Kiki Smith has been an influential figure in contemporary art since the 1980s, acclaimed for her multidisciplinary practice that probes the themes of embodiment and the natural world. Working across sculpture, printmaking, photography, drawing, and textiles, she continually expands her visual language through an ever-evolving range of materials and forms.
Smith has presented more than 25 solo museum exhibitions worldwide and participated in five editions of the Venice Biennale, most recently in 2017. Her many honors include election to both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as being named an Honorary Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 2017. In 2006, TIME Magazine recognized her among the "TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World."
Her awards include the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture (2000), the Edward MacDowell Medal (2009), the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award from Purchase College (2010), the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts (2013), and the International Sculpture Center's Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), among others. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at both New York University and Columbia University.