John Michael Kohler Arts Center exhibits more than 150 works by Dr. Charles Smith

One of America’s most powerful and under-recognized artists, Dr. Charles Smith expresses profound narratives about American and African-American history and culture through his sculptural figures. The largest museum exhibition to present his work, Dr. Charles Smith: Aurora, is on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center from July 14, 2019, through May 17, 2020. The exhibition focuses on more than 150 works that were part of a major installation at his home in Aurora, Illinois, from 1986 to 1999, which he titled The African-American Heritage Museum and Veterans Archive. The exhibition seeks to show the relevance of the artist’s work beyond its original setting. Most of the work has not been on public view since it was last seen in Aurora in 1999. Beginning in 1986, Dr. Smith set to work transforming the entirety of his home and studio and its surrounding property in Aurora. In the ensuing years, Dr. Smith made hundreds of