Championing women artists has become a trend. A trend that has brought us a flurry of exhibitions globally, honouring female artists who have been left out of the picture far too long. Be it the Baroque star Artemisia Gentileschi, the sidelined women Impressionists Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, or the forgotten female artists of Modernist Vienna - they are now slowly getting the appreciation they deserve.
In that vein the Belvedere Museum in Vienna hosted a retrospective of contemporary American artist Kiki Smith this summer. Her work had caught my eye a while ago as it was featured on several websites I follow. I was therefore delighted to see this major presentation - encompassing over 30 years - of her work, just before it closed on 15th September.
The show - titled 'Procession' - arrived in Austria after successful runs in Munich, Germany and Tampere, Finland.
'Procession' showcased Smith's versatility, both in the subjects she tackles as well as the materials she uses. Apart from the obvious media like bronze, plaster, glass and porcelain, she also uses less traditional materials like latex, feathers, hair and beeswax. There were about 60 pieces covering her oeuvre from her artistic beginnings in the 1980s, leading up to her most recent works. Although the focus of the exhibition was on sculpture, it also included monumental drawings on beautiful Nepalese paper, etchings and lithographs and - my personal favourite - a set of twelve electronically woven tapestries.
This tapestry set, exhibited for the first time in its entirety in Europe, was inspired by the medieval Apocalypse Cycle tapestries; yet, the subject of Smith's set is 'creation' rather than annihilation. Adam and Eve and the snake, other fauna, and flora, mountains and stars fill the planes of these tapestries in a kaleidoscopic harmony of tones in Jacquard weaves. The tapestries are eye-catching in their monumentality but invite you also to come up close and discover the details - at times accentuated by gold leaf appliqué or paint, like in the piece entitled 'Spinners'.
Smith's work tells her life story and expresses her philosophy, it represents her "intellectual universe". She comments on social, political and cultural aspects of the human race, without worrying about taboos or "crossing borders of shame". It is all there: the AIDS epidemic in the 80s, the discussion about sexuality, gender, feminism, interspersed with traces of mythology and fairy tales.
In her approach to many of these themes Smith has produced her trademark body-part art. The way she explores and represents the human body is provocative. She enters anatomy and separates the individual parts from the whole. This happens at times in a fascinatingly gory way, like in the installation of twelve silver-coated jars that are labelled, for example, 'tears', 'sweat', 'blood', 'vomit', 'milk', 'sperm', among other bodily fluids.
The female body is prioritised and Smith's sculptures exude the vulnerability still felt by women in today's world, often evoking strong emotional reactions in the viewer.
When she depicts animals, her love and respect for them and all things 'nature' come through very clearly. One poignant installation is 'Jersey Crows' where she commemorates 26 crows that became victims of pesticides and fell dead from the skies of New Jersey. The fragile state of the natural world emerges consistently in Smith's work and she condemns any "exploitation of nature that speaks to one".
The Belvedere website tells us that the title of the exhibition, 'Procession' is derived from the latin word 'procedere' meaning 'to march forward'. It alludes to Kiki's entire oeuvre and the path she has taken during her prolific career. Yet for me 'Procession' also serves as a metaphor for another meaning of 'procedere', which is 'to carry on' - as "carrying on" is what women have been doing since time immemorial, most often without even expecting or waiting for recognition of their work and achievements.
Do have a closer look at the Belvedere website where you will find a number of interesting short videos about the exhibition to watch.
As usual please click on the pictures in the gallery to get a better view and find more information about the artworks in the captions.