Smith, Kiki. (b. 1954). Flying Creatures, 1998.
Complete set of six lithographs from the American artist's series Flying Creatures, which includes individual pieces titled Bat, Bee, Bird, Fly, Moth, and Squirrel. Glassine collage printed on wove paper, each signed "Kiki Smith, 1998" in pencil to lower right margin. In very fine condition, with original paper folders. Each 17 x 19.75 inches (42 x 50 cm.).
"In the second half of the 1990s the focus of Kiki Smith's printmaking shifted from the human body to the bodies of birds and animals, and to exploring humanity's relationship with other earthly creatures. She often sketched directly from dead and stuffed specimens (some deliberately sought out in natural history museums, some encountered in ordinary life), depicting them isolated on blank backgrounds that directed attention to their form and symbolic resonance rather than to their environment. During this period, Smith began a prolific collaboration with the New York etching workshop of Harlan & Weaver. She found the delicate line attainable with etching ideal for the depiction of feathers and fur." (Judith B. Hecker, Kiki Smith: Natural Etchings, Museum of Modern Art, 2003.)
"She also felt that the focus on the body had reached such a level of intensity that it left very little room for artistic experimentation. Smith decided that it was time to move beyond her longtime subject and expand her interests to include the animal world and the landscape. She thinks of nature as a "free space" because, like the body, it has been devalued in this century in favor of culture and is therefore a relatively unexamined subject in recent art. Smith enjoyed a renewed sense of freedom and possibility for her work, tempered by the knowledge that the fate of humankind is intimately interconnected with the health of the environment and that we all may be vulnerable." (Helaine Posner, Kiki Smith, 1998 Little Brown & Company, p. 26)
Smith, Kiki. (b. 1954). Flying Creatures, 1998.
Complete set of six lithographs from the American artist's series Flying Creatures, which includes individual pieces titled Bat, Bee, Bird, Fly, Moth, and Squirrel. Glassine collage printed on wove paper, each signed "Kiki Smith, 1998" in pencil to lower right margin. In very fine condition, with original paper folders. Each 17 x 19.75 inches (42 x 50 cm.).
"In the second half of the 1990s the focus of Kiki Smith's printmaking shifted from the human body to the bodies of birds and animals, and to exploring humanity's relationship with other earthly creatures. She often sketched directly from dead and stuffed specimens (some deliberately sought out in natural history museums, some encountered in ordinary life), depicting them isolated on blank backgrounds that directed attention to their form and symbolic resonance rather than to their environment. During this period, Smith began a prolific collaboration with the New York etching workshop of Harlan & Weaver. She found the delicate line attainable with etching ideal for the depiction of feathers and fur." (Judith B. Hecker, Kiki Smith: Natural Etchings, Museum of Modern Art, 2003.)
"She also felt that the focus on the body had reached such a level of intensity that it left very little room for artistic experimentation. Smith decided that it was time to move beyond her longtime subject and expand her interests to include the animal world and the landscape. She thinks of nature as a "free space" because, like the body, it has been devalued in this century in favor of culture and is therefore a relatively unexamined subject in recent art. Smith enjoyed a renewed sense of freedom and possibility for her work, tempered by the knowledge that the fate of humankind is intimately interconnected with the health of the environment and that we all may be vulnerable." (Helaine Posner, Kiki Smith, 1998 Little Brown & Company, p. 26)