Nudes

Yumna Al-Arashi
Polly Borland
Chantal Joffe
Christine Lederer
Anys Reimann
Elsa Rouy
Joan Semmel
Sylvia Sleigh
Annegret Soltau
Michaela Spiegel

February 6 - March 14, 2026

Opening February 5, 2026

The exhibition Nudes, featuring the work of Yumna Al-Arashi, Polly Borland, Chantal Joffe, Christine Lederer, Anys Reimann, Elsa Rouy, Joan Semmel, Sylvia Sleigh, Annegret Soltau and Michaela Spiegel, invites visitors to take a fresh look at the representation of the female body in art history.

The representation of the female body has a long history. A history of seeing—and of being seen. For many centuries, it was primarily perceived, classified, and idealized through a male gaze. Since ancient times, especially in modern European art, it has appeared as an aesthetic form, as an image that showed more than it told. Women's bodies became vehicles for ideas, fantasies, and ideals of beauty. These images have left traces that continue to have an impact today.

Nudes takes up this pictorial space and gently shifts it. The exhibition invites viewers to take a fresh look at the representation of the female body from a female perspective, with attention to what has long been overlooked. Subtly shifting away from traditional ideals, the gaze detaches itself from the classic male gaze and opens up to other forms of perception. Here, the body appears not as an object, but as an independent presence: vulnerable, powerful and contradictory. The representation of the body becomes a reflection of existence, offering an insight into identity, experience and self-perception. It is not only shown, but also accepted, shaped and lived. Whether it is one's own body or someone else's is secondary. Thus, the artistic process becomes a quiet act of empowerment, bringing together closeness, intimacy and visibility encouraging visitors to view their bodies independently of external expectations, allowing them to evolve. In this way, the representation of the body becomes a poetic space — a place of reappropriation where visibility can emerge anew and self-determination can quietly take shape.