NEW YORK, NY.- Pace Gallery is presenting an exhibition of new works by Kiki Smith. Encompassing etchings, cyanotypes, contact prints, and sculptural works in bronze, aluminum, and silver, the exhibition underscores the truly multidisciplinary approach to art-making that Smith has pursued throughout her career. Embracing the power of figurative art, Smith’s recent work continues to advance her investigation of both the resonances and dichotomies between the natural and spiritual worlds. Kiki Smith: Murmur is on view from March 1 to 30, 2019 at 537 West 24th Street. A full color catalogue has been published in conjunction with the exhibition.
Drawing together approximately 20 works made over the last three years, Murmur marks the gallery’s eighth solo exhibition dedicated to the artist since she joined the gallery in 1994. The pieces span from the intimate to the large-scale, the delicate to the robust, and represent elements from the human, animal, and celestial worlds—an eagle resting in pines, a woman’s bust seemingly molded into a chopped tree, a series of shooting stars, a cloudburst, bees, oak leaves, birds, a spiraling nebula, and more. Notable highlights include Wave—a large-scale bronze sculpture, treated with a dark black patina, evoking the power of the ocean under the vibrancy of a night sky; and a nearly seven foot tall bronze sculpture, representing a woman’s face, surrounded by and infused with symbols of language and nature.
The exhibition envelops the viewer—sculptural pieces have been wall-mounted, hung from the ceiling, placed directly on the ground, and presented on plinths; works on paper have been installed in gridded groupings across the gallery’s walls; and, the rear room has been adorned with a large bronze fountain set on a woodland-inspired bed of stones. Running throughout the works in the exhibition are ideas of genesis, decay, rebirth, and the eternal cycles and ties between seasons, nature, and human life.
This year, Smith will be the subject of several major museum exhibitions worldwide. Originally organized by Haus der Kunst, the retrospective exhibition Procession will be presented at the Sara Hilden Art Museum, Finland, from February 8 – May 12, 2019, and at the Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria, from June 6 – September 15, 2019. An exhibition of Smith’s prints will be presented at Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, from February 14 – May 26, 2019; and she will be the subject of a solo-exhibition, What I Saw on the Road, at the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti from February 15 – June 2, 2019.
