Much of Kiki Smith's work contemplates the body-- both human and animal--situated in the contexts of nature, society, and myth.

Smith creates both two- and three-dimensional forms, including sculptures that are cast from live models and real-life objects.

Smith's work often asks us to question the stories we tell about women, from legends and Biblical texts to subjects such as Little Red Riding Hood and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

In "Standing," pictured here, a bronze cast of a woman is atop a cement cast of a tree. Water flows from the woman's hands to fall over twelve feet onto pebbles at the foot of the tree. The woman's body is adorned with starfish in the shape of the constellation Virgo.

For more information on the life and work of Kiki Smith, try the following sources:

• Kiki Smith - Standing This site includes details of the sculpture shown above.
• Art 21: Kiki Smith From the PBS series Art 21: Art in the Twenty-first Century, this site includes a biography, interview, images, lesson ideas, and video clips of Smith at work.
• Kiki Smith Exhibition at UAM This site has images of Smith's 1994 installation at the University Art Museum at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
• Kiki Smith: Prints, Books & Things MoMA's fabulous site features an interactive Flash-animated guide to Smith's printed artwork, and is an excellent resource.
• The Body Transformed Canada's National Gallery presents a look at several of Smith's sculptures, focusing on her fascination with the human form.
• Kiki Smith The Journal of Contemporary Art features an interview with Smith.