The watercolor-like oil paintings by Kerstin Drechsel (*1966 in Reinbek near Hamburg) are distinguished by their sensuality and remarkable sense of relaxation. The artist arranges her mostly large-format paintings into installations, adding sculptures and modules resembling furniture and imprinting segments of the surrounding space. Her groups of works tell stories about people and places in everyday, big-city life. Drechsel focuses on the private sphere as well as intimacy in public space, while at the same time dealing with the question of identity in the context of social norms, dominant concepts of beauty, and manifold images of women. This publication is the first to present an overview of the artist’s visual contributions to the gender discourse and cultural history in recent decades, and also features many essays by well-known theorists. Exhibition schedule: Vane, Newcastle-upon-Tyne January 19–March 17, 2012 | SEPTEMBER, Berlin February 23–March 8, 2012