revolve entirely around Smith’s multifaceted pictographic language. Extending beyond conventional artistic practices, Smith explores metaphysical and spiritual themes through large-scale, vibrantly chromatic paintings.
Smith’s work traverses a spectrum of influences—from a childhood imbued with mystical and spiritual healing to ancient pictographs—creating a tapestry of personal and collective memory. Iconography derived from biology texts, diagrams, and Cold War spy manuals coexist in his compositions, offering not only a visual feast but also an energetic, intellectual dialogue.
At MOCA, the exhibition traces Smith’s artistic evolution. Early works from the Pictures era showcase his ambitiously-scaled drawings based on found images forming enigmatic, puzzle-like compositions. Another section, “Black Paintings,” draws from his studies of ancient cultures and mystery schools, and then into “Modern Paintings,” which overlay linear patterns with abstract geometries inspired by mid-century painters like Barnett Newman, Mark Tobey, and Jasper Johns.
The latter half of Smith’s career is represented through“ Color Paintings”, which feature crisp graphic imagery carved into bold, monochromatic fields, and “White Paintings” works, where erasures evoke both disappearance and emergence.
The exhibition culminates in Smith’s newest series, “Energy Paintings,” in which monumental canvases are uniquely activated with gestural and chromatic energy. These works synthesize elements from earlier series, radiating a fresh dynamism. Much like the earth’s magnetic field—generated by molten iron at its core and shielding the planet from harmful solar radiation—Smith’s “Energy Paintings” emit their own magnetism. Vibrant lines and cosmological symbols pulse across the canvases, drawing viewers into their powerful, protective embrace.
Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields will remain on view through October 5, 2025.
About the artist
Philip Smith (b. Miami, FL, 1952) is based in Miami. In his work, found images documented by Smith on slide film are used to create metaphysical narratives that explore new areas of consciousness. Art historical references, DNA strands, periodic tables, tarot cards, Cold War spy manuals, advertisements for home goods, and cartoon characters populate his imagery which is both cryptic and personal. While much of his earlier work seems mysteriously encoded, the most recent paintings convey a sense of openness and dynamism. They may be understood as generators of positive energy, or magnetic fields. Smith’s work has been collected by major museums including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Whitney Museum, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Perez Museum Art Museum, Miami. He is the author of a memoir, Walking Through Walls(Simon and Schuster, 2008).
Artist photo credit: Oriol Tarridas
About the curator
Robin Clark is a program director, curator, and educator focused on the imbrications of contemporary art, architecture, and the environment from a global perspective. She has held curatorial positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Saint Louis Art Museum; the Pulitzer Arts Foundation; and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. She led the Artist Initiative collection research program at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she also launched the museum’s first higher education program teaching from collections. Until recently a scholar in residence at the University of California, Berkeley, she currently manages the Parker Foundation art collection loan program in San Francisco, and is a contributor to the Josef Albers catalogue raisonné of paintings forthcoming from Yale University Press.
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