Kiki Smith is a German-born sculptor known for her works that deal with bodily themes, abjection, and sexuality. Born into a family of artists—her father was the Minimalist sculptor Tony Smith (American, 1912–1980), and her mother the opera singer Jane Lawrence Smith—she was raised in New Jersey. Smith attended the Hartford Art School in Connecticut before moving to New York City in the 1980s, where she became an active member in the East Village art scene.She uses a wide variety of materials to continuously expand and evolve a body of work that includes sculpture, printmaking, photography, drawing, and textiles. Smith has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions worldwide, and her work has been featured at five Venice Biennales, including the 2017 edition. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2017 was awarded the title of Honorary Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Previously, Smith was recognized in 2006 by Time Magazine as one of the "Time 100: The People Who Shape Our World.” Other awards include the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture in 2000; the 2009 Edward MacDowell Medal; the 2010 Nelson A. Rockefeller Award, Purchase College School of the Arts; the 2013 U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts, conferred by Hillary Clinton; and the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center, among others. She is an adjunct professor at NYU and Columbia University.
