A collection of abstract sculptures, paintings, drawings and photographs, “David Smith Invents,” is showing now through May 15 at the Phillips Collection in Dupont Circle. Best known for his unique sculpture work, Smith worked primarily in upstate New York during the mid-20th century.

Several of Smith’s steel sculptures are the centerpieces of the exhibit rooms at the Phillips, but the other works featured in the exhibit are no less intriguing.

Originally from the Midwest, Smith moved to New York City as a young man and was fascinated by the work of modern sculptors and painters. Eventually, he purchased a farm in Bolton Landing, N.Y., a small town overlooking Lake George in the Adirondacks.

While the works in his exhibit at the Phillips were created at Bolton Landing, the influence of abstract and modernist art that Smith encountered in New York City is quite clear when looking at any of the two- or three-dimensional pieces in the exhibit.

One of the steel sculptures, “The Raven,” bears hardly any resemblance to the bird it professes to depict. I would never have even guessed that it was supposed to represent a bird had I not seen the title of the sculpture. It was difficult to tell what the sculpture was supposed to be or even if it was supposed to look like anything at all.

However, I did not consider the abstractness of “Raven III” to be a defect. Rather, it was consistent with the overall abstract tone of the exhibit. Upon walking into the gallery in which “David Smith Invents” is housed, I was keenly aware that I wasn’t going to be looking at a bunch of watercolor paintings of flowers or true-to-life portraits created with oil paint.

Rather, from the small paintings that appear to be just collections of aimless brushstrokes with no clear direction or coalescence to the giant “Auburn Queen” statue that Smith once installed at Bolton Landing, everything in the exhibit is perplexing.

As a result, there are two approaches that one can take as a viewer of the exhibit: the first is to try and figure out what each sculpture or painting is supposed to represent. With some of the sculptures, this was, at worst, a fun game to play and, at best, a veritable method for interpreting the work. For example, in one of Smith’s untitled paintings, I couldn’t help but see the shape of a dragonfly, though it may or may not have been his intention to portray this image.

In other cases, however, trying to see a real object depicted in a sculpture or painting would have been a fruitless exercise, or at least taking the works out of the context in which the artist intended them to be viewed. Interpreting the sculpture “Bouquet of Concaves” to be anything other than, well, a bunch of concave shapes, would seem to be imposing a form and name on something that wasn’t intended to have a form and a name.

The other approach that you can take when viewing this exhibit is just to simply appreciate Smith’s work for what it is and recognize the skill that must have been necessary for him to create the pieces he did. Though his works seem to lack a definable structure and be random collections of shapes, and to an extent they are, successful execution of such abstract art requires a vision and a plan. Transforming an abstract concept into a steel sculpture takes serious talent.

Though the sculptures, including “Raven III,” “Bouquet of Concaves,” “Zig III” and the “Tanktotem” series, are impressive, it would be a mistake to neglect Smith’s paintings and drawings in their favor.

Within the exhibit are several large works on canvas that echo the same abstract collections of shapes that the sculptures do. A number of the larger paintings were created with spray paint, giv

ing them a shiny veneer that adds to the unique flair of Smith’s work.

The smaller paintings are done with brushstrokes, but the strokes are broad and the paintings appear to be almost like a child’s finger-painting. Though I admired Smith’s vision and innovative use of spray paints on the larger canvases, these smaller works were probably my least favorite part of the exhibit. I didn’t see where the vision or artistry was in something that a toddler could have created, and little paintings with big, aimless brushstrokes were a letdown in an exhibit of abstract steel sculptures and giant spray paintings.

These pieces aside, I found “David Smith Invents” to be an intriguing and aesthetically pleasing exhibit in spite of how strange and perplexing it seemed to be at times. I sometimes find very abstract art to be disturbing. However, I visited this exhibit in the middle of a packed weekday, hoping to find some serenity during a taxing day, and I didn’t find Smith’s work to be at all upsetting or bothersome.

Contemplating the meaning of his pieces and immersing oneself in his quirky but beautifully depicted universe is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The exhibit may not be traditional, but it nonetheless shows great artistic prowess and is worth a visit.