Photo: Nina Subin / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Kiki Smith is an artist I find genuinely formidable. German-born in Nuremberg and American by life, she refuses to be boxed in, moving freely between sculpture, painting, photography, and illustration. From the late 1980s she confronted AIDS, feminism, sex, and regeneration head-on, and her recent work probes the human body's bond with nature, so across decades she has kept digging at the same root: what it means to be alive in a fragile body. Her Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is no mere decoration. I deeply respect artists who chase their own questions instead of the market's.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kiki Smith
- Name (Japanese)
- キキ・スミス
- Reading
- きき・すみす
- Born
- January 18, 1954 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Horse
- Origin
- Nuremberg, Middle Franconia, Germany
- Occupation
- sculptor / painter / photographer / illustrator / artist
2. Background
- High school
- Columbia High School
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | River Light; The Presence; The Spring; The Sound; The Water's Way | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Kiki Smith born?
Born January 18, 1954 (age 72).
Where is Kiki Smith from?
Kiki Smith is from Nuremberg, Middle Franconia, Germany.
What does Kiki Smith do?
Kiki Smith works as sculptor, painter, photographer, illustrator, artist.
What is Kiki Smith known for?
Notable works include River Light; The Presence; The Spring; The Sound; The Water's Way.
Sculptor — see all → · Painter — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.