Kiki Smith's "Visiting" Opens at Shaker Museum's Outpost in Chatham

October 10-December 20 | Chatham, NY

Shaker Museum opens "Visiting," an exhibition by Kiki Smith, at its Shaker Outpost pop-up at 4 Depot Square in Chatham, with an opening reception on October 10. The show, which the museum says considers "the quiet intimacy of welcome," pairs a selection of Smith's blankets with case goods (cabinets and chests) she chose from the museum's collection. It runs through December 20.

The Outpost is a collaboration between the museum and artist Maira Kalman, who curated the first installment this spring and stocks a General Store with notecards, books, textiles, and small design objects. The store, which draws on the Shakers' tradition of selling goods to "the world," returns alongside Smith's show. Kalman will restock it in time for holiday shopping with new, vintage, and antique pieces, including kitchen items and handcrafted embroideries. Proceeds benefit the museum. Paula Greif's ceramics were the second installment, in July.

Smith was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1954 and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of sculptor Tony Smith and the actress and opera singer Jane Lawrence. She lives on the Lower East Side and in the Hudson Valley. She came up in the New York art world of the 1980s, becoming known for sculpture that emphasizes the female body, and has since worked in printmaking, drawing, textiles, and tapestry. Her Jacquard-woven tapestries are made with Magnolia Editions, and in 2022 she completed five mosaics for the Grand Central Madison station.

Shaker Outpost, 4 Depot Square, Chatham, NY. More at shakermuseum.us.