KIKI SMITH: FLIGHT

GALERIE LELONG presents Flight, a exhibition by Kiki Smith, a multidisciplinary artist, working in sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, objects, stained glass and tapestry.

May 21 – July 11, 2026

Her body of work has developed with remarkable coherence for over four decades. Far from fragmenting her output, this diversity of media instead reveals a strong underlying theme that runs through her practice: the continuity and unity of life. Humans, animals and plants are linked in an unbroken chain, stretching from the microcosm of the cell to cosmic infinity.

A thread that the artist can draw from observing the bark of birch trees near her home, the pigeons in Manhattan’s parks, a full moon and the Milky Way, but also from reading Lewis Carroll, an anatomy book, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, tales and legends… From all this, with utter sincerity—because she cannot do otherwise, she says—she crafts and weaves a visual narrative that grows ever stronger and richer with time.

This exhibition marks the artist’s tenth show at Galerie Lelong, the continuation of a 25-year collaboration. It brings together bronze sculptures, two large stained-glass windows, drawings and an imposing print. The artist has chosen the title "FLIGHT". It therefore comes as no surprise to find birds with multiple symbolic meanings in this exhibition: majestic eagles, messenger doves and clairvoyant owls. As is often the case with Kiki Smith, nature acts as a mirror for humanity. The artist projects the feelings that drive her—fears, desires or dreams—onto these animal figures.