Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith (* 18. ledna 1954 Norimberk) je americká výtvarnice. Je dcerou amerického sochaře Tonyho Smithe a operní pěvkyně a herečky Jane Lawrence. Narodila se v Norimberku, ale již v roce 1955, před narozením svých sester, umělkyně Seton a herečky Beatrice, se rodina odstěhovala do New Jersey. V letech 1974 až 1975 studovala na Hartfordské škole umění v Connecticutu a v roce 1976 se usadila v New Yorku, kde působila v umělecké skupině Colab (Collaborative Projects), s níž měla v roce 1980 výstavu nazvanou The Times Square Show. První samostatnou výstavu (Life Wants to Live) měla v roce 1982 v prostoru The Kitchen na Manhattanu. V pozdějších letech měla desítky dalších výstav, její díla byla k vidění mj. na Whitney Biennial (1991, 1993, 2002), Biennale di Venezia (1993, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2017) a v Sanfranciském muzeu moderního umění (2005). V roce 2016 měla společnou výstavu se svou sestrou. V 80. letech natočila ve spolupráci s Ellen Cooper super8mm film Cave Girls. V roce 2022 vytvořila pět velkých mozaik pro interiér železniční stanice Grand Central Madison v New Yorku.
## Early Life and Education
Smith's father was artist Tony Smith (American, 1912–1980), and her mother was actress and opera singer Jane Lawrence Smith. Although her work takes a very different form than that of her parents, early exposure to her father’s process of making geometric sculptures allowed her to experience Modernism's formal craftsmanship firsthand. Her childhood experience in the Catholic Church, combined with a fascination for the human body, shaped her artwork conceptually.
## Colab and Initial Artistic Exploration
Smith joined Collaborative Projects (Colab), an artist collective operating on the fringes of the established art world, in 1976. Colab provided a fertile ground for experimentation, encouraging unconventional materials and radical approaches to art-making. This immersion into the vibrant, often chaotic energy of the East Village scene liberated Smith from traditional constraints, allowing her to explore themes previously considered taboo or marginalized.
## Body Art and AIDS Awareness
Prompted by her father’s death in 1980, and the subsequent death of her sister Beatrice “Bebe” Smith, due to AIDS in 1988, Smith began an ambitious investigation of mortality and the physicality of artmaking. Her sculptural explorations focused on confronting themes of vulnerability, resilience, and societal stigma—particularly concerning the AIDS crisis. She utilized materials like silicone bronze and forged steel to create figures that challenged conventional notions of beauty and representation.
## Major Works and Recognition
Throughout her career, Smith consistently pushed boundaries, creating works that are both deeply personal and universally resonant. Her sculptures were exhibited at prestigious institutions worldwide, earning her numerous awards and honors, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is recognized as a pivotal figure whose unflinching exploration of challenging subjects has profoundly influenced feminist art, contemporary sculpture, and our understanding of the human condition.
