Kiki Smith, born in 1954 in Nuremberg, Germany, emerged as a multifaceted practitioner whose career spans sculpture, printmaking, and installation art. Since moving to New York City in 1976, she has built an extensive body of work that engages with human physicality, mortality, and the natural world, often utilizing unconventional materials and diverse technical processes.
Artistic Foundations and Early Collaborations
The daughter of artist Tony Smith and actress Jane Lawrence, Smith moved to South Orange, New Jersey, in 1955. Her formal education included attendance at Columbia High School and an eighteen-month tenure at the Hartford Art School. Upon arriving in New York City, she joined the artist collective Collaborative Projects, or Colab, where she participated in experimental efforts such as the Cardboard Air Band and Potato Wolf broadcasts. Her early political engagement included the 1983 poster The Island of Negative Utopia, produced for the ABC No Rio space.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Investigation of the Human Body
Influenced by a brief period of training as an emergency medical technician in 1984, Smith began focusing on the anatomical structure of the human form. Her investigations into mortality were further prompted by the death of her father in 1980 and her sister Beatrice Smith in 1988. This work manifested in sculptures depicting hearts, lungs, livers, and spleens, as well as prints featuring bodily fluids intended to address social issues surrounding the AIDS crisis and women's rights.
Sculpture, Prints, and Commissions
Smith's portfolio includes significant public and site-specific commissions. Her first permanent outdoor sculpture was installed at the University of California, San Diego, in 1998. In 2010, she collaborated with architect Deborah Gans on a monumental window for the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Her 2022 output includes five large-scale mosaics at Grand Central Madison station: River Light, The Water's Way, The Presence, The Spring, and The Sound. Her printmaking career features a range of techniques, from early screen-printed apparel to the aquatint processes used in her 1999 Blue Prints series.
Large-Scale Installations and Media
Since the early 2010s, Smith has produced twelve 9 x 6 ft. Jacquard tapestries, which were exhibited collectively at the Palazzo Pitti in 2019. Her film work includes the 1984 super8 project Cave Girls, co-directed with Ellen Cooper. Smith's sculptural installations have been shown internationally, including the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005 and the 2010 Lodestar exhibition at the Pace Gallery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1954, Nuremberg, Germany
- Citizenship: United States and Germany
- Key mediums: Sculpture, printmaking, photography, illustration, painting
- Active collective: Collaborative Projects (Colab)
- 2015 Award: Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award
- Notable 2022 installations: Grand Central Madison mosaics
- Membership: Royal Academy of Arts, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Movement: Contemporary art and abject art
Questions readers ask
What themes does Kiki Smith explore in her work?
Her work addresses the themes of sex, birth, regeneration, mortality, and the physicality of the human body.
What is the significance of the 2022 Grand Central Madison works?
Smith created five giant mosaics for the station titled River Light, The Water's Way, The Presence, The Spring, and The Sound.
Achievements
- Notable work: River Light; The Presence; The Spring; The Sound; The Water's Way
- Movement: abject art and contemporary art
