DALLAS, Texas – Internationally renowned artist Kiki Smith will be the featured speaker at the annual Nasher Lecture Series at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29, presented by the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design. A limited number of tickets are available for $20 for members and $25 for non-members at NasherSculptureCenter.org.

“The annual Nasher Lecture Series honors the legacy of the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher by bringing to Dallas some of today’s most influential artists, sculptors, and critics through this yearly collaboration with the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design,” said Jeremy Strick, Director, Nasher Sculpture Center.

The lecture is sponsored by the Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Series in Contemporary Sculpture and Criticism, endowed at UNT to honor the Nashers by their daughter, Nancy A. Nasher, son-in-law David H. Haemisegger, and grandchildren.

Kiki Smith, whose career has spanned more than three decades, has been deemed "One of the most influential sculptors of her generation” by The New York Times. She is considered a leading figure among artists addressing philosophical, social and spiritual aspects of human nature with many of her sculptures illustrating the body — externally and internally — as the object. 

“Kiki Smith creates some of the most empathetic, intimate imagistic and figurative works of our era,” said Dr. Robert Milnes, dean of the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design. “We are honored and delighted to have her participate in our college's Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Lecture Series and very much look forward to her interaction with our students on campus and her public remarks in Dallas the next day!”

Smith has realized several public commissions including Chorus, 2012, a major installation in The Last Lot project space (46th Street and Eighth Avenue) in New York City, presented by the Art Production Fund. She has also designed in collaboration with architect Deborah Gans a monumental permanent stained glass window for the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue, a National Historic Landmark located on New York’s Lower East Side, unveiled in 2010.

Since 1979, Kiki Smith has been the subject of more than 150 solo exhibitions internationally, including a major traveling exhibition that originated in Museum Haus Esters, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany, and traveled to three venues in Europe and the United States from 2008 to 2010.  Smith’s work has been included multiple times in the Whitney Biennial (1991, 1993, 2002); La Biennale di Firenze (1996-1997; 1998); and La Biennale di Venezia (1993, 1999, 2005, 2009), where in 2011, she participated in the group exhibition Glasstress at the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti (June 4 – Nov. 27, 2011).  Her work is held in more than 50 important public collections internationally. 

Smith’s many accolades include the Theo Westenberger Women of Excellence Award (2010); Nelson A. Rockefeller Award, Purchase College School of the Arts (2010); Women in the Arts Award, Brooklyn Museum (2009); 50th Edward MacDowell Medal (2009); Medal Award, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2006); Athena Award for Excellence in Printmaking, Rhode Island School of Design (2006), and the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture (2000). Smith was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York. In 2006 TIME Magazine named her one of the “TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World.” Kiki Smith lives and works in New York City.

The lecture is sponsored by the Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Series in Contemporary Sculpture and Criticism, endowed at UNT by Nancy A. Nasher, David H. Haemisegger and grandchildren.

About the College of Visual Arts and Design:

CVAD seeks to engage a diverse student population with issues of artistic heritage, stimulate their imaginations and involvement with the world, foster their critical and analytical thinking, and inspire their creativity through educational opportunities in art education, art history, design and studio arts, all supported by a vital program in creative research. CVAD's goals are access, pursuit of excellence, service to the region and the world and prominence. Excellent exhibition and visiting artist and scholar activities support the college's academic goals and programs through the CVAD galleries, collections and institutes and through the university's research efforts. These include: the UNT Art Galleries, North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA), The Texas Fashion Collection (TFC), Print Research Institute of North Texas (P.R.I.N.T. Press), and the Design Research Center (DRC) as well as the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts (IAA/UNT on the Square), Initiative for Advanced Research in Technology and the Arts (iARTA), Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute (CAMCSI), Gallery and Visiting Artist and Scholar Committee (GVASC) and Art in Public Places Program (APPP).

About the UNT Art Galleries:

Part of the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, the UNT Art Galleries support the educational mission of the university, enrich the aesthetic environment of the community and serve as a cultural resource for the public at large.  Through their focus on curatorial projects involving vanguard contemporary art, the galleries challenge and promote the current discourse surrounding living artists and their works.

About the Nasher Sculpture Center:
Open since 2003 and located in the heart of the Dallas Arts District, the Nasher Sculpture Center is home to one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world, the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, featuring more than 300 masterpieces by Calder, Giacometti, Matisse, Picasso, Rodin, and more. The longtime dream of the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher, the museum was designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano in collaboration with landscape architect Peter Walker.

Hailed by the "USA Today" as one of the great sculpture gardens where art enhances nature, the roofless museum seamlessly integrates the indoor galleries with the outdoor spaces creating a museum experience unlike any other in the world. On view in the light-filled galleries and amid the landscaped grounds are rotating works from the Collection, as well as blockbuster exhibitions and one-of-a-kind installations by the most celebrated artists of our times. In addition to the indoor and outdoor gallery spaces, the Center contains an auditorium, education and research facilities, a cafe, and a store.  

The Nasher brings the best of contemporary culture to Dallas through special programs designed to engage visitors, including artist talks, lecture programs, contemporary music concerts, educational classes and exclusive member events.

 The Nasher Sculpture Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 11 p.m. for special events, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month.  Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students, and free for members and children 12 and under, and includes access to special exhibitions.  

For more information, visit http://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/.