2021 PEW FELLOWSHIP recipient

With no formal training in art or architecture he uses a natural ability to gauge perspective and scale without measuring tools. Germantown artist Kambel Smith, currently curated by the Marlborough Museum builds large-scale, intricate sculptures of historical buildings out of cardboard collected from trash. His ability to see and recreate scale quickly propelled him into the world of fine art.

Kambel's pieces have sold for upwards of $25,000 and have been purchased by the American Folk Art Museum, The West Collection, and various private investors including a Texas collector who purchased his sculpture of the Philadelphia Eagles Lincoln Financial Field for an undisclosed amount.   

I don't remember the most defining moment of my life, but one thing that's very clear is how angry I was. Maybe the anger is the reason why I can't recall what happened, but my father believes it was the moment that saved my life. 

In my bedroom, he found a pile of crumpled papers. They were drawings expressing my view of the world through actual enemies in battle with superhumans I created to help me fight them. I hid the drawings because they symbolized the world that would not accept me, but for my father they uncovered a talent that would ultimately change my life. 

He began to create stories about the characters in my drawings. Those stories opened up a whole new world for me. In the years following, we created dozens of new characters, published four novels, created an animated motion picture, and accumulated over 400 paintings and drawings, but little did I know this was just the beginning of my artistic journey.