He has taught at the Visual Studies Workshop, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of Illinois.
In 1971, Smith returned to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to teach in the printmaking and photography departments at the invitation of Ken Josephson.
While continuing to teach, in 1974 Smith became an adjunct faculty member at Visual Studies Workshop, founded by curator and artist Nathan Lyons.
Keith Smith first met the artist and curator Nathan Lyons while in his second year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The largest work, a nude figure, was constructed entirely of copies of 8 ½ x 11 inch prints of sections of the model's body enlarged and transferred to fabric.
[5] Smith's 1966 photo-etching titled “Figure in a Landscape” was included in the landmark 1978 exhibition “Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960” at the Museum of Modern Art.
Curated by John Szarkowski, head of the Department of Photography, the show and accompanying catalogue featured the work of artists such as Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, Elliott Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, Stephen Shore, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg and Garry Winogrand, among others.
His artwork and books are often unconventional in form, incorporating stitching, cutouts, holes and string, along with text, collage, drawings and prints.