Darryl Babatunde Smith

Darryl Babatunde Smith wearing a white blazer and a black shirt and standing in front of two pieces of ancient art in a room with yellow walls
Faculty

Fine Arts (BFA)

Artist. Classicist. Polyglot.

Biography

Philadelphia-based artist Darryl Babatunde Smith started making art as a way of interpreting foreign languages instead of translating them into English. He studied French, German and Latin in school before embarking on his long journey of self-studying ancient and modern Greek. He earned his BFA in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and his MFA in Drawing and Anatomy from the New York Academy of Art. Through Darryl’s knowledge of Latin and Greek, he immerses himself in antiquity. Smith uses Greco-Roman symbols and traditional Renaissance techniques, such as silverpoint drawing and egg tempera painting, to connect personal narratives with Greco-Roman ideologies and philosophies.

His works have been exhibited nationally in Philadelphia, Hillsdale and New York City—and internationally in Reykjavík, Iceland, and Athens, Greece. His recent solo exhibition, Ad manum, Ad dorsum, launched the exhibition series at the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.

Every line is a thought.

Experience

Smith has vast experience in lecturing and teaching. 

  • 2022: Adjunct assistant professor, University of the Arts

  • 2021: Art adjunct lecturer, Lehman College, CUNY, New York, New York

  • 2021: Lecturer, History of Anatomical Terminology, Studio Incamminati, Philadelphia

  • 2020: Anatomy of the Figure online course instructor, Fleisher Art Memorial, remote

  • 2020: Silverpoint Drawing online course instructor, ΔΚΒΣ Art, remote

  • 2020: Continuing education instructor, Renaissance Principles, Studio Incamminati, Philadelphia

  • 2020: Studio I and II instructor, West Nottingham Academy, Colora, Maryland

  • 2020: Postgraduate teaching assistant, Michael Grimaldi’s Advanced Artistic Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia

  • 2019: Guest critic, Painting Emphasis end-of-semester critiques, University of the Arts

Visit Darryl Babatunde Smith’s website.

Awards & Accolades

Smith has been recognized with numerous honors and awards.

  • Velvetpark Residency, Brooklyn, New York, 2022 

  • Eric Fischl ’66 Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program, West Nottingham Academy, Colora, Maryland, 2020 

  • Athena Standards Residency, Athens, Greece, 2019

  • Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi, Italy, 2019

  • Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna (SÍM), Reykjavík, Iceland, 2018

A painting of a male subject with a white body resembling a sculpture against a white background and a garland of green and white flowers around his neck and the subject has black skin and a lighter brown beard
Darryl Babatunde Smith, “Methion Eroti”
A painting of a male subject with a white body resembling a sculpture against a white background and the subject has brown skin
Darryl Babatunde Smith, “Mangling or to Pentheus”