Kiki Smith and the museum focus on the body at MO.CO. Montpellier
Published on 08/26/2026 at 16:34 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Kiki Smith stands at the center of a large monographic exhibition at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain in France. As a detailed press release by Communicart for MO.CO. outlines, the show surveys more than forty years of work and runs from June 13 to October 11, 2026.Communicart press release for MO.CO.
The monographic show in Montpellier
The MO.CO. exhibition occupies around 1,500 square meters across three floors, a scale that underlines the institutional weight of Smith’s practice.Communicart press release for MO.CO. The curators develop a narrative that threads through different periods rather than strictly chronological hanging.
According to a free-access report by Le Monde, the exhibition presents roughly 150 works from 1983 to the present, moving back and forth between early and recent pieces across the museum’s three levels.Le Monde culture article on MO.CO. This structure situates Smith’s long-running motifs of the body, animals and myth in a wide temporal field.
Museum & collection focus on the body
MO.CO. positions Smith’s work in dialogue with historic medical collections from the University of Montpellier, integrating anatomical waxes and models into the exhibition architecture.Heni Art News newsletter This pairing underscores how her sculpture, drawings and textiles probe the body not only as flesh but as cultural and scientific construct.
The institutional framing also extends beyond Montpellier. Pace Gallery notes that works by Smith are included in the drawing-focused exhibition Contemporary Drawings: Florence and Daniel Guerlain’s Donation and Gifts to Centre Pompidou at the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga from July 25 to November 1, 2026, marking another museum context this season.Pace Gallery artist page
All news and background on Kiki Smith
For further reporting on Kiki Smith’s exhibitions, museum projects and market data, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers continuously updated coverage.
The work core around bodies and animals
Smith’s practice spans sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, tapestry and glass, with the human body and non-human animals as recurring figures. Le Monde emphasizes how she approaches animals as mirrors of our fears and desires, rather than simply symbolic props.Le Monde culture article on MO.CO.
Where the artist stands now
Against this backdrop, Kiki Smith’s work is currently on view in the monographic exhibition at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain running through October 11, 2026, alongside other museum presentations this season in Riga.
Key facts on Kiki Smith
- Artist: Kiki Smith
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture, drawing, printmaking and installation with a focus on the human body and animals
- Born: 1954, Nuremberg, Germany
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in New York City
- Active since: Late 1970s, with wider recognition in the 1980s and 1990s
- Key work groups: Untitled (Body), Tidal, Moon, Blue Girl
- Current/last exhibition: Being Here | Now | Everywhere, MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain, June 13, 2026 to October 11, 2026
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), Tate (London)
- Awards: Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture (2000), Edward MacDowell Medal in Visual Arts (2009), U.S. State Department Medal of Arts (2013)
- Next date: Exhibition run at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain through October 11, 2026
Frequently asked questions about Kiki Smith
Where is Kiki Smith currently on view in a major museum exhibition?
Smith’s monographic exhibition Being Here | Now | Everywhere is on view at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain in France, presenting around 150 works from June 13 to October 11, 2026.
How does the MO.CO. exhibition frame Kiki Smith’s engagement with the body?
The show integrates historic medical-school collections from Montpellier with Smith’s sculptures, drawings, photographs and textiles, highlighting her sustained investigation of anatomy, vulnerability and care over more than forty years.
Which other museum context features Kiki Smith’s work in summer and fall 2026?
Her drawings appear in Contemporary Drawings: Florence and Daniel Guerlain’s Donation and Gifts to Centre Pompidou at the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga, running from July 25 to November 1, 2026.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
