Grace Schwindt: A History of Touch

In her multifaceted practice Grace Schwindt combines disciplines such as drawing, performance, film, sculpture and painting. Her work explores the fragility of the human body and the impact of the capitalist system on our bodies, minds and collective memory. She analyses how bodies, language and objects contribute to the construction of history and memory. The notions of vulnerability and care are important here.

This exhibition presents both a selection of recent works and new creations by Grace Schwindt, including those inspired by historical pieces from the collection of M.

In June 2023 Grace Schwindt was invited as ‘Thinker in Residence’ at M Leuven. During this residency she conducted in-depth research and conversations with collection managers and conservators and became fascinated by the care of museum objects. Her research inspired her to create new watercolour drawings, ceramic sculptures and paintings, partly based on photographs and drawings she made in the M depots. She links fragmented images, fractures and scars of historical works to her broader research into the fragility and representation of bodies.

The exhibition at M presents a selective overview of her special visual practice, with several sculptures, paintings and drawings. New works inspired by her research are presented for the first time: some monumental paintings, a series of drawings and a ceramic work produced by M. The latter is both an autonomous sculpture and a possible support for fragments of a historical Christ figure from the collection of M. Her fragile ceramic sculptures reflect the fragility of the original pieces and emphasize the care with which M treats these historical objects.

Grace Schwindt’s trajectory at M, from researching in the depots and realizing new work to putting together an exhibition, is captured in a short documentary that will be presented around the time of the opening.

Grace Schwindt (Offenbach, Germany, °1979) lives and works in London and Sicily.

She studied photography at the University of Westminster, followed by a course in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art. Schwindt has had exhibitions at Peter Kilchmann Gallery in Zurich and Paris, Zeno X Antwerp, Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Kunsthal Gent, Rozenstraat – a rose is a rose is a rose Amsterdam and MARCO – Museum of Contemporary Art Vigo, among others.

Schwindt participated in several international residency programmes, including at Wiels, CCA Glasgow and the Gershwin Foundation in New York. She has twice been a guest at the performance festival Playground at M. In 2023 she participated in the ‘Caring for Performance’ symposium at M Leuven.