Kiki Smith

June 13 to September 29, 1996

From June 13 to September 29, 1996, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts devoted an exhibition to contemporary artist Kiki Smith.

For the past fifteen years, the art of Kiki Smith has focussed on the human body and its internal organic functions,fluids and secretions. Her approach is full of respect for the complex functioning of the body. An indispensable life support suppressed by social, cultural and religious constraints, the body is fragile and unpredictable, but also powerful.

The exhibition presented at the Museum included more than fifty pieces. The choice of sculptures, installations and drawings was guided by a desire for detachment, rationality and scientific analysis. These works in wax, wool, paper, glass, bronze and terra-cotta were created between 1983 and 1996. Visitors discovered corporal elements such as Tongue and Hand (1985), Hands with Eyes (1994) and Bloodline (1995), drawings such as Uterus Drawings (1988), Avebury Drawings (1995), an installation entitled Tears and the wall sculpture Ice Man (1995-1996).

Given Kiki Smith's growing reputation in the world of contemporary art, the Museum decided to introduce her to a larger public through a retrospective. This initiative follows a tradition of several humanist exhibitions presented at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts featuring the works of artists such as Antony Gormley, the Symbolist painters, Duane Hanson and Modigliani.

In the spring of 1997, the exhibition will be presented at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, Texas.

Who Is Kiki Smith?

Born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1954, Kiki Smith has been living in New York since 1976. After her first solo exhibition in 1983, she was invited to exhibit her work in galleries and museums in Bonn, Stockholm, Vienna, Tel Aviv, London and Washington. She has also taken part in several group exhibitions in the United States and Europe.

Kiki Smith has been a presence on the Montreal scene, where she is represented by the René Blouin Gallery, since 1989. Her reputation in the world of contemporary art continues to grow.