Kiki Smith is an artist of international prominence whose career has thus far spanned three decades. Smith is a leading proponent of artists addressing philosophical, social, legal, and spiritual aspects of human nature.
Smith's work has been shown in numerous one-person exhibitions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada; the Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the International Center of Photography, New York. In 2003, the Museum of Modern Art, New York exhibited a survey of Smith's printed art, Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things. In 2005, Smith installed Homespun Tales: a tale of domestic occupation at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a museum house in Venice, Italy. The exhibition opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (November 19, 2005–January 29, 2006) and then traveled to the Walker Art Center (February 26–May 14, 2006); the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (July 22, 2006–September 24, 2006); and the Whitney Museum of American Art (November 16 through February 11, 2007). In 2000, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture awarded Smith with their prestigious Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, in 2005, and more recently, in 2012, received the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts.
Smith lives and works in New York, NY.