Inge Schmidt’s sculptural practice is defined by reduction and spatial precision. Her works explore the essence of things: from wood, cardboard, wire, or string emerge constructions that, in their material restraint, unfold subtle poetic force and occasionally reveal a quiet sense of humor. Working independently of prevailing tendencies, Schmidt pursues a concentrated, distinctive formal language that is at once vulnerable and assured.

Through the sparseness of her materials, the works gain intensity. They establish a precise relationship to the surrounding architecture, respond to proportions and edges, and structure wall and floor zones with refined decisiveness. Positioned between construction and openness, the sculptures define scale, distance, and spatial order.

Drawings and artist books expand the cosmos of Schmidt’s richly varied practice, connect to her sculptural work, and form an independent facet of her oeuvre.

Inge Schmidt was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1944, and lives and works in Cologne. From 1975 to 1981, she studied sculpture with Michael Croissant at the Hochschule für bildende Künste – Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, where she completed her studies. Her work has been presented in institutional exhibitions, including Kolumba, Cologne, and the Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders. In 2018 she was awarded the August Macke Medal for her lifetime achievement.