/internal/media/dispatcher/155990/fullcompanions2023[Toni Schmale]Toni SchmaleGeschmiedeter, feuerverzinkter, lackierter Stahl, Beton Toni Schmale initially developed her „companions“ for „Public Matters“, a contemporary sculpture project presented around the three venues of the Belvedere in 2023. She was inspired by two groups of mythological figures that were installed in a basin of the Baroque palace garden in the era of Prince Eugene. While Schmale draws on the corporeality and seemingly queer staging of the historical depictions of sea deities and their draft animals, her version deliberately avoids any hierarchy between the creatures. Schmale’s shell chariot shimmering in mother-of-pearl is pulled by three hybrid steel figures, each with a concrete wheel as a foot. The relationship between the individual figures remains one of equals, as they are all conceived as companions. Instead of reinforcing predefined role models, Schmale’s work invites an open-ended interpretation that encourages reflection on power relations and possibilities for action.Object art© Bildrecht, Wien 2026https://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/102088/rdf