Toni Schmale, who works with the formats of drawing, photography, video, performance and objects, addresses and criticises existing social power relations and gender roles in her art. The artist’s formal vocabulary and work titles make reference to gender and sexuality, fetish and sports. By transferring normative associations, she shifts contexts and succeeds in retaining a performative element in seemingly rigid objects.

The exhibition at the nGbK predominantly featured sculptures. Schmale precisely worked on the objects made of concrete and steel, polishing or varnishing their surfaces. While her earlier works made a more direct reference to bodies, body parts and corporeality, Schmale’s sculptural pieces are more abstract and cooler, although they transport gender-political utopias and queer identities in an equally radical way.

Ed.: nGbK

Work group: Jan Ketz, Christin Lahr, Michaela Richter, Frank Wagner, Susanne Weiß

With contributions by: Silvia Eiblmayr, Christin Lahr, Stefanie Seibold