Mimi Smith
dal 3/11/2010 al 22/12/2010
Segnalato da
3/11/2010
Mimi Smith
Anna Kustera, New York
An exhibition of work spanning the past six years by artist. Smith, an early maker of feminist art, has addressed clothing as sculpture throughout her career. Here the artist continues her explorations of sociopolitical imperatives-explicit or perceived-through a personalized history that constitutes not only her own life's totem, but a timeline of femininity itself.
Anna Kustera Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of work spanning the past six years by
influential artist Mimi Smith. Smith, an early maker of feminist art, has addressed clothing as
sculpture throughout her career. Here the artist continues her explorations of sociopolitical
imperatives-explicit or perceived-through a personalized history that constitutes not only her
own life's totem, but a timeline of femininity itself.
Far from being intimidated by stereotypical gender roles, Smith subverts female traditions such
as knitting, pregnancy and fashion with her intricate, handmade artifacts. Since the 1960s,
the artist has employed unconventional materials such as steel wool, knotted thread, and
yarn to create her memorable repertoire. For this, her fourth exhibition at the gallery, the artist
presents sculptures and drawings that reference women in the military, 9/11, and the fur
industry. Perhaps most significantly, the works on display are concerned with the somewhat
cruel process of aging, which of course, can feel very much like disappearing.
Smith's Endangered Species Coat (2007) is constructed of a symmetrical assemblage of plush
stuffed toys and might act as ironic protection from our harsh environment. The yarn babies in
the gallery recall her 1968 Knit Baby, a piece which arose from the aftermath of the artist's
miscarriage and came complete with instructions for knitting and stuffing one's own child.
Smith's more recent dolls exist in a contemporary world inundated with fertility drugs and
terrorism. Camouflage Maternity Dress (2004) is a direct re-imagining of the artist's
breakthrough piece entitled Maternity Dress (1966). Sporting an identical plastic dome as its
progenitor, the camouflage version draws further attention to the maternal bump that many
expectant women go to great lengths to conceal. Smith's see-through baby-viewer evokes
incubator and bomb shelter in equal measure. Clothing and Motherhood, within the scope
of Smith's investigations, are signifiers of womankind's collective fears, travails, transgressions
and triumphs.
Mimi Smith will be the subject of a survey exhibition at The Newark Museum in 2013. Her work
was included in the seminal exhibition, 'WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution', and has been
shown at the ICA in Philadelphia, the RISD Museum in Rhode Island, The Museum of
Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington,
DC, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, the Vancouver Art Gallery in Canada and
London's Hayward Gallery.
Image: Endangered Species Coat, 2007, Fabric, stuffed animals, buttons, hanger, 46 x 29 x 14 inches
Opening Reception, Thursday, November 4th, 6-8pm
Anna Kustera
520 West 21st Street 212, New York
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11-6pm
free admission