Kiki Smith
American, born Germany, 1954
Mortal, 2007
Artwork Details
Materials
portfolio of twelve woodcuts
Edition:
6/13
Measurements
each (sheet): 22 3/4 x 28 1/2 inches (57.78 x 72.39 cm)
Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum
Credit
Elisabeth H. Gates Fund, by exchange and Charles W. Goodyear Fund, by exchange, 2010
Accession ID
P2010:14a-l
Kiki Smith’s work often explores mortality, bodily dissolution, and decay. Mortal is a series of twelve woodcut etchings recording the end of her mother’s life. The work's raw edginess recalls the numerous woodcut prints created by artists associated with German Expressionism in the first half of the twentieth century. Smith, however, has imbued her images with a delicacy that pays tribute to grief and the act of dying. The figure emerges as a negative image in fine lines from a dark ground that seems to reflect the frailty of human life in its final stages.
Label from One Another: Spiderlike, I Spin Mirrors, March 7–June 1, 2014
