The MdbK is dedicating the most comprehensive exhibition to date—both in Germany and internationally—to the American artist Grace Weaver (*1989). Paintings, drawings, and collages from the past ten years are on display in a special exhibition space spanning approximately 1,000 square meters. Among them are two paintings acquired for the MdbK by the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation.
Since 2015, Grace Weaver has continuously developed her work, a process that is evident in this retrospective exhibition in Leipzig. The exhibition begins with her early paintings from 2015 and spans the arc up to works from 2026.
In addition to paintings in various formats, the exhibition also features the artist’s watercolors, drawings, and collages, highlighting the close interplay between the different media in her practice. At the center of her work is the human figure and the multifaceted expressive possibilities of the body.
The artist focuses on the realities of life and the everyday experiences of her generation. She explores themes such as body culture, clothing, communication, and interpersonal relationships. In addition to gender relations, she reflects on body norms, social communities and isolation, as well as life in urban spaces and in both analog and digital worlds. In doing so, Weaver embeds her protagonists in everyday rituals with their very own attributes—yoga mats and avocado toast, traffic cones and trash bags, smartphones and laptops.
Throughout this period, the artist continually reinvents her depiction of the human figure—her works oscillate between figuration and abstraction. Faces and bodies, objects and furniture are condensed into compositions of line, form, and color. Yet whether human or object—they are all part of the “lived experience” that Weaver seeks to capture in her art.
