“Terrestrial Celestial: Paintings by Anthony Smith, Jr.” featured two directions in the works of a Lehigh Valley-based artist in the David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, Baum School of Art, Allentown.

“Michelle Smiles Brighter Than the Sun” (2019; mixed media acrylic, 47 in. x 47 in.) is one of a series of solar galaxy paintings created during 2019 and 2020 displayed in the David E. Rodale Gallery.

“Each one of the pieces is named for a friend of mine that I consider family,” says Smith of the works inspired by photos taken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The work is named for fellow artist Michelle Neifert.

As with the planet and moon paintings in the series, the sun depicted in the work is built with multiple layers of under painting, paper and tape, as well as other materials, with the top layers of acrylic skillfully paint applied with a palette knife. “It’s a sandwich of a piece,” says the artist. Each work is 47-inches-square. “That’s what fits in my hatchback,” says Smith.

“It helps to center me when I get too much into my head,” says Smith of his landscapes and skyscapes. Examples of his other works, which he describes as “abstract narratives” take on serious, more deeply-introspective topics through mixed media.

The Banana Factory-based artist and educator received a B.A. in Fine Arts from Amherst College in 1999 and an M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Michigan in 2001. Smith has exhibited nationally and internationally and joined the Kutztown University faculty in fall 2024.

“Terrestrial Celestial: Paintings by Anthony Smith, Jr.,” David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, The Baum School of Art, 510 W. Linden St., Allentown. The exhibition concluded Sept. 28. Gallery hours: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday. 610-433-0032, https://www.baumschool.org/

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com