Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Kiki Smith. It dates from 1995 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1995, this woodcut by Kiki Smith incorporates collage elements to blur the boundaries between printmaking and drawing. The work is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection and reflects Smith’s interest in the human body as both physical form and symbolic site. Its quiet, intimate scale invites close observation, emphasizing texture and subtle detail over dramatic composition.
Subject & Meaning
The absence of hair, ears, or context strips the figure of identity, focusing attention on the body’s internal structure as a site of quiet endurance.
The image presents a disembodied face rendered with clinical precision, its surface marked by faint linear traces suggesting underlying anatomy. Closed lips and a muted red mark near the chin hint at vulnerability or injury without explicit narrative. The absence of hair, ears, or context strips the figure of identity, focusing attention on the body’s internal structure as a site of quiet endurance.
Technique & Style
Smith employed traditional woodcut methods, carving lines into woodblock to create the base image, then added hand-drawn ink details and paper collage to enhance texture and depth. Thin, deliberate strokes mimic musculature and bone, while cut-out sections introduce layered, tactile surfaces. The hybrid approach merges the mechanical reproducibility of print with the intimacy of handmade mark-making.
History & Provenance
The work was produced during a period when Smith was deeply engaged with anatomical imagery, following her earlier explorations of bodily systems and female experience. It entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its creation, reflecting institutional recognition of her contribution to contemporary printmaking and figurative art.
Context
Emerging from the 1980s and 1990s feminist art movement, Smith’s work challenged idealized representations of the body by focusing on its fragility and interiority. This piece aligns with broader artistic inquiries into corporeal boundaries, medical illustration, and the politics of visibility, positioning the body not as object but as lived, vulnerable matter.
Legacy
Smith’s integration of print and collage in this work expanded the possibilities of woodcut as a medium for personal, anatomical expression. Her approach influenced subsequent generations of artists exploring the body through hybrid techniques, reinforcing printmaking’s capacity for emotional and scientific resonance beyond traditional boundaries.
Artist & collection
Artist
Kiki Smith is a German-born American artist whose work has addressed the themes of sex, birth and regeneration.
