Reba Maybury's 'I Come in Peace' Confronts Secession's Patriarchal Legacy

Reba Maybury, an artist, writer, and political dominatrix, presents 'I Come in Peace' at the Secession in Vienna, a site-responsive exhibition that critiques the institution's patriarchal history and the objectification of female bodies in Art Nouveau. The show unfolds across four sites: the façade, foyer, Grafisches Kabinett, and Beethoven Frieze space. On the façade, twelve usernames from online reviews of female sex workers in Vienna are mounted in gold Art Nouveau typeface, echoing the twelve founding 'fathers' of the Secession. In the foyer, a glass ceiling installation features a submissive kissing its surface, referencing Klimt's 'The Kiss' and highlighting visibility disparities. In the Grafisches Kabinett, twelve piles of clothing from submissives are scattered, part of the 'Used Men' series (2021–2026), with scents of men's colognes filling the room. In the Beethoven Frieze space, submissives recreated the frieze using paint-by-numbers kits, presented in a 1:10 scale architectural model. Curated by Haris Giannouras, the exhibition runs until May 31, 2026.