Most visitors to Doha will see Tony Smith’s black Smoke sculpture, as it has a prominent location at the entrance to the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. Take a moment to visit Smoke as you walk around the West Bay area.
Walk under the 24-foot (7-meter) sculpture and note its many geometric patterns. Numerous hollow tubes connect on eight supporting sections in two tiers. Walls of the tubes are connected triangles. In all, the assembled piece has five tetrahedrons and 45 octahedrons. Each linear section was delivered as a separate piece. During on-site assembly, workers climbed inside the narrow spaces to bolt the pieces together, giving it a seamless appearance.
This aluminum installation is based on the original Smoke artwork created in 1967 by American artist Tony Smith. Its impressive appearance earned it a cover that year on Time magazine. Another version is installed in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Understand Smith’s fascination with geometrics and patterns as you gaze at Doha’s version. Although the structure is painted black, its surface reflects the lights of the sky and shows shadows, making the shapes stand out even more.
Smoke was built in 2010 and installed in Doha in 2015. It is one of many large public artworks brought to the region by Qatar Museums. Look for some of the others including César's Pouce, a giant thumb in the Souq Waqif The Challenge 2015 by Ahmed Al Bahrani, with giant hands reaching from the ground in Lusail to grip a soccer ball The Miraculous Journey at Sidra Medical Center, Damien Hirst’s 14-piece depiction of the miracle of birth and the giant yellow Lamp Bear by Urs Fischer at Hamad International Airport.
Find the Smoke sculpture in Doha’s West Bay neighborhood. It is most easily reached by riding the subway to the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) station. Exit to the street level and gaze out through the open polygons of the artwork to see the buildings of Doha’s skyline. Walk around the West Bay area for excellent shopping, dining and cultural experiences.
