Kiki Smith at MO.CO. in Montpellier: The body, from the intimate to the cosmos

“The MO.CO. is not there to defend a unique artistic line, but on the contrary to bear witness to this extraordinary extent of contemporary art”told us Numa Hambursin, the director of the art center, before the presentation of the summer exhibition dedicated to Kiki Smith. Being here | Now | Everywhere follows the major collective exhibition linked to artists who have worked directly or indirectly with the Montpellier School of Fine Arts. After the multitude, this monograph allows us to present the work of the American artist, born in Germany in 1954. Prepared in close collaboration with her, the exhibition brings together more than a hundred works covering forty years of creation.

A journey without hierarchy

Through its multiple rooms, the tour clearly reflects a multidisciplinary work which is expressed through painting, sculpture, engraving, photography and even drawing, driven by the refusal of any hierarchy between materials (bronze, Nepalese paper, Jacquard tapestry) and between beings. A central subject emerges: the body. The public first apprehends the social body, as a sign of identity and culture, then the anonymous body through sculptures emphasizing posture and the common human condition. Further on, the anatomical fragments interact with heritage objects from the collections of the University of Montpellier. In the last rooms, the visitor explores animality and the relationships between humans, living things and the environment. opening up to a celestial and spiritual dimension, conducive to reflection on the invisible and cosmic links.

From flesh to constellations

In Kiki Smith, there is a permanent shift between anatomical interiority and the relationship with nature. The first pieces made of Nepalese paper, a diaphanous support which lets light pass through, contribute to the porosity of the bodies. The female nude is omnipresent and then coexists with wildlife in monumental Jacquard tapestries. In the latter, very colorful, we find this absence of hierarchy: a naked body, male or female, floats in complete symbiosis with hares, a giant snake, clovers or sparkling constellations against a backdrop of mountains. More disturbing, a sculpture shows a woman given birth by a doe. If humans connect to nature, they are also linked to the universe. The most monumental work represents a child’s silhouette in dark bronze, leaning against a wall dotted with dozens of starfish or golden stars fixed on a white wall. This motif of the constellation is visible in several pieces, like this sculpture forming a broken line enhanced with small golden stars. The feminine silhouette is also available in a textured high relief dotted with stars.

For Kiki Smith, we must “domesticate our interior” in order to then tame the immensity of the cosmos. This spiritual journey comes to life thanks to the power of craftsmanship and “doing”, celebrating a total symbiosis where the fragmentary finally joins the universal.