Some colleagues from the art world warned him about shooting an individual as ubiquitous as Kourtney, but Smith knew she had a side to her that deserved to come out: “She was willing to be vulnerable, as were all the people wound up in the show,” he said. “They wanted their vulnerability to be shown [and] to do these pictures as much as I did. Kourtney said, ‘I want to be in this...I’m amped, no boundaries, no walls up...’”

To dispel potential critiques from art-world detractors who might see his celebrity connections as an “easy in” at an L.A.-based gallery, Smith is hungry to take this, and future exhibits, on the road. “I would love to seek out galleries in other cities and may try to do a show in New York,” he says. “I want to be accepted in the art world, so I want New York to see this.”

It’s probably best not to underestimate Smith, given his roots at Herb Ritts’ side, not to mention the countless iconic images he’s created throughout his career. “To be honest, I started doing fine art,” Smith says. "I started doing celebrity work and I’ve been blessed to be doing that work, to make a living. Putting on shows is expensive! But now, it really feels like things are coming around full circle.”

And from what we see on the walls of De Re, it can’t come around soon enough.