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Discover Reba Maybury's Exhibition "I Come in Peace" at the Secession, Exploring Feminism and Power

Maybury's work examines contemporary intimacies, labor, and societal structures through site-specific installations within the Secession.

Reba Maybury's impactful exhibition "I Come in Peace" at the Secession delves into critical themes. Her artistic interventions across the building explore the complex interplay of feminism, sexuality, and labor within power dynamics. Visitors can experience a profound institutional critique through thought-provoking installations and conceptual art pieces. The project engages directly with the Secession's history and architecture, challenging patriarchal structures and gendered hierarchies.

About Reba Maybury: I Come in Peace at Secession in Vienna

Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for Reba Maybury: I Come in Peace at Secession in Vienna

Exhibition summary

Reba Maybury's exhibition "I Come in Peace" interrogates the intersection of feminism, sexuality, labor, and power through interventions across four distinct spaces of the Secession building. The exhibition challenges historical gender hierarchies and critiques institutional power structures.

Curatorial context

Reba Maybury, an artist, author, and political dominatrix, presents "I Come in Peace," an exhibition that critically examines the interplay of feminism, sexuality, labor, and power. The project spans multiple sites within the Secession building, including the facade, foyer, graphic cabinet, and the Beethoven Frieze room, engaging directly with the institution's history and architecture. On the facade, Maybury displays user names collected from online platforms where men review sex workers, rendered in a Jugendstil font, subtly referencing the building's aesthetic while highlighting contemporary transactional intimacies and power dynamics. The exhibition delves into the historical context of Jugendstil, its association with the commodification of female bodies, and the gendered hierarchies present at the Secession's founding. Maybury's work, often performed under the pseudonym Mistress Rebecca, challenges patriarchal structures and capitalist desires by subverting dynamics of dominance and submission. In the foyer, a glass ceiling installation with lipstick marks, inspired by Klimt's "The Kiss," symbolizes structural barriers and the visibility of marginalized identities. The Graphic Cabinet features "Used Men" (2021–2026), an installation of deconstructed clothing left behind by clients, exploring themes of ownership and consent. In the Beethoven Frieze room, Maybury presents a series of "paint by number" recreations of Klimt's iconic work, alongside an architectural model, questioning notions of authorship, genius, and historical authority by translating the masterwork into a collaborative, de-skilled process.

Admission and ticket notes

Information about tickets can be found via a link to the Secession shop. The exhibition dates are clearly stated for visitor planning purposes.

Reba Maybury: I Come in Peace key exhibition facts

Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for Reba Maybury: I Come in Peace at Secession in Vienna

Venue
Secession
Current status
Open now
Exhibition schedule
From Mar 6, 2026
Artist line / attribution
Reba Maybury, born 1990 in Oxford, UK, lives in Denmark. The exhibition was programmed by the board of the Secession and curated by Haris Giannouras.
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