Kiki Smith: The Body, Vulnerability, and Identity

Kiki Smith1954– | American | Sculpture, Screenprints, Body Art, Drawings

The daughter of sculptor Tony Smith, Kiki Smith trained briefly as a medical technician. She is best known for her explorations of bodily fluids—blood and saliva. She either displays these in jars or pours them over sculptures of female and male wax figures that seem to drip secretions. The underlying agenda for this need to play with abjection is not clear.

Kiki Smith, Cathedral Layout, 2012 Photo: Ian Densford, Courtesy Pace Gallery

KEY WORKS: Untitled (Train), 1994 (Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art)