Austin College Professor of Art Mark Smith has an exhibition of new paintings on display at Craighead Green Gallery in Dallas through April 3. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday afternoons, though visitors should check for specific hours before arriving. Smith encourages visitors, saying that he feels safe since the space is large so that everyone can observe COVID protocols. Masks are required.
Smith’s new Bobbin Series comes from his childhood and memories of his paternal grandmother, who raised him. When Mark was five, she taught him to sew, and he “learned about the magic, mystery and power of thread, bobbins, and beautiful old machines that hummed and made amazing patterns in colored lines that seemed to flow and float across the fabric surface like music coming from an open window.”
He turned to those solid memories when COVID-19 left the world a bit wobbly. His “Bobbin Series” is a homage to his grandmother, the art he learned from her, and her guidance in his life.
Smith, who holds the Craig Professorship in the Arts at Austin College, joined the College faculty in 1986.