Kiki Smith can be considered the iea’s first resident artist. She first came to Alfred in 1995 for a three-week residency, at a time the iea did not formally exist, and instead was hosted by the iea’s predecessor; the Electronic Arts Initiative. She worked extensively on numerous photo-lithographs and etchings. A few of these were incomplete unfinished editions until she returned in 1999 as an iea resident artist. It was also at this time that she made her first fully digital prints. Kiki Smith again returned to the iea in April of 2013 and focused on generating digital images for prints that she planned to continue to work on at her studio in New York. The prints are made of images of her hands holding various natural objects, including mica, seashells, potatoes, and eggs.

Smith’s work is about the human body, exploring themes of reproduction, mortality, and bodily change through processes such as aging or giving birth. Smith is a prolific printmaker, photographer, and sculptor. A major retrospective of Smith’s prints and multiples was held at the Museum of Modern Art in 2003 and at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis in 2005. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate Gallery.

Hand with Mica, 2013
Artist Proof – on Museum Etching, 24 x 16”

Hand with Potato, 2013
Artist Proof – on Museum Etching, 24 x 16”

Hand with Owl, 2013
Artist Proof – on Museum Etching, 24 x 16”

Hand with Egg, 2013
Artist Proof – on Museum Etching, 24 x 16”

Hand with Shell, 2013
Artist Proof – on Museum Etching, 24 x 16”