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Kiki Smith

KIKI SMITH

Flight Galerie Lelong 21 May–11 July 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
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Press Release

Kiki Smith is a multidisciplinary artist, working in sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, objects, stained glass and tapestry. Her body of work has developed with remarkable coherence for over four decades. Far from fragmenting her output, this diversity of media instead reveals a strong underlying theme that runs through her practice: the continuity and unity of life. Humans, animals and plants are linked in an unbroken chain, stretching from the microcosm of the cell to cosmic infinity. A thread that the artist can draw from observing the bark of birch trees near her home, the pigeons in Manhattan’s parks, a full moon and the Milky Way, but also from reading Lewis Carroll, an anatomy book, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, tales and legends... From all this, with utter sincerity—because she cannot do otherwise, she says—she crafts and weaves a visual narrative that grows ever stronger and richer with time.

This exhibition marks the artist’s tenth show at Galerie Lelong, the continuation of a 25-year collaboration. It brings together bronze sculptures, two large stained-glass windows, drawings and an imposing print. The artist has chosen the title ”FLIGHT”. It therefore comes as no surprise to find birds with multiple symbolic meanings in this exhibition: majestic eagles, messenger doves and clairvoyant owls. As is often the case with Kiki Smith, nature acts as a mirror for humanity. The artist projects the feelings that drive her—fears, desires or dreams—onto these animal figures.

Kiki Smith was born in 1954 in Germany. She has lived and worked in New York since the 1970s. Her work is featured in numerous collections, including those of MoMA, New York; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Britain, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

A major exhibition, Être ici | Maintenant | Partout, will be dedicated to her from June 13th at MO.CO. in Montpellier.

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Installation Views

Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
Exhibition view: Kiki Smith, Flight, Galerie Lelong (21 May–11 July 2026). Courtesy Galerie Lelong.
About the Artist

Kiki Smith was born in 1954 in Nuremberg, Germany. She lives and works in New-York.

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Also Exhibiting at Galerie Lelong

All Exhibitions
Paula Rego
PAULA REGO Drawing from Life Galerie Lelong 21 May–11 July 2026 38 Avenue Matignon, Paris
Eduardo Chillida
EDUARDO CHILLIDA Estampes choisies Galerie Lelong 21 May–11 July 2026 13 Rue de Téhéran, Paris
About the Gallery
Galerie Lelong is located in Paris and New York. It was founded by Jacques Dupin, Daniel Lelong and Jean Frémon.

The Paris gallery has been exhibiting recent works from artists of international standing since 1981. The 1980s were notable for artists who went on to become household names, including Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Eduardo Chillida, Paul Rebeyrolle, Pierre Alechinsky, but also for the next generation of artists: Konrad Klapheck, Jan Dibbets, Donald Judd, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Jannis Kounellis, Arnulf Rainer, Nicola De Maria and Jan Voss.

In the 1990s, the gallery hosted artists who represented major movements in contemporary art: Sean Scully, Günther Förg, Andy Goldsworthy, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Antonio Saura. The gallery also increased international recognition of the work of Ana Mendieta.

Since the turn of the century, Galerie Lelong has accentuated the geographical and expressive diversity of its artists: from sculpture and objects by Jaume Plensa, David Nash, Wolfgang Laib, Kiki Smith, Rebecca Horn, Barry Flanagan to installations by Barthélémy Toguo and Lin Tianmiao, without forgetting painting, namely David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Kate Shepherd, Nalini Malani, Nancy Spero, Juan Uslé, Leon Kossoff.

Galerie Lelong has a large publishing department which produces and distributes engravings, lithographs, digital prints and multiple objects, and collates these works in catalogues raisonnés.

It produces monumental sculptures to order for public spaces and private clients.

The gallery is present at the leading international contemporary art fairs (Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel Hong Kong, Fiac Paris, Frieze London, Frieze New York, Arco Madrid, Art Brussels, Expo Chicago...).

The directors of the gallery are Jean Frémon, Daniel Lelong and Patrice Cotensin in Paris and Mary Sabbatino in New York.
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Address
13 rue de Téhéran
Paris
France
Opening Hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
(1)
Paris 13 rue de Téhéran
Galerie Lelong contemporary art gallery in 13 Rue de Teheran Paris France
Galerie Lelong
13 rue de Téhéran, Paris, France
+33 145 631 319
http://www.galerie-lelong.com

Opening hours
Tues - Fri, 10.30am - 6pm
Sat, 2pm - 6.30pm
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