Born in Nuremberg in 1954, Kiki Smith is an artist of international prominence whose career has thus far spanned over three decades. Smith is a leading proponent of artists addressing philosophical, social, legal, and spiritual aspects of human nature. The artist lives and works in New York City. Smith is the 2009 recipient of the 50th Edward MacDowell Medal, and is also a recipient of the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture and the Athena Award for Excellence in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2005 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. Smith's work can be seen in public collections around the world.
In 2003 The Museum of Modern Art, New York exhibited a survey of Smith's printed art, Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things. In 2005, Smith was honoured with the retrospective A Gathering: 1980-2005 at The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; which toured to The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and La Coleccion Jumex, Mexico City. The same year, to coincide with the Venice Biennale 2005, Smith produced an intervention at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia entitled Homespun Tales.
In 2008, Smith produced Her Home, a site-specific installation in collaboration with Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Museum Haus Esters. The exhibition, which toured to Kunsthalle Nürnburg in altered form, travelled once more to Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona in Spring 2009.
