Shinique Smith's career took off when The Studio Museum of Harlem exhibited her first bale sculpture and were featured in an exhibition of the New Museum.
Her work gained critical attention when The Studio Museum of Harlem exhibited her first bale sculpture in Frequency in 2005, an exhibition that helped launch the careers of other artists of Smith's generation such as Nick Cave, Kalup Linzy, Xaviera Simmons, and Hank Willis Thomas. Smith's sculptural works were also prominently featured in the acclaimed launch exhibition of the New Museum, Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, which featured works by Sam Durant, Urs Fischer, Isa Genzken, Elliott Hundley, and Jim Lambie to name a few. 
