Mark T. Smith (born 1968) is an

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Life and career

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, where he attended

Archmere Academy Archmere Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in Claymont, Delaware, United States. 514 students were enrolled for the 202021 academic year. The academy is co-educational and is run independently within the Roman ...

, Smith moved to New York City in 1986 to study at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

. After graduating from Pratt, he made New York City his home until June 2004, when he relocated to Miami. Fourteen years later, he moved to Oahu, Hawaii, for a year, and he eventually settled in Seattle in 2018, where he became a vice president of Coding Dojo, a training company. In 1990, Smith received his first commission from the Walt Disney Company, for a "Happy Birthday Walt Disney World" poster. Throughout his 20s, Smith made his living in New York City as an iconoclastic artist. He continued to receive corporate commissions. These included the 1996 national Absolut Vodka campaign entitled "Absolut Smith". In 2003 he made three paintings for Taco Bell, ''Drive Thru Man'', ''Mothman'', and ''Empty'', which were reproduced on stretched canvas to decorate the chain's restaurants; several copies have since been stolen, some offered for sale online after being taken during renovations. In 2002, he hand-painted a pair of PT Cruisers. One was auctioned for the charity

Operation Smile Operation Smile is a nonprofit medical service organization founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr. and his wife Kathleen (Kathy) S. Magee. It is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In addition to providing cleft lip and palate repair ...

after a promotional tour from New York City to

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, and the other, which was exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival, is in the

Walter P. Chrysler Museum The Walter P. Chrysler Museum was a car museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan, featuring historically significant vehicles designed and manufactured by Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Jeep, AMC, Nash, Hudson, and Rambler. It was in operation from O ...

’s permanent collection in Michigan. On a commission from the United States Olympic Committee, he created a dragon painting for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing that was displayed in the Olympic village. In 2009, Smith was chosen as the first artist to "Paint on Pink", painting on pink material recycled from the Pink Project, the art installation that launched

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

Make It Right Foundation New Orleans The Make It Right Foundation is a non-profit foundation founded by American actor Brad Pitt in 2007. The foundation was established to aid in the environmentally friendly rebuilding of houses in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katri ...

, to help New Orleans residents recover after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Sale of his artwork contributed to the project. Smith's art has been widely exhibited, in both solo and group exhibitions and is in the collections of celebrities including

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Influences and style

Smith's style has been compared to

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

and Willem de Kooning. He has said that he seeks to combine classic skills of drawing and painting with a modern sensibility influenced by graffiti art, hip-hop, and advertising in order to meaningfully integrate visual art into public life. He described the Taco Bell paintings as a homage to Maxfield Parrish.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mark T. 20th-century American painters American male painters Archmere Academy alumni 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists Living people 1968 births 20th-century American male artists Artists from Wilmington, Delaware