{"data":{"id":"3383","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":3383,"topgoose_id":676,"tms_id":3383,"display_name":"Kiki Smith","sort_name":"Smith Kiki","display_date":"1954–","begin_date":"1954","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eSince the 1980s Kiki Smith has focused\nher art on the human body, creating\ntransgressive, often disturbing works that\ndeal with themes related to the life\ncycle—reproduction, decay, mortality, and\nregeneration—as well as the role of\nwomen in society. Smith’s work often aims\nto undermine customary modes of perceiving\nthe human body. As she remarked, “Most\nof the functions of the body are hidden or\nseparated from society; . . . we separate our\nbodies from our lives.” In her hand-wrought\nsculptures Smith explores corporeal\ntextures and functions using nontraditional\nmaterials such as hair, latex, beeswax, glass,\nand porcelain. \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/7646\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eUntitled\u003c/em\u003e,\u003c/a\u003e one of Smith’s\nearliest large-scale wax sculptures, consists\nof two life-sized figures, a man and a woman,\nsuspended from metal poles as though\nexhibited in a natural history museum or\nother site of public display. Although\nlife-giving secretions—milk and semen—drip\nfrom the woman and man, respectively, the\ntwo figures hang lifelessly, the areas of\nred-tinted wax gruesomely visible beneath\nthe outer layers of their skin suggesting\ninternal damage or dissolution.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOften, Smith fuses her interest in\nthe body with themes drawn from the\nBible and ancient mythology, as in \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/13668\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePieta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e.\nThis drawing, a self-portrait of the artist\nholding her deceased cat Ginzer, is based\non Christian depictions of the grieving\nVirgin Mary cradling the dead Christ in her\narms—a subject known as the \u003cem\u003epietà\u003c/em\u003e,\nfrom the Italian word for \u003cem\u003epity\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003edevotion\u003c/em\u003e.\nHere, Smith uses the familiar art-historical\nrepresentation to memorialize her own\ngrief and experience of loss. The delicate,\nslightly crinkled Nepalese paper on\nwhich the drawing is rendered emphasizes\nthe fragility of life and the intimate bond\nbetween the artist and her beloved pet.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500115982","wikidata_id":"Q447300","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:47:55.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-03-27T07:01:23.929-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/3383/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/3383/exhibitions"}}}}